Embargoed Press Release: Best Practice Guide
There are times when your company has news, but it's too soon to share it.
Instead of waiting until everything’s ready, there’s a press release for this type of instance and that’s an embargoed press release.
In this blog, you'll learn:
- The advantages and disadvantages of embargoed press releases
- Embargoed press release strategies
- How to embargo a press release
- What does an embargoed press release look like?
What Is an Embargoed Press Release?
An embargoed press release is a news release, media alert, or announcement that’s shared with journalists and media outlets prior to its publication, via press release distribution.
Your company supplies the date, time, and time zone when the press release can be released to the public.
In an article entitled “Ready, Set, Embargo,”
The New York Times defines a news embargo accordingly: “They [Embargoes] entail an agreement between a source and a reporter, or the reporter’s publication, that the story will not be published before a given date and time.”
The “source” of the embargo, for our purposes in this blog, are corporate executives, public relations or marketing professionals, and/or corporate communicators.
The “given date and time” is of the source’s choosing – typically 24 to 48 hours before an official announcement or confirmation is provided by the source.
It’s not an uncommon practice for companies to share embargoed news releases with journalists they trust. In fact, there are likely reporters or news organizations you have a relationship with now that would likely give your news attention as soon as the embargo is lifted.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Embargoed Press Releases: What You Should Know Before Sending
Advantages
The impulse for PR professionals to release their company’s news is usually to get the story into the hands of journalists and media outlets as soon as possible.
There are times, however, when that impulse should be ignored.
There are plenty of examples of when an embargoed press release might be a good idea.
For example, a company that’s about to announce a major
merger or acquisition may want to consider an embargoed press release.
Another scenario where an embargo would be useful is if a company announces a scientific breakthrough, or a discovery that could have an impact on a country or the world at large.
Or, instances when not releasing news right away can better serve the public’s interest or safety.
For some companies, waiting to release information creates a buffer to make sure the message is precise, clear, and includes the most up-to-date information.
The main purpose of an embargoed press release distribution is to give journalists and/or media outlets enough time to prepare their story on the sensitive subject or time-sensitive information your company is announcing.
Journalists may contact the media relations person listed on the embargoed press release, to get follow-up questions answered, or to get exclusive quotes from a company’s leadership team.
If journalists or media outlets reach out to you or anyone in your company, do your best to fulfill their requests.
By selecting trusted news outlets or journalists rather than sending out a general embargo on your press release, you likely stand less of a chance of your news being released earlier than the date or time your embargoed news has attached to it.
Disadvantages
Do press releases go public before the embargo is lifted? Sometimes.
As mentioned, embargoed press releases exist primarily to give journalists and media outlets enough time to prepare their stories for their readers, listeners, or viewers.
There are no laws protecting your company against a broken press release embargo.
When you embargo your news, you and your company are entering into a kind of "handshake agreement.”
Given the competitiveness of journalists and their news outlets, though, there are times when an outlet goes ahead and releases your news.
And, there are times when the embargoed press releases reach the public before the agreed upon date by accident.
If this happens to you, reach out to the journalist or media outlet that broke the embargo immediately to have the release recalled and removed online.
Unfortunately, if it’s a radio or TV news outlet or newspaper that reports on your announcement ahead of time, your attempt to recall the release may be futile.
If you find yourself in a situation like this, you have two choices.
- Do nothing.
- Release your announcement sooner than planned.
If your embargoed announcement is leaked early and involves another company, as news of a merger or acquisition would, you and your company’s leadership should perform due diligence and reach out to the other party to let them know what happened.
That way, no one will be caught off-guard, and the two entities can decide what to do together.
Embargoed Press Releases Strategies
As most seasoned communications practitioners can vouch, the use of an embargo can help your company achieve goals that align with your overall public relations and/or marketing strategy.
Take, for example, a situation where a delayed press release coincides with the availability of a new product, or an activation of a never-before-used service offering.
Setting the stage by using an embargoed press release can help spread awareness and build excitement around what’s being announced.
Artists in the entertainment industry use this tactic frequently.
World-renowned singers, such as Beyoncé and Taylor Swift's PR and marketing teams have sent an embargoed release to certain industry insiders about something big that will happen on a certain date.
At the exact day and time, the embargoed announcement expires, these two entertainers have made a previously unknown album or single public (commonly referred to as a song/album being “dropped”).
The outcome of the surprise is that fans react by immediately purchasing the single or album.
The excitement of the fans serves to create quite a buzz about the entertainer and the surprise recording, to the point where virtually every news outlet covers the story.
Brilliant, eh?
Apple is an example of a company that has also used embargoed press releases to garner a lot of post-announcement media attention around the availability of a surprise product; several other tech companies have also used embargoed news releases to help promote a product or service, as well.
Generally, this tactic is best accomplished when the embargo only goes to a few trusted journalists or news outlets, rather than an embargo that goes to the at-large press.
In return for their complete silence about the upcoming announcement, the journalists and outlets are offered exclusive announcement rights, and sometimes interviews with the executive team.
When done correctly, embargoed press releases can certainly help a franchise, company, or celebrity hit a home run, when it comes to attracting attention.
One last bit of advice, though, is to have a back-up plan in place, in case your embargoed press release doesn’t go as smoothly as you had hoped.
Think about all the other potential outcomes and then figure out what to do if any of those play out, to avoid being caught flat-footed.
How to Place an Embargo on a Press Release
Whether you’re embargoing a story or announcement to a few, or many journalists or media outlets, there is a standard way to embargo a press release.
Embargoed press releases include verbiage at or near the top of the document to indicate the news is not for immediate release.
Whether your company follows the Associated Press style, the Chicago Manual style, or any other major news outlet’s format, the only way in which an embargoed press release differs from one that can be shared immediately is the
delay notification.
The embargo notification can look different, depending on what platform or how you are distributing your press release.
Some of the most common embargo notifications are:
- NOT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- EMBARGO Until [date] at [time & time zone].
- EMBARGOED: Release no earlier than [date] at [time & time zone].
When sending out an embargoed press release, make sure the dateline in the body of the release is the same as the date listed in your embargo notification above it.
What a Sample Embargoed Press Release Looks Like:
(Note: Depending on the press release distribution service, your headers and dateline may look slightly different. The above is only a representation of a press release, and not necessarily exactly how one should look.)
Some companies choose to place embargo notifications at the top of the press release and somewhere in the body of the release, including a sentence like the following:
This press release can be distributed when the embargo is lifted on [date] at [time & time zone].
When You Are Ready To Embargo...
Every time you send a press release, whether the information contained in it is for immediate release or embargoed until a future date/time, you’re providing journalists and media outlets a piece of your company’s story.
The safest and most secure way to deliver your company’s news to those who might wish to share the story with viewers, readers, followers, or listeners, is to choose a press release distribution partner to help you share your news.
ACCESSWIRE offers clients an easy-to-navigate platform that keeps your press releases safe and secure and can be operated either by you and your team, or in conjunction with our expert support staff.
What’s more, we have the ability to embargo your news release easily, by offering you the option to select between an immediate release, or an embargoed one.
If you have questions about our press release distribution services,
contact us today. Our team’s ready to help you.
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