Getting people to notice and care about your news is an immense challenge. Reporters and consumers both have more people vying for their attention than ever before, so cutting through the noise in a unique way that generates buzz is essential for making your news matter. But how can you do that? Sending a boring press release with a generic angle just isn’t going to cut it. You have to announce your news in a way that’s going to catch your audience off guard.

Recently, two fashion industry giants – designer Oscar de la Renta and clothing company J. Crew – demonstrated the value of thinking outside of the box when releasing news.

Instead of debuting its fall ad campaign in the traditional manner by releasing a spread in a fashion magazine like Elle or Vogue, Oscar de la Renta used Instagram to break the news, and further promoted it using its email newsletter and social networking. The company released all 7 images from its fall campaign via Instagram posts on the same morning. Within the first hour, each image had gained more than 1,000 likes.

Erika Bearman, senior vice president of global communications at Oscar de la Renta noted that the announcement made sense because today “brands have developed their own platforms and credibility as media sources.”

Clothing retailer J. Crew also took a unique approach in debuting its fall collection by revealing items exclusively on its Pinterest page a day before the products were available on the company’s website and its catalogue was mailed out. The Pinterest reveal got attention from the company’s 60,000 Pinterest followers and earned buzz on numerous fashion and tech blogs.

Key Takeaways from Both Reveals

Both Oscar de la Renta and J. Crew taught us a couple of important lessons with their recent fall collection reveals.

First, they showed us how effective social media platforms can be for delivering news. By taking a fresh approach to announcing their news, both companies earned instant buzz, creating valuable conversations around their news.

The fashion companies also showed us the importance of making announcements in the places where your audience engages with your brand. Have a ton of blog readers? Use that channel to get your news out there. Have a huge Vine following? Find fun ways to spread your news with viral Vine videos. It’s all about reaching your audience where they’re most likely to be.

Remember, your brand can be its own media source if you put the time into growing your audience and building valuable connections with a targeted audience.

What are some other important lessons we can learn from these recent announcements? Share your thoughts by commenting below. 

This article is written by Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases (http://www.ereleases.com), the online leader in affordable press release distribution. Download your free copy of 7 Cheap PR Tactics for Success in Any Economy here: http://www.ereleases.com/7cheaptactics.html