How to Develop Press Kits for Corporate Branding

Branding is how corporations want to be perceived.

A corporate “brand” is the public persona of a corporation. A brand can be, for example, an Amazon River of books or an insurance company that is your good neighbor. A “press kit” is a collection of materials that makes it easy for reporters and other writers to write what you want them to write about you. Competently assembled press kits include factual information and at least one complete news release that can be easily rewritten. Press kits usually include video footage, which television reporters call “B-roll,” and complete video interviews or news releases. All of these materials should communicate the corporate persona you want to brand.

Things You'll Need

• Logo
• Corporate slogan
• Documents with basic information about your corporation
• Positive news stories about your corporation
• A corporate press contact
• Small promotional gifts for writers
• Video materials and photos on DVD or flash drive
• Custom printed presentation folders

Instructions

1. Decide on your corporate brand. Your brand does not have to make your company famous, but it does have to resonate with your customers and the public at large. For example, if you sell computer controlled machinery you might want to brand your corporation as “the leader in computer controlled machinery.”

2. Use a logo, corporate slogans and other materials that reinforce your branding. How you do that is more of an art than a formula. But, if you want people to think you are “the leader in computer controlled machinery” tell them that every chance you get.

3. Create documents that assemble all the basic information about your corporation that writers may need to know when they write about you. That information should include when you were founded, what you do and “the story of” your corporation. These documents should also include concrete examples of products, events and accomplishments that substantiate your brand. All of this should go in your press kit.

4. Include positive news stories about your company that substantiate your brand in the press kit. These stories should not be hard hitting but sympathetic to your corporation and brand and written by anyone not directly employed by your corporation.

5. Include the name, fax number, phone number and email address of a press contact on every document in the press kit. Ensure that press contact thoroughly knows the contents of the press kit and that he returns messages promptly. Reporters on deadline cannot wait a day or a half day to get their questions answered

6. Include a current press release about your company in each press kit. The release should contain some news and reinforce your branding, for example by beginning with the statement “the leader in computer controlled machinery.” The news in the release should be less than a month old.

7. Give writers a small promotional gift in your press kit. A coaster or a key chain with your corporate slogan and logo is at least a nice gesture to the writers who will actually sell your branding concept to their readers.

8. Include video materials and photos on a flash drive or a DVD in your press kit. If you want to be “the leader in computer controlled machinery” at least give writers and journalists clearly labeled photos of that machinery and at least give television journalists video of that machinery in action. Those photos and video should be composed in such a way that your logo and slogan are clearly visible on your products.

9. Put your press kit materials in a custom printed presentation folder that looks nice, is easy to carry or stuff in a briefcase or book bag and that at least has the name of your company and other pertinent information in large letters on the front.

References

• Entrepreneur; “The Ingredients of a Press Kit”; Al Lautenslager, November 2002
• “How to Put Together a Press Kit”; Tim Donnelly, September 2010
• Media Web Source; “Band Press Kit Sample Outline”; 2004
• Entrepreneur; “How to Build a Winning Brand”; Craig Reiss, March 2011
• Entrepreneur; “Richard Branson on Branding”; Richard Branson, March 2011