Press Releases Have Become Way Too Hyperbolic

Lindsay Morrow, a senior associate brand manager at Kit Kat, was thrilled to announce the candy brand had added another flavor to its product line: vanilla. Likewise, Aaron McMillan, managing director of hospitality programs at United Airlines, was thrilled to share flights had begun offering an assortment of canned wine to economy passengers. All American A/C, a Florida-based provider of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services, was also thrilled to reveal its big news: the business had a new website. Companies are thrilled, and they're letting the public know it at an increasing rate. A scan of distribution hub PR Newswire's database shows the word "thrilled" appeared 7,704 times in U.S. press releases published in 2017. Last year, it popped up 19,730 times to describe how business leaders felt about their latest achievements, whether it was unveiling a new warranty or hiring a new HR manager. Corporate excitement, however, isn't limited to one word. Between 2017 and 2023, mentions of "passion" in U.S. press releases has climbed 54%. "Industry-leading" is up 98%. "Pioneering," 151%. PR Newswire declined to disclose how many U.S. press releases it distributed each year since 2017 but confirmed any change in volume has been unrelated to the rise of hyperbolic language found in its database. "The increase is due to word usage, not the number of press releases issued," a spokesperson wrote in an email. Is this a problem? Everyone exaggerates. Sometimes it's fun. Sometimes it's annoying. Sometimes it's outright deceiving. The risk of too much corporate cheer is that it turns off the very people it's trying to win over: journalists. They don't trust it. And if they don't trust it, chances are they aren't going to cover it. “It’s a negative trend that weakens credibility,” said Anthony D'Angelo, chair of the public relations department at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Recent research from Cision, a media intelligence and PR solutions company that owns PR Newswire, found one of the biggest hurdles reporters face is maintaining credibility as a trusted news source and combating accusations of “fake news.” While the majority of journalists say they appreciate receiving press releases and find them useful for coming up with story ideas, just over half would cut off contact with a PR professional for sending a pitch that sounds like a marketing brochure. “If you need to call your story ‘delightful’ or ‘thrilling,’ it probably isn’t either,” said Nicola Dodd, managing director of PR at Ogilvy U.K. If the main point of a press release is to generate earned media, then, yes, relentless exaggeration is a problem. Why is this happening? People are busy. There's more to read and watch on a smartphone than anyone ever could consume in one lifetime. Competition to get someone to stop and listen is fierce. Whether it's a press release or panel discussion at Advertising Week, amplified words meant to break through the noise are bouncing around everywhere. Plus, newsrooms across the country are understaffed and under pressure. Calling a new product "groundbreaking" or "revolutionary" might have, at one point, made a reporter pause before moving onto the next email. "Brands are fighting an uphill battle to get coverage these days," said Sarah O'Grady, svp, marketing at Cision. "It's not enough anymore to just announce news in a measured way." Another contributing factor to the rise of sensationalism is social media. Platforms and their algorithms tend to reward people who push things to the extreme. Strong emotions attract big audiences. "Social media is driven by hyperbolic language, both optimistic and inflammatory," said O'Grady. PR professionals are vying for attention in this environment, too, so they likely sense a need to adapt or be ignored. Survey data from PR Newswire shows 83% of PR professionals use social media to promote their press releases. That’s a larger percentage than the 69% who say they resort to more traditional forms of distribution, such as PR Newswire, to help spread their message. Generative AI might also play a role. Around a quarter of PR professionals report using the tool to craft press releases, according to PR Newswire. If left unedited, one of these announcements might contain more cliches and platitudes pulled from the internet than ideal. What can be done? One way to fight back against hyperbole is to focus on showing instead of telling. "My guidance to anybody: Don't make a claim; substantiate one," said D'Angelo, who worked in the public relations field for 30 years before becoming an academic. "If you're saying we have a revolutionary chip, wouldn't it be better to say we've just introduced a new chip that's 80% faster than anything else on the market?” Another approach is to champion a culture that acknowledges colleagues are professionals and owe it to one another to speak openly. Don't let jargon and buzzwords flourish in the workplace. "Look, we're all humans here—let's just talk to each other plainly," said Mark Weinstein, chief marketing officer of Hilton. "You won't like what I have to say sometimes, but I can promise you understand what I'm saying.” Yet another method, though difficult, is to refuse to publish a news announcement if there's no news to share. About one in 10 PR professionals say their biggest challenge with writing a press release is not having enough newsworthy content to work with. As D'Angelo put it: “It's important for PR people to do a clinical assessment of news value before they send something out, because there is so much garbage out there.” —Robert Klara contributed to this article.

Data & Insights

Press Releases Have Become Way Too Hyperbolic

Experts warn the loss of credibility could lead to catastrophe

Paul Hiebert

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