As an organization grows, its public relations and marketing leaders will, of course, want to raise awareness in countries other than the home market. That requires an international PR strategy, and one important aspect of that strategy is how you deal with news. You’re unlikely to know those markets as well as you do your own, and there is certainly an art to getting it right.
A successful international strategy is far more than just translating and sending out your press releases in multiple markets. The key things to think about are relevance and localization.
The Case for Localization
If you think about it as a consumer or reader of news (rather than a marketer or PR person), hopefully the relevance point becomes somewhat obvious. If you want a journalist in another market to cover your story, that story has to be relevant to the people who are going to read it. And I mean really, obviously, clearly relevant in the way it aligns with things those readers care about and things going on in their country. That might sound like a no-brainer, but according to Muck Rack’s State of Journalism 2025 report, 86% of journalists will ignore a pitch if it’s irrelevant to their coverage area. So, make something locally relevant and you’re halfway there…
Localization, though, is not the same as translation. Translation is literal and seeks to convert content from one language into another as closely as possible. It does not address cultural nuances, market-specific terminology, and audience expectations. Localization is more complex. It adjusts content to be culturally relevant; adapts language, tone, and references to match audience expectations; and incorporates local data, market insights, and regulatory considerations. Localization is what can make or break the success and impact a piece of content has with the audience.
Good localization should also take into account differences in how the media operate in different markets, from the type of content they accept to the way they work with press releases and earned media. These things vary significantly between countries, even ones in the same region.
Without localization, you risk investing time and money in news which won’t land. Localization is the best approach to any international strategy because it significantly increases the value of your content and ensures a greater return on investment.
Regional Differences in Action
Let’s take the United States as a baseline against which to highlight local market nuances.
The US media is fast-paced and competitive. Journalists are data-driven, niche-focused, and beat-specific. Hard news works (e.g., funding rounds, M&A), as do household brands and strong metrics. While journalists around the world surely enjoy brevity, it still seems ok for US press releases to run to two or three pages.
Looking to EMEA, let’s use Germany as a comparison. Not only should the content be in German, but also the press release needs to follow a different structure. All major info needs to be in the first paragraph. There are to be no surprises further down, only clarification or more detail on what was already stated. An image will definitely be required, and marketing jargon such as ‘world-leading’ is an absolute no. Finally, German press releases should be one and a half pages maximum.
The United Kingdom sits somewhere in between. At the most basic level, localization for the UK means ensuring that arguments are backed up with local stats and data points (the same goes for Germany or any market you are localizing for). You also want to make sure you’re not using references that local readers won’t relate to. For instance, a US audience may understand what is meant by a “Monday morning quarterback,” but a British audience will be at a loss. It’s also worth being aware that the UK has a strong tech trade media sector; it is often where pan-European publications are based; and journalists can be very discerning, tough, and even sarcastic in tone.
These cultural and stylistic nuances abound. French journalists favor what other markets might consider a very intellectual tone of storytelling. They also won’t accept byline concepts in pitches. You must pitch the finished article. The Dutch, on the other hand, are more like Germans. They are known to be blunt; marketing-speak is an absolute no-no, and journalists are driven by a long and important history of press freedom. In smaller markets such as Spain or Sweden, journalist networks are more intimate, and relationships and connections still really matter. Calendars differ, too. You’ll struggle to get a response from journalists in Southern Europe during the holiday months of July and August.
The same is true for APAC. Different holidays, different languages, different drivers of news.
Practical Strategies
The extent of the local nuances and things to consider might sound complex, but there are things which help. Getting the help of local agencies with on-the-ground expertise can often make a big difference. As can developing a central toolkit which allows for local market tailoring. Clarification of aims and objectives across multiple markets is vital, as is consistency of key messaging and FAQs. Confirming those centrally can then enable your press release to differ country-by-country. Building this kind of flexibility into your international strategy will pay off.
Timing and Distribution Considerations
Once your content is ready, timing and distribution need careful thought through. If you’re issuing in multiple markets, must you do so at the exact same time, for example? And what time of day is right? Issuing at 10 am in San Francisco might be perfect, but not great for the London journalist, for whom that is 6 pm. Even worse for the German journalist, for whom that is 7 pm. Here are some guidelines to help decision-making:
- Simultaneous release if the content and data points are exactly the same (otherwise, whoever gets the news last will see that it’s already out and won’t be interested).
- With non-English language content, you have a bit more time freedom (as someone writing in French will be less concerned if it was published in English in the US the day before, for example).
- Choose a priority market (where do you need coverage most?) and let that dictate your timings.
- Decide whether you are most concerned about print or online coverage, as that also has a bearing on release time (for online, late in the day is not such a problem because of an increase in evening online activity).
- Consider whether you want to pre-pitch the news, under embargo, to trusted contacts.
- Be very careful agreeing to ‘exclusives’ if you are working across multiple markets. Be very clear what the exclusive allows!
Final Tips for Global PR Success
Working across multiple markets is brilliant and opens so many opportunities. However, don’t underestimate the cultural and procedural differences. Plan, plan, and plan a bit more. Aiming for relevance is your best starting point. Quite simply, if you can’t make it relevant, don’t pitch it.
Once you’ve got a strong story, activating news in multiple markets can be really exciting. Remember though - the press release need only be the starting point. Global consistency of messaging is vital, so your press release is the vehicle through which to get that straight. Your key messaging should be evident and the same in all markets. From there, you should allow flexibility to tailor the content and the approach to what works locally. That means building out a wider content and PR plan, which could include everything from blog posts and byline articles, to video content, visual graphics, and more creative executions to help cement your messages and build awareness in these new markets over time.
