Not All Press Releases Are Equal – Best of the Wire: 2025

Press Releases That Stood out on PR Newswire’s Network This Year, Plus 3 Trends

 

Every year, PR Newswire distributes thousands of press releases from the world’s most recognizable brands. In 2025, what separated the good from the great wasn’t just the news itself – it was how intentionally that news was packaged, structured and visualized.

In a year when AI summaries, newsroom inbox fatigue and scroll speed all peaked, these releases didn’t just land – they traveled.

This year’s strongest releases reflected a clear understanding of how information is consumed today: quickly, visually and increasingly through AI-powered discovery. The strongest press releases weren’t just announcements – they were engineered assets. They were easy for journalists to lift, irresistible for audiences to share and structured so AI models could instantly understand, summarize and surface them as authoritative answers.

With that lens, here are eight category winners from 2025 that set the bar across creativity, clarity and modern discoverability.

Award winners

1. Quote of the Year

Winner: OREO and Post Malone Team Up

Why it won: It exudes genuine excitement and sounds authentically sincere, unlike a typical marketing quote. The casual, conversational language makes it feel relatable and very “Post Malone,” which boosts the story’s authenticity. (Earned media usage: Today.com; CBSNews.com; FoodNetwork.com)

Honorable mentions: Target's ChatGPT announcement; Alaska Airlines ‘Gift of Travel’

 
 
Example of Garmin using lifestyle imagery

2. Lifestyle Image of the Year

Winner: Garmin

Why it won: The link above is to Garmin’s entire newsfeed, which has numerous examples of lifestyle imagery, like this one from October. At this point, Garmin really deserves “hall of fame placement” in this category – always providing its audience a thrilling experience to imagine themselves in.

Honorable mentions: Harley-Davidson; Govee

➔ A (not-so-shameless) plug for this type of content: Lifestyle imagery (aka, environmental photography) improves brand visibility and engagement by showing products in real, relatable situations. It creates faster understanding, stronger emotional connection and provides more shareable, reusable content for media and AI platforms.

3. Best Use of a Video Asset

Winner: Ben & Jerry’s

Why it won: This multichannel news release leads with a wonderful 30-second spotlight of their new offer.

Honorable mentions (there was a lot to pick from!): Maybeline New York; Workday’s quarterly spotlight

 
 

4. Best Use of Data Visualization

Winner: IBM’s use of a single data point spotlight

Why it won: Data storytelling at its simplest – and most effective. It was an "info-bite" that was impossible to ignore and easy to cite.

Honorable mentions: Quad; TE Connectivity plc

5. Punchiest Headline of the Year

Winner: 'Dry January Is for Quitters'  from JP Bourgeois Wine Imports

Why it won: The headline was bold, contrarian and instantly provocative – discouraging readers from scrolling past and sparking conversation. It flipped a familiar cultural phrase in a way that felt playful, not preachy, making it highly memorable and shareable.

Honorable mentions (late-year entries): Oh, What Fun It Is to Drive? Not on December's Riskiest Day (Nationwide); Report: Workers Are Ready for AI. Organizations Aren't. (The Conference Board)

 
 
Hershey’s content directly answering a query via ChatGPT

6. Best Use of GEO/AEO

Winner: The Hershey Company's new chocolate bar

Why it won: Hershey’s stood out by doing something deceptively simple: answering questions directly. The inclusion of a clear, consumer-focused FAQ made the release quickly interpretable for AI models and voice assistants, while also improving human readability.

Honorable mentions: Squaremouth Shares FAQs; St. Francis Winery & Vineyards FAQ

7. Best Use of a Subhead

Winner: McCormick’s ‘Flavor of the Year’

Why it won: It does what a subhead should always do – give the reader instant context as to why the story matters and what the news is about after the reader is hooked in by the headline.

Honorable mentions: Honeywell’s use of bullets in the subhead; Taco Bell’s TLDR

 
 

8. Best Unbranded Headline

Winner: Survey: 80% of Corporations Are Reworking ESG Strategies Amid Policy Shifts

Why it won: The Conference Board delivered an editorial-ready headline, leading with the story to stand out in headline queues versus the more traditional plug of a company/org name.

Honorable mention: Similar to Garmin’s hall-of-fame placement above, the SAS newsfeed is an excellent example of leading with the story, delivering relevant thought leadership month to month.

Top 2025 trends

Once upon a time, a headline like this from September 2016 – Microsoft expands artificial intelligence (AI) efforts with creation of new Microsoft AI and Research Group – emerged as a novel concept. But as we know, there was a massive influx of AI-focused content in 2025. This year’s trends include:

1. 41% increase YoY in press releases tagged with the AI network code on the PR Newswire network.

Google Cloud leads the charge on this front, with its consistent monthly partnership announcements. 

 

2. FinTech saw an increase of 13% year-over-year on the PR Newswire network.

Established financial brands and late-stage players stood out for their strategic use of AI, automation and capital to modernize core financial infrastructure—one example can be found in PayPal Holdings, Inc. newsfeed.

3. AI-first content optimization for discovery and engagement.

Many claimed AI would render press releases irrelevant, but reality told a different story. AI didn’t kill the press release in 2025; it highlighted the need for better-crafted ones.

Final Thoughts

These exceptional releases weren’t tailored for just one platform or audience. Instead, they were crafted to reach multiple channels – including newsrooms, social media, and AI-generated responses – while maintaining clarity and credibility. If 2025 was the year press releases mastered the art of traveling, then 2026 will be the year brands learn to guide them effectively.

Learn how to format your 2026 press releases to increase your brand’s discoverability in The End of the Click: Why Your Brand Needs a GEO Strategy Today.

Read Now

About the Author
Glenn Frates
Glenn Frates

Glenn Frates is a communications leader with 25+ years of experience helping brands adapt to the AI-driven information era, where visibility, trust and clarity matter most.  At PR Newswire, he leads North American operations, enabling organizations to tell impactful stories across traditional media, AI search and emerging answer engines.  His focus includes GEO and AEO, global content operations and building scalable systems that connect data, storytelling and innovation.