Designing Effective Online Press Rooms

Figure 1. Philip Morris' "Press Room" (click to view live site)

As one of the corporations most closely examined by both the public and media today, Philip Morris must ensure its online press room is both accessible and usable by not only journalists but concerned consumers as well. Upon visiting the Philip Morris site, one notes that "Press Room" is one of the first links on the page, after "About Philip Morris" and "Philanthropy." Interestingly, "Investor Relations" is listed completely separately from "Press Room." On the main press room page (Figure 1), "Contacts" is again one of the first available links, thus fulfilling journalists' number one goal. Provided on both the left and right sides of the page are "Spotlights" on current Philip Morris news items. In this case, both spotlights concern current legal proceedings, and present the company's own "spin" mixed with basic facts about the cases. Also on the first page are links to recent press releases, with descriptive titles as well as dates of release. Also on the PR page, as is the case with all Philip Morris pages, links to the corporate pages of each member of its family of companies is provided.

All in all, the Philip Morris online press room fulfills journalists' basic content requirements, but provides nothing of note beyond those requirements. While the site is simple and its information easily accessible, Philip Morris provides nothing in the way of outside opinions or media coverage, and instead focuses on hard facts and its own corporate spin on issues. Minimal "spin" is a good idea for Philip Morris, since many of the issues it deals with are quite delicate, and deal with major societal concerns.

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Designing Effective Online Press Rooms

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