What is a celebrity press release? What do they do differently? (1/4)

If you frequent our blog, our website, or our services, you know that we are heavily invested into the PR space, especially when it comes to topics involving press releases and distribution.

You use press releases, we use press releases, and brands of all sizes use press releases. Why? For promotion reasons of course!

But did you know that celebrities also use press releases for this purpose?

Yup, it’s true.

Over the past few decades, we have seen athletes, musicians, actors, and other celebrities make major announcements in the form of press releases.

Today, I’m going to explore one of the most famous press releases of all time, and what the celebrity did differently to make their release stand out to the general public. Over the next few weeks, I will make more posts in this series detailing the cases of other famous press releases.

In this installment, we will be looking at the man himself. Number 23. MJ. The G.O.A.T.

Michael Jordan – The Return

In October of 1993, Michael Jordan announced his retirement from the NBA. After winning three straight NBA championships, Jordan was seemingly at the top of his game, and at the height of his career. Sadly, Jordan’s father was killed in a random act of violence earlier that year, which caused Jordan to lose interest in the game of basketball.

Over the next two years, Jordan spent his time away from basketball pursing his father’s favorite sport – baseball. Jordan held his own in the minor leagues, but he was not nearly the player he was on the court.

On March 18th, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the game he grew to love as a child in a famous press release that went down as one of the most memorable documents in sports history.

Jordan could have taken many approaches with this release. He could have detailed where he had been over the past two years both physically and mentally. He could have discussed why he decided the then-present time was an opportune period to return to basketball. But instead, Jordan took a an unorthodox route that paid off in a huge way.

In a two-word, yes TWO-word quote, Jordan made it clear what was in store for his future plans.

Within the release, Jordan simply stated “I’m back.”

That was it. No further details, no words wasted.

In an era where CEO’s and company executives look to include long, detailed quotes about their brand and the news surrounding their businesses, Jordan’s methodology might just be effective enough to make your next announcement stand out in a crowded space.

If you have a seasonal product returning for the holidays, it might be cool to issue a short phrase or sentence as the only direct input from the company. Examples could be the owner saying something along the lines of “It’s that time,” or “You knew it was coming back.” These kinds of phrases are simple, easy to brainstorm, and easy to write.

The minimalist approach can have maximum impact – it’s all about finding the phrase or key term that will make your news stand out among other industry stories.

People like to read the news quickly, so don’t be afraid to keep it simple in 2020!

Neil Grasso is a contributing editor and marketing associate for Newswire.com. With years of experience with both news and content writing, Neil looks to cover and analyze the unique PR strategies used by some of the world's most well-known brands. On the marketing end, Neil specializes in social media management and content creation.

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