For the first time ever, the Consumer Electronics Show did NOT accept printed press kits in its media room in January 2010.
As the largest U.S.-based technology trade show held each January in Las Vegas, this decision is a big, big deal, especially when one considers that there were more than 5,000 journalists at CES 2010.
And [...]

Depending upon the venue where you’ll use press kits, you might want to temporarily change the “face” of your kits so journalists will know that something’s new or different at this event.
One way to do this is to produce crack-and-peel labels that can be affixed to your press kit cover. This way, you can provide [...]

Every press kit must include at least one business card, either from someone working at the organization itself or from its public relations/advertising/marketing agency.
Standard press kits are typically die-cut on the right-hand pocket flap so a business card can be inserted directly into the pre-cut slots.
If, however, there is more than one person whose cards [...]

Everyone’s heard the cliche “A picture’s worth a thousand words,” right?
Guess what? That phrase is a cliche because in most instances it’s true.
When it comes to press kits, you have to include photos. This means

Physical photos,
Digital photos saved on a DVD, CD-ROM or thumb/USB drive, or (at a minimum)
Web addresses to online versions of downloadable [...]

For those instances where it makes sense to produce a physical press kit, I also recommend (where possible) that companies include digital copies of the enclosed public relations materials as well.
Such digital copies can be available on a

Thumb drive (USB stick),
DVD, or
CD-ROM.

Enclosing digital copies of your publicity materials will make it even easier for journalists [...]

Okay, so maybe this is another “no-brainer” free public relations tip. But . . . rather than assume you know this one, let me spell it out for you.
Please insert Web addresses (URLs) within the materials you include in your press kits.
Simple? Sure.
But one of your goals as a PR professional should be to make [...]

Hmmmmm . . . lemme guess. If breaking news and information goes in the right-hand pocket in a press kit folder, where should background materials and info go?
Yup! Background information and materials should go in the left-hand pocket of a press kit.

As I wrote in Politis PR Tip #58: Press Kit Idea No. 2 – Standard Format is Best, when most journalists pick-up a press kit for the first time, they
“. . . grab it, flip it open, scan it quickly to see if there’s anything newsworthy they’re interested in . . .”
Maybe it’s because English [...]

With 25+ years under my belt (on the agency side) as a public relations and strategic communications professional, I have definitely seen tons of press kits in my career.
And although I’m not a graphic designer by training, I have some definite ideas about design, especially when it comes to functional design.
In my opinion, design run [...]

Although I (David Politis) have been providing professional public relations services for more than 25 years, I also labored for 10+ years as a self-syndicated columnist writing “Utah Tech Watch,” which was carried weekly by the Daily Herald (in Provo, Utah), the Deseret News and The Enterprise (both in Salt Lake City).
I bring up my [...]