Which Press Releases Received the Most Traction in April?

A look at high-performing press releases from April and other trends for PR pros to know

Here at Cision, we’re always urging clients to take a data-driven approach to their PR strategy, and press release creation and distribution is no exception. In this series, my aim is to provide some insight into the press releases that are making waves on the wire and in the media – and the reason behind it.

I invite you to take a look at some of the highest performing press releases from the last month and consider which tactics they’re using that you can apply to – and enhance – your own press release strategy.

April releases performing well on prnewswire.com:

The following releases were among the most viewed in the past month. (Notice a common theme?) Was it a compelling headline that made each so popular? Eye-catching visuals and an easy-to-read layout? The name-drop of the world’s most famous billionaire? Take a look and judge for yourself:

• Elon Musk to Acquire Twitter
• Twitter Adopts Limited Duration Shareholder Rights Plan, Enabling All Shareholders to Realize Full Value of Company
• Twitter Confirms Receipt of Unsolicited, Non-Binding Proposal from Elon Musk
• Gerber® Announces Search for Next Spokesbaby and Furthers Commitment to Supporting Moms and Babies

April releases with some of the highest multimedia engagement on Cision channels: 

I can’t overstate the benefits of including multimedia in press releases. Not only do visual elements help to break up the text and provide more context around your story, multimedia has been proven to increase reader engagement. Below are just a few press releases that exemplify best practices with multimedia.

• Clos du Bois Wine Unveils Long Live Campaign in Partnership with Courteney Cox, Tackling Ageism in the Alcohol Advertising Industry  (3 images + 2 videos)
• StarKist Opens its New Corporate Headquarters in Reston, VA  (6 images)
• FANS CAN ROLL BURRITOS AT CHIPOTLE IN THE METAVERSE TO EARN BURRITOS IN REAL LIFE  (11 images & videos)

Earned media spotlight:

• It should come as little surprise that Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter saw significant pickup, most notably with the NY Times linking directly to the announcement on prnewswire.com.
• And with earnings season in the spotlight, United Airlines’ Q2 financial results turned into a Marketwatch story. (One line in particular - “The airline has a bullish outlook on the future – bolstered by this persistent strength of demand and the fact that it is nearing 2019 operating margins” – came directly from the release.)

Trending news for PR pros to know:

The Ukraine-Russia war continues to have an impact on trending news; however, we did see a slight decline from the previous month’s review period. The keyword “Ukraine” appeared in releases on our global wire 568 times in April. In comparison, the keyword appeared 964 times from February 22 to March 31, 457 times from February 22 to March 9, and 124 times from January 1 to February 21.

April examples of Ukraine-related press releases included: 

• Financial impact on Volvo Group due to the war in Ukraine
• Sun Life increases donations, committing over $1.1 million to humanitarian relief efforts for those affected by the war in Ukraine

Other trending keywords from April on the Cision network:

• “NFT” was used in 359 times in April, slightly down from the 370 in March.
• “Carbon neutral” or “net zero” were mentioned in 548 releases in April versus 481 times in March.
• “Supply chain” was plugged in 1,644 press releases in April, down from March’s 1,830 (1,892 times in November).
• For reference, “covid” and/or “pandemic” are mentioned in 6,054 releases in April (though it is now most common in boilerplate language).
• Popular usage spotlight: “Transform” – found in 1,015 releases in April versus 1,229 in March. Perhaps the most recognizable example is this partnership announcement press release from Google Cloud, a story that saw earned media pickup like this.