CES, Black History Month and the Big Game: Press Release Trends from January and February
PR Newswire distributed nearly 40,000 press releases in the U.S. and Canada in January and February – so we understand if you had trouble keeping up, even if you’re already registered for PR Newswire for Journalists. To help out, our team monitored the headlines for some of the major industries and made note of any trends they spotted.
From must-see tech news coming out of CES to brands’ initiatives during Black History Month and a flood of announcements related to the Big Game, there was something for everyone on the wire in January and February.
Before we dive into the larger trends, let’s see which releases readers gravitated toward the most.
🏆 Popular Releases
Regardless of larger trends, some releases just draw a huge audience because they are that big or interesting of a story. These were a few of the most-read releases of January and February. They covered a wide variety of topics and industries:
Source: PRNewsfoto/McDonald’s USA, LLC
- All Things AI: Chai AI, a conversational generative AI platform, broke down its benefits and FAQs for new users in this popular release.
- Food Recall: An announcement from Rizo-López Foods regarding its recall of certain dairy products due to possible Listeria contamination was one of the most read releases to start the year.
- Gaming Partnership: Gamers rejoiced when Sony announced that it would be continuing its partnership with Square Enix for the FINAL FANTASY™ VII remake project, FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH.
- Taco Bell Fan Event: Live Más LIVE hit the Las Vegas strip during the weekend of the Big Game with “a years’ worth of product unveils, fan recognition, musical performances and celebrity appearances.”
- WcDonald’s Debut: McDonald’s announced that it would bring the popular anime-based restaurant to life and readers made it one of the most popular releases of January and February.
Below, we dig deeper into the larger trends spotted on the wire.
CES
Brands showed up in force at this year’s CES, displaying their new innovations in everything from home gadgets to cars, health trackers, TVs, smart glasses and beyond. The TVs were bigger (and invisible), AI was everywhere, the Apple Vision Pro was not and green tech was a highlight.
Source: PRNewsfoto/HOMEE AI Co., Ltd.
In all, hundreds of CES-related press releases crossed the wire — which wasn’t surprising since PR Newswire was the official news distribution provider and host of the CES Exhibitor Media Center for the fourth consecutive year.
Here are just a few of the event releases that were sent via PR Newswire:
- Jackery introduced its Solar Generator Mars Bot, an intelligent service robot with a light-tracking system.
- Kia Corporation and Uber signed an agreement at CES committing the two companies to collaborate on Kia’s planned development and deployment of purpose-built vehicles (PBVs).
- In the realm of spatial computing, HOMEE AI debuted its AI-based interior designer.
- Who knew pool-cleaning robots were so advanced? At CES, WYBOTICS unveiled WYBOT M2, which claims to feature the world’s first underwater vision recognition system and an underwater self-charging station.
Get more like this: Read our full CES recap for even more unique innovations from the event.
Black History Month
Leading up to and throughout February, companies across the U.S. shared press releases announcing how they were celebrating, recognizing and working to uplift the Black community. The theme for this year’s Black History Month was “African Americans and the Arts,” focusing on the Black community’s influence on “visual and performing arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music, architecture, culinary and other forms of cultural expression.”
Source: PRNewsfoto/Hormel Foods Corporation
Press releases tied to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, celebrated in late January, also tied into this news trend of companies sharing their equity and inclusion initiatives to start the year.
Nearly 150 press releases from January and February mentioned “Black History Month” or were related to MLK Day.
Here are a few you might have missed:
- Harlem Fashion Row held its 6th annual Black History Month Fashion Summit, celebrating the contributions of notable black designers, pioneers, creative directors, editors and influencers in the fashion industry.
- Kroger unveiled a curated collection of Black-owned and founded brands including food, health and beauty products.
- Pronghorn introduced the #AllBlackBar platform to amplify Black-owned spirits brands and to encourage commercial support for Black-owned brands, not just during February, but year-round.
- Hormel Foods commemorated MLK Day and Black History Month with an essay competition for elementary and middle school students.
- The National Business League announced its collaboration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to provide Black-owned enterprises with “access to vital resources, programs, and initiatives facilitating patent and trademark registration.”
Get more like this: Catch up on all the Black History Month and MLK Day news in our recent recap of people and culture news trends.
The Big Game
A record-breaking 123.4 million viewers tuned in to this year’s Big Game, making it the most-watched telecast of all time. Whether viewers watched for the actual football, the commercials, sightings of a certain A-list celeb, or a combination of it all, the game had something for everyone.
Source: PRNewsfoto/Mars, Incorporated
The same went for the wire, as it was flooded with press releases from ad teasers to food promotions, predictions for game-day behavior, related events in Las Vegas, and more. PR Newswire distributed over 300 press releases mentioning the championship game in January and February.
These were some of the most popular:
- DoorDash made sure everyone was waiting for its commercial, which announced a promo code that awarded one viewer with items from all the commercials aired during the game, including cars, snacks and even tax services.
- It seemed like every commercial had a celebrity to draw viewers’ attention and M&M’s had several in its “Almost Champions” ad.
- It’s not truly game day without snacks, and according to the Frito-Lay Super Bowl Snack Index, nearly 50% of Americans would rather watch the game surrounded by good food than good friends.
- FanDuel announced that Rob Gronkowski would return for the second year to attempt to successfully make a field goal just before kick-off.
- According to an American Gaming Association survey, more than 67 million Americans planned to bet on the game, wagering an estimated $23.1 billion, up from $16 billion last year.
Get more like this: Read our full Big Game press release recap and check out other recent sports news trends.
More News Trends
Want to dive deeper into the news trends for the industry you cover? Our team has compiled the trends and top releases across more than 10 industries for January and February. Find them all on PR Newswire’s Resource Center.
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Rocky Parker is the Manager of Audience and Journalist Engagement at Cision PR Newswire. She's been with the company since 2010 and has worked with journalists and bloggers as well as PR and comms professionals. Outside of work, she can be found trying a new recipe, binging a new show, or cuddling with her pitbull, Hudson.
