Press Release (example) for Marie Stopes

Example of a press release. NOT real.

PRESS RELEASE

30^Th of January 2010

Campaign “Be STRONG, say STOP”.

A new campaign to create safe sex awareness for the Afro-Caribbean society in the UK has been launched today by Marie Stopes International. The campaign “Be STRONG, say STOP” is encouraging women to look after their sexual health.

At Marie Stopes International UK clinics we often see young people wanting to seek information and services, however being reserved when it comes to seek help, is resulting in an unintended sexually transmitted infection. We hope that the first phase of the campaign, “Be STRONG, say STOP”, will encourage younger women to talk more openly about their options and fears, and find a method to best suit their individual needs and circumstances, enabling them to practice safer sex.

The campaign will run for four months until end of April 2010. The counting up timer has travelled around the UK for the whole of January, showing how many people get infected every day.

From today the www.bestrong.com website for young women is lunched in order to get them talking and registering their views on the safe sex issues. When they register they will receive a bracelet to promote their confidence and strength in a healthier sexual life and the goal of the Marie Stopes International campaign.

Yekaterina Odintsova spokes person for the campaign at Marie Stopes International said: “Marie Stopes International welcomes the new national campaign to promote more open and honest discussions about safe sex.”

Prevention is better than cure, and the evidence is clear that when women are able to talk about sex, and are provided with information and access to a variety of contraceptive methods, reductions in sexually transmitted infections rates will improve.

- END -

Notes for Editors

· Marie Stopes International is a specialist organisation providing expert and confidential care and support to adults and teenagers in relation to their sexual and reproductive healthcare. This includes advice, information and services related to regular and emergency contraception provision, sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies.

· Website for the campaign www.bestrong.com

· Marie Stopes International provides a 24 hour information line to offer advice and assistance: 0845 300 8090. For further information, please visit www.mariestopes.org.uk

Contacts

Press officer Yekaterina Odintsova

Tribeca Public Relations

T: +44 (0) 796 193 2456

y.odintsova@tribecapr.com

www.tribecapr.com

Campaign Pitch for Marie Stopes

This pitch was an assignment for a MA degree in PR from University of Westminster. The pitch was for Marie Stopes to run a campaign about safe sex in the UK.

Safe Sex Campaign

View more presentations from Yekaterina Odintsova.

Digital Climate to Kill Us All

Press Release

Green Leaf Hosting, a London based agency, launched a viral video today for a new campaign called “Digital Crises to Kill Us All”. The video is published on YouTube in order to create awareness about the damage digital centres are causing around the world.

The data centres, which are used to house the millions of websites on the Internet, are now damaging the earth as much as the aviation industry. A large data centre consumes the same amount of power as 30,000 homes. These Data Centres run 24 hours per day, 365 days a year to power corporate websites. A solution is sorely needed, and Green Leaf Hosting is the answer.

Quotes:

Matthew Dowling, director of Green Leaf Hosting, said: “I hope this campaign will raise attention to the raising issue, and since so many of us use the internet more and more, people need to be aware of the damages they are causing. However it is not only an awareness campaign we want to educate people about what solutions they can use.”

In addition to the Carbon Free services, Green Leaf now provides Green Web Design & Development, Graphic Design, Email Campaigns and Online Marketing all from a Carbon Neutral office based in North London. The company’s mission to educate businesses on their impact on the environment and to offer a practical solution has been very well received globally.

Where Green Leaf differs from the average agency however, is its big ‘side project’. It is aiming to be the first agency to offer Carbon Free IT solutions from the UK by using nothing but the wind’s power. This giant project will be funded by sponsorship, grants, investors and profits made from their current services. Green Leaf Digital; a green IT solution that doesn’t cost the earth.

For additional information contact the Press Officer:

Yekaterina Odintsova

www.greenleafhosting.co.uk

Kat@greenleafhosting.co.uk | 0207 193 2564

Will Social Media Lead the 2010 Election in the UK?

Just as the US elections used social media to communicate with voters, so it is in the UK.

Obama is a ‘role model’ for campaigning online and for his success with online fundraising. According to Business Week, in July alone, Obama’s fundraising doubled that of McCain, generating $51 million. In addition, the Obama campaign has cited that 88% of their donations have come from online resources. This has never happened before. The man knows how to move and engage people; he listens, he reacts, he empowers. The Washington Post has even gone so far as to title Obama as the “King of Social Networking.”

In social media you have to be able to give up some of the power. But how can you when power is what drives an election?

In the past, a campaign team may have overreacted to a video such as Obama Girl or been concerned about not having a say in the messaging behind a video such as Yes We Can. Instead, Obama’s team has embraced these videos and recognised the value and power of user-generated content in moving others to action. However the UK politicians are not fully ready to give up that kind of power. They want to follow Obama’s strategy in their own elections, but on the other hand, do it with much caution. The UK election has gone online, and many are now discussing if it is beneficial for the 2010 election or not.

Even before official campaigning begins, one thing seems clear - this election is going to be fought in cyberspace as well as on the doorsteps (BBC). Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are now seen as crucial battlegrounds, as well as potential forums for political mistakes. The influence of bloggers are enormous, they have the power to very fast spread their view of either supporting or attacking the various parties. These are the reason behind why the UK politicians fear the social media.

The reason social media campaigning was so successful for Obama, was that he was able to reach and influence the younger voters who might well take a steer from their peers rather than traditional media. When it comes to politics, it seems young people are less interested in participating, however with the social media, even when you can’t vote, you are part of the community who can. Which means people can still be heard.

It looks like the UK politicians are sceptical about the social media approach, Mr. Cameron might have made it clear last year that he is no fan of Twitter (BBC), however when they see the results they quickly change their minds. The news comes as David Cameron has said he is considering finally joining Twitter the social networking site (PRWeek), following his infamous ‘too many twits make a twat’ gaffe on Absolute Radio last July.

According to resent statistics conservative party dominates social media platform Facebook as election approaches (PRWeek). The research showed a staggering 4,688 comments and wall posts had been made on the party's fan page. This compared with only 1,229 commented or posted on the Labour Party's page and 727 on the Liberal Democrats. The figures demonstrate a substantial gap between the Conservatives' online engagement tactics on the platform. And still Mr. Cameron is afraid of Twitter; despite the success they have on Facebook. The biggest challenge for the parties will be to turn their Facebook friends into Facebook supporters.

Winning elections is about finding your voters and getting them to vote for you on the day. It is here we will see how effective social media campaign is in the UK.

So what will we see in our first social media affected election?

I predict we will see more MPs surrender to the online campaigns, which will stop them gaining more power. We will see the candidates who use social media getting higher audience, as the online activity creates a buzz around their election. I believe that the 2010 elections will see social media playing a big role for politicians. It will also generate more interest among the younger voters.

Reference:

PRWeek http://www.prweek.com/uk/news/search/979583/Labour-dominates-Twitter-David-Cameron-finally-considers-joining-site/

PRWeek http://www.prweek.com/uk/news/search/991885/Conservative-Party-dominates-social-media-platform-Facebook-election-approaches/

BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8589037.stm

Business Week http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2008/tc20080825_761567.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology

The Washington Post http://blog.washingtonpost.com/44/2007/10/06/barack_obama_social_networking.html