The press release has been an essential and reliable tool for IROs to communicate with the market.
It has also been one of the major corporate materials that could be created proactively by the company. This passage discusses some of the most critical aspects to consider when drafting a press release to deliver an important message and attract investors’ attention.
Release with Strategy.
The IROs’ participation in the company’s regular internal meetings keeps them updated on the latest business development progress. In this case, the topics of press releases are often proposed by IROs and confirmed by the senior management team. Some C-Suite executives, however, would like to involve more in corporate disclosure, such as press releases. In some companies, a corporate disclosure committee (which may include the CEO, CFO, legal counsel, and IRO) would schedule the flow of future releases of news in advance, with an aim to publish press releases with strategy and ensure smooth and stable information flow.
Be Clear, Concise, and Informative.
Press releases shall deliver the critical message of a corporate event in a concise and efficient manner. The five “Ws”, namely who, what, when, where and why are the fundamental elements to be addressed in the story. Just like newspaper articles, press releases shall begin with a compelling headline. Numbers and statistics are also recommended to enhance the content’s impact and validity.
Legal Counsel’s Involvement.
IROs are usually responsible for drafting the content of press releases after the topics have been decided. The legal counsel shall review and approve the drafts of press releases to avoid compliance risks in disclosure documents. However, we do not suggest that legal counsel be directly involved in writing news releases since they would minimize the amount of information conveyed to reduce the company’s liability.
Deal with Negative News in a Positive Way.
There is a chance that companies may face bad news they have to announce to the public. In such cases, window dressing is never a good idea, and neither is trying to cover up or hide the negative information in the bottom corner of a press release. Clarity and honesty are what we expect to see in such press releases. Despite that people tend to avoid telling bad news, ambiguous words or insincere expressions could arouse investors’ suspicion of the company’s capability of solving the problem.
