GadgetTrak is a service that, if your smartphone or laptop is stolen, will snap a picture of the perp using the webcam and identify their location within a few yards, then forward the information so you can turn it over to law enforcement.
They could have told me about this with a standard press release that begins, say, “GadetTrak expands innovative protection service at CES 2011” but instead they sent this one which starts “Don’t Come to Vegas without Bringing Protection”. Smart and relevant double entendre. Then, they deliver the product pitch in a personal context a blogger can appreciate: a reporter had his backpack stolen, and all the products he was going to review were lost forever… something that would not have happened if they were registered with GadgetTrak.
And finally, an offer: journalists can get a free month of GadgetTrack protection during the show, so they can try the product for themselves. This is followed at the end of the press release by contact information, web address for the presskit and so on…. all material that I know is going to be in there so no reason to lead with it.
Contrast this with a journeyman effort such as this which came from Westinghouse, but might have been sent by any of 500 TV brands here: “Westinghouse Debuts New LED And LCD HDTV Lineups At CES 2011: Super-Thin, Energy-Efficient Westinghouse Lineup Flagshipped By 60” LED And LCD Models.”
See the problem? With competition like this, GadgetTrak wins the “flack of the year” award with a first-round pin. And they demonstrate why you always need to sell your reader on the benefit of paying attention to your message… whether it’s a press release, a direct mail letter or a job application.