Sharing a case study in your press release increases your chances of broader media coverage.

A case study is the pith of the story, its human face. If your press release doesn’t include a case study and the story needs one, the media is going to have to go looking for it themselves. And they probably don’t have the time.

When spokespeople speak hypothetically during an interview, it shows. There’s no substance to the story, and you can guarantee that audiences will click onto another article very quickly. A case study brings your interviews to life, because it gives spokespeople a real example to talk about.

Send your press release out without a case study, and reporters simply become frustrated and wonder whether you have a story worth covering at all.

So if your press releases are getting knocked back and your interviewees aren’t hitting the mark, here’s another way.

Better Boards Australasia recently announced that 85% of the not-for-profit aged care sector will be privatised in the next five years.  This statistic is alarming but it’s not enough to sustain a media story.  It needs unpacking: what does this figure mean?  Who will be affected the most?  And why does it matter?

A case study can answer all of these questions and also help push the emotional angle and put a human face to the story. So before we pitched to the media, we found a case study that illustrated all those points.

A Ukrainian Elderly People’s Home in Melbourne’s west feared that their ‘European ambience’, higher level of care and choice of two meals every day would be impossible to sustain if privatised.

They were the perfect case study. They gave the media subjects to film and photograph, and gave the story the emotional ‘hook’ it needed, lifting it above being just another an aged cared statistics story.

Spokespeople, including the CEO of the aged care home and a spokesperson for Better Boards Australasia, were able to talk about an example, and the human aspect to the broader trend. It stopped them speaking theoretically or academically.  This resulted in strong interviews which were easy for the reporters to edit and take quotes from.

As a result, we got coverage across ABC Television and Radio, SBS television, The AGE, Sydney Morning Herald, Network Ten and 3AW.

Essentially we did the reporters’ job for them.  We gave them the story – the aged care privatisation trend – and the instrument through which they could tell the story  -the case study.

When you pitch a story without a case study, you’re putting an under-resourced newsroom under pressure to find a vital part of the story. It’s your story, and you should be giving it to them complete.

Give them everything they need in your pitch, and you’re much more likely to get a run. And that includes a case study.

 

Want to get your staff media-ready?

We provide training led by experienced journalist Tony Nicholls, who has covered international stories and worked for many of Australia’s major news networks. Find out more about the types of media training we offer here.

Tony Nicholls

Tony Nicholls

Founder and Director of Good Talent Media

Tony Nicholls is an accomplished journalist who has held roles for more than ten years with the ABC, SBS and Network Ten, covering thousands of news stories across Victoria, Australia and in the international media.

 

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