Press release template for associations, filled in

01/ Association press release structure

The news first, the history last.

A journalist decides from the headline and first paragraph. Everything after that is supporting detail they may cut from the bottom.

So the order runs from most to least important: news, evidence, the quote, context, and finally who you are.

For an association the news is rarely “we held a meeting”. It is what members are seeing, what the sector needs, or what changes for the public.

02/ Press release template

Fill in each line, then cut.

Our template. Tick each part off as you write it; a release that cannot fill the first three is not ready.

03/ Embargoes

An embargo is an agreement, not a guarantee.

An embargo asks journalists not to publish before a set time, so they can prepare a story on your data in advance.

It works on trust, so state the time and date clearly at the top and in the email subject line.

Use 00:01 on the day for morning print and broadcast, and send the release the day before.

Never embargo something already public, and assume anything sent under embargo may leak. If the news would harm members to see early, tell members first and do not embargo it at all.

04/ Quotes from the president or CEO

A quote should say what the data cannot.

The quote is the one place opinion belongs. Use it to interpret, not to repeat the figures.

Decide who speaks by role: the chief executive for policy and the organisation, the elected president for the profession or members’ experience.

Write it as the person speaks, then have them approve it word for word.

Keep fact and comment separate. The press itself is required to distinguish clearly between comment, conjecture and fact (IPSO Editors' Code, clause 1), and a release that blurs them is harder to use.

05/ Member data in a release, done safely

Show the sample, the dates and the question.

Member survey results are the most usable thing an association can offer the press, and the easiest to get wrong.

The Market Research Society Code of Conduct requires members to make available the information needed to assess the validity of published findings, to distinguish facts from opinion and interpretation, and to take reasonable action so that results are not reported incorrectly or misleadingly (MRS Code of Conduct 2023, rules 54, 60 and 62).

Its comment on rule 63 is specific to releases: news releases should include final report details, including question wording for any questions quoted, or say where that information can be found (MRS Code, rule 63).

The Code binds MRS members and company partners. If you commission research from one, expect them to check your release; if you run the survey yourself, following the same rules is still the safest way to publish.

Say who answered. A survey of your members is not a survey of the sector, and a release should not imply otherwise.

07/ Distribution

Members, then trade press, then nationals.

Send to members before or at the moment of release. They should never learn the association’s position from a newspaper.

Then the trade press that covers your sector, by name, with the release in the body of the email and no attachments to open.

Nationals and broadcasters only when the story reaches beyond the sector.

Post the release on your own newsroom page at the embargo time, with the full report linked, so the method is one click away.