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Ten years ago the first thing a public relations professional would do to get the word out about a story was distribute a press release. Today, that is the last thing we do. Like never before, pitching reporters is done underground as long as possible to preserve the exclusivity of the information. Once it hits the wires, it’s a commodity.

When it’s time to pull the trigger on the press release, the question is which wire to use, the PR professional’s great enigma. Which service I use depends on the type of content I have to work with, the longevity of the campaign, and the client’s goals.

Here is how I think about it. PR Newswire has a storied history with the traditional media. PRWeb is the new media press release service that reaches smaller outlets. PRWeb is inexpensive and their press releases live online for eternity. PR Newswire is more expensive and their press releases live online for a few months. Marketwire is a hybrid between the two.

Marketwire reaches mainstream media outlets online and press releases appear on Factiva as well as live online for one year. And, their system is user-friendly and their people are helpful. I weigh the brand attributes of all three distribution services against my media strategy to determine which wire to choose.

For example, recently I launched a media campaign for “The Real Guitar Hero,” Ronald Bienstock, who won a six-year trademark dual with Fender over global domination of the guitar industry. Misinformation about the facts of the story had already appeared online, but the mainstream media wasn’t aware of the ruling, so I wanted a wire service that was sure to reach the traditional media. But, the story was also very online friendly so I wanted to reach bloggers.

In this particular situation, I chose Marketwire. But, if this had been a keyword campaign for a business-to-business firm with less news value but a long shelf life I would have picked PRWeb.

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