I see a lot of crappy press releases. They all reek of the same, generic stench, and taint the few exceptionals that do have a dash of humor and do give us the points without being stuffy. I suspect there's a herd mentality that pukes this: "just because most people do it that way, it must be the right way". Well, I can tell you: it's the mediocre way, like so many resumes are boring. It may be technically spot-on, but it won't get noticed. Little deviations that invite curiosity and grand moves that motivate action will help you win.

I've a simple yardstick: you know how plagiarism is when one person rips off another's work, often word-by-word? Well, if I see different writing that looks like it all came from one, homogeneous, bland source — then that's a good sign that YOU ARE ENTERING THE NO-CREATIVITY ZONE.

We're blessed to be in an era where we have more bandwidth and more powerful communication tools than ever before. Some people see these as gimmicky, but that's just because (1) they don't understand them or (2) they haven't used them enough to understand them. You aren't going to ever come close describing ice cream or sex to someone who's never had some, so let me emphasize, empathically: there is absolutely no substitute for firsthand experience. Absolutely none.

And that brings me back to press releases: the piss-poor ones made by marketers who haven't actually used the product/service they're selling. Hence, they don't have the passion, interest, conviction, and at least 100 other weighty words that matter when you're out to convince others that THIS IS WHAT MATTERS. If sharks can smell fear, then I can smell this particular generic brand of bozosity.

Why do I care so much? 'Cuz I love marketing done right. Marketing done wrong is slop and waste, whether it's spam email that gets chucked, or trees that, well, died in vain to be part of some dead-end pitch. It's also because I know that no matter how much some marketers* will try to trick you — and never let them — beyond the buzzword blathering, sharing simple stories is the way to go. Just like it was when making fire was an innovation. And even when we get in our rocketships and head to Mars, it'll still be the way to go.
 

* "Marketer", like "lawyer", is a sad-catchall label which lumps in people who do a great job and don't deserve the negative stereotype. But it comes with the territory.