Writing a Press Release

This assignment is a modification of one found here.

The Back Story: You work in the PR department of a local burger chain. Unchanged since its founding in 1965, the Buger Hub has long bragged about its status as a greasy spoon: even the restaurant menu boasts no changes in the restaurant's standard fare since the late 60s. Clearly Burger Hub has gained a regional reputation by serving up thick chocolate shakes, French Fries, onion rings, chili cheese dogs, and cheese burgers. But the climate for fast food has changed as Americans become more health conscious: movies like Supersize Me illustrate the dangers of eating McDonald's on a regular basis and fast-food restaurants around the country are adding fruit, juices, wraps, and salads to their menues.

Sales at Burger Hub chains are the lowest they've ever been, and falling. The restaurant has added playgrounds to attract families, advertised aggressively in key markets (college and high school students), and even created a mascot, a giant--crime-fighting--chili chees dog who was, tragically, named "Ralph."

It's clear to the company's executives and restaurant chain owners that the menu needs to be updated if the restaurant is to survive long into the 21st century.

The Press Release: So they hire Polly Metabolic, a well-respected nutritionist, to re-design the restaurant's offerings for modern consumers.

As the director of PR at Burger Hub, you have been asked to personally head-up the publicity campaign that will herald in a new era for Burger Hub. Your first task is to notify local newspapers of Dr. Metabolic's new position with the company.

• You know from basic information that Dr. Metabolic graduated with a BA in Diatetics from Ohio State University and an MA in Nutrition from the University of Michigan.
• She has served as Chief Dietician at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio from 1989-1995;
• as Chief Nutritionist at the Bethesda North Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1996-2001;
• and as the Director of Nutrional Education at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine from 2001-2007.
• During this time Dr. Metabolic also published three highly acclaimed books on diet and nutrition including one New York Times Best Seller, Raising Healthy Children: A Parent's Guide to Dietary Sanity.
• She also served for ten years on the ADA's Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE).

This is a big "get" for Burger Hub, and they want to really play up the central role this new hire will play in their menu re-design.

Dr. Metabolic has suggested that she will work to incorporate more soy-based products (including low-fat, low-calorie smoothies), veggie burgers, turkey bugers, finger veggies and low-fat dips, salads, sandwich wraps, whole grains, and fresh fruit into the menu. While the most popular items of the old menu will remain, customers will have a choice of condiments (including salsa and low-fat mayo), cheeses (including soy cheese), and even a vegetarian bacon cheese burger. The popular chili cheese dog ("Ralph") will be available in its original form, or customers can opt for a veggie dog with low-fat veggie chili and soy cheese on a whole wheat bun.

You already spoke with Dr. Metabolic and recorded the following quotes that you might incorporate into your press release:

• "I'm excited about coming to Burger Hub because I'm looking forward to the challenge of transforming the foods the people in this area have come to love into more healthy alternatives."
• "If you can start children eating right and making good decisions from a young age, those children will have a better chance of living long and healthy lives."
• "Let's face it, Burger Hub has the food everyone wants to eat, but we can make that food healthier and give people more of a chance to make some healthy choices."
• "I was raised in the Mid-west, so I was raised on Burger Hub. This move is personal: I really love this food."

You spoke with the executive who hired Dr. Metabolic, Ms. Felicia King, and she gave you the following quotes that might work in your press release:

• "We couldn't be happier to have Dr. Metabolic joining our nutritional team here at Burger Hub."
• "Hiring Dr. Metabolic represents the culmination of conversations about nutrition that we've been having at Burger Hub for many years now."
• "We were, after all, the first restaurant in the area to switch from using animal fat to vegetable fats in our fryers."
• "She's going to be making some dramatic changes to our menu, but the quality of food that Burger Hub customers have come to expect will remain unchanged."

Your task tonight is to write a press release (announcement) for the local newspaper. You'll want this release to have all of the trappings of an exciting news item so that the newspaper will publish it.

Use your textbook to help you format and write this release, but you can also go here for more information.

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