Stop the PR Spam: Why Endless Press Releases Are Killing Your Story

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Honest truth? Most brands are drowning themselves in their own press releases.

The logic seems harmless -- “the more updates we push out, the more visibility we’ll get.” But here’s the reality: every fluffy, low-value release chips away at credibility, irritates journalists, and tells your audience you’ve run out of real things to say.

Journalists notice. Google notices. And trust me, your market notices too.

  • 68% of APAC journalists automatically delete releases that don’t pass the “so what?” test (Meltwater, 2025).

  • Google’s 2025 algorithm penalises “thin content,” including fluffy press releases; dragging down SEO.

  • A Malaysian tech brand saw engagement drop 40% after flooding inboxes with weekly “updates” no one cared about. (PS: We rectified this when we came on-board!)

The fix isn’t “more.” It’s smarter.

Why Brands Flood the Market With Releases (and Why It Backfires)

  • The optics trap: Teams equate volume with success. Ten releases look busier than three, even if no one reads them.

  • Spray-and-pray thinking: One generic blast to 100 inboxes feels like reach, but it’s really 98 annoyed journalists and two polite “no thanks.”

  • The fake-newsworthiness problem: Brands mistake internal milestones for external stories. Spoiler: your new office pantry isn’t news (but maybe your new office is)

These aren’t mistakes you fix with a checklist. They’re cultural habits. They only change when leadership changes what it values.

What Journalists Actually Want (And Rarely Get)

When we asked regional journalists what makes them delete a release, the answers were painfully consistent:

  • Too promotional.

  • No local hook.

  • Overhyped adjectives that scream “this isn’t real news.”

What earns attention instead? Evidence, context, and relevance. Simple, but rare.

If your release doesn’t deliver on those three basics, you’re in the delete pile before the subject line’s even read.

A Smarter Way Forward (Without Giving Away the Recipe)

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: not every announcement deserves a press release. Sometimes your update belongs as a LinkedIn thread. Sometimes it should be packaged as a journalist briefing. Sometimes it should stay in your internal newsletter and nowhere else.

The brands winning right now aren’t producing more. They’re producing fewer, sharper, and better-packaged stories... then repurposing them across the right channels.

That’s not a tactic you can automate. It’s a mindset shift.

The Payoff: Why Less Really Is More

Brands that respect inboxes and focus on relevance are seeing measurable gains:

  • Stronger media relationships. Editors respond more when they’re not spammed.

  • Higher engagement. A single sharp story outperforms a dozen filler updates.

  • Better SEO. Google now rewards depth, not frequency.

Final Thought: Quality, Not Quantity

If this makes you uncomfortable, good. It should. Because the “more is more” mindset is exactly what’s eroding your media relationships and dulling your market presence.

At Orchan, we don’t just tidy up your press releases -- we rethink how and when you should even be sending them. The difference? Fewer, smarter stories that cut through, instead of cluttering inboxes.

Email us: changenow@orchan.asia Call us: +603-7972 6377

Key takeaway: In PR, volume isn’t power -- relevance is. The sooner your brand gets that, the faster you stop being part of the spam and start being part of the story.

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