Why Every Marketing Campaign Should Include a Press Release

Marketing campaigns work when attention and trust show up together. A press release delivers both. It gives your announcement a public record that editors can cite, partners can share, and customers can reference when they need proof. If you have ever wondered why you need a press release in marketing campaigns, the answer is simple. It converts a promotion into a story with receipts, then helps that story travel further and last longer.

At a glance

• A press release anchors marketing campaigns with on-the-record quotes, facts, and assets that editors can use.
  
  
• One release becomes copy for landing pages, emails, sales decks, and social without reinventing the message.
  
  
• Multimedia inside the release increases engagement and link clicks, which improves pickup and referrals (Business Wire).
  
  
• Coordinated timing creates a single moment when media, partners, and owned channels align.
  
  
• Tracking shows how the press release lifted reach, brand search, and assisted conversions.

How we approached this

• We leaned on industry benchmarks about journalist preferences and media behaviour (Cision).
  
  
• We used guidance on how multimedia affects engagement and why it belongs in every release (Business Wire).
  
  
• We set correct expectations on link treatment to avoid SEO myths (Google Search Central).
  
  
• We considered the trust context that shapes how audiences judge claims and announcements (Edelman).

Credibility a media buy cannot buy

Ads repeat your message. A press release validates it. Names, titles, numbers, and context live in one place that can be quoted without back-and-forth fact checks. That matters because journalists still use releases to evaluate and cover announcements, and because public trust is volatile. When marketing campaigns and a press release land together, you give people a single, attributable source that holds up under scrutiny (Cision) (Edelman).

• Include one executive quote and one partner or customer quote to create dual proof points.
  
  
• Add a short fact sheet and two-line boilerplate so outlets repeat your language accurately.
  
  
• Host the release on your site and distribute it through a wire to establish provenance and discovery.

Reach that multiplies beyond your follower graph

Owned channels are bubbles. Newswires and targeted lists reach editors, trade newsletters, and community curators who would never see your ad at the right moment. A press release lets you coordinate embargoes, align timing, and create a clean “day one” pulse. That’s how a simple feature drop becomes a headline across the places your buyers already read (Cision).

• Time the release for morning in your target region so editors can work it into the rundown.
  
  
• Offer two or three embargoed previews so stories publish the minute the release goes live.
  
  
• Ship a media kit with images and short b-roll so coverage looks consistent across outlets.

Message control without slowing the team

Fragmented stories kill momentum. Sales pushes one angle, social edits another, partners improvise a third. The press release fixes this. It becomes the single source of truth your team slices into captions, email intros, pitch notes, and site copy. Legal and leadership have already approved the language, so distribution moves fast and on brand.

• Write one headline and two subheads that double as email subjects and social hooks.
  
  
• Add three proof bullets: one stat, one benefit, one customer use case.
  
  
• Mirror the call to action from the release to the landing page so clicks feel seamless.

Multimedia turns facts into scenes

People remember what they can see. A chart that shows the uplift, a 15-second product clip, clean logo sets, and a founder headshot are not decoration. They are on-ramps for editors and creators who want to share your story quickly. Multimedia releases see higher engagement and more link clicks, which means more readers reach your landing page and your narrative stays intact as it travels (Business Wire).

• Provide horizontal and square crops with simple alt text so assets travel cleanly.
  
  
• If your news is an upgrade, add a simple before-and-after visual to make the benefit obvious.
  
  
• Link to one asset folder inside the release to remove download friction.

Distribution that creates a real moment

Treat the press release like an event inside the plan. When the wire hits, your blog post, partner posts, and executive LinkedIn threads should already be queued. Reporters who took the embargo should have everything they need to publish within the hour. Concentrated attention pushes a story from interesting to inevitable and makes lift easier to measure (Cision).

• Publish your newsroom post five minutes before the wire to establish a canonical URL.
  
  
• Give partners pre-approved copy and assets so their posts go live in the same window.
  
  
• Watch the first two hours for referral spikes and reply quickly to follow-up questions.

Expectations that match how search works

A press release is not a shortcut for rankings. Modern search engines discount syndicated links and recommend rel attributes like nofollow or sponsored for compliance. That’s fine because the value is credibility, coverage, and referral traffic from real stories. Aim for brand demand, memorable language, and coverage that earns editorial links on its own (Google Search Central).

• Optimise headlines for clear brand terms and a memorable offer line.
  
  
• Route release traffic to a fast landing page that mirrors the headline and call to action.
  
  
• Measure success through branded search lift, referral sessions, and assisted conversions.

Measurement the whole team understands

Pick a compact set of metrics that map to campaign goals. In week one, track media pickups, referral traffic, time on page, and email replies generated by coverage. In month one, report influenced pipeline, demo requests, or signups associated with the release window. Keep a one-page recap so executives see how the press release amplified paid and organic channels.

• Set a pre-launch baseline for branded search and direct traffic.
  
  
• Use UTM parameters in the release and partner posts for clean attribution.
  
  
• Compare assisted conversions during the release week to a recent non-release week.

A simple playbook for your next launch

Draft the press release with your campaign brief. Lock quotes and numbers early. Build the media kit. Offer a few embargoed previews with distinct angles. Publish the newsroom post, then hit the wire. Fan the story out through executives, partners, and creators over the next two hours. Keep a running list of top coverage for sales and social to reuse.

• One narrative across press release, landing page, and ads.
  
  
• One asset kit with video, images, and a fact sheet.
  
  
• One measurement plan tied to reach, engagement, and pipeline.

FAQ

Do press releases still matter for marketing campaigns?

Yes. Editors expect them for verification and teams use them to keep the message consistent across channels and partners.

What makes a campaign press release work?

Clear headline, strong quotes, credible proof, multimedia, and a call to action that matches the landing page so every click feels seamless.

How many images or videos should I include?

Two to four is a sweet spot. Think one chart, one short product clip, one logo set, and one executive headshot for easy reuse in coverage and social.

When should I send the release?

Publish the newsroom post and distribute the release just before your biggest owned push so the message lands everywhere at once.

Does a press release help SEO

Indirectly. It builds brand demand and drives earned coverage. Treat syndicated links with nofollow or sponsored and focus on editorial mentions that follow from real stories.

Turn a message into momentum

Marketing campaigns create demand when the story is clear, credible, and easy to repeat. A press release is the lever that makes that happen. It gives journalists a reliable source, hands your team reusable assets, and concentrates attention into a measurable moment. Add one to every major campaign and the lift shows up where it counts.