JTC 351 Public Relations Practices
Assignment #5

Product Announcement and
Feature Story on Scissors

The firm's web address (URL-uniform record locator) is http://www.scissorsonline.com.

Review the products in the various categories of scissors described on the site. (Note: The "See What's New" link has apparently been disabled.)

Your assignment is to:

1) Write a one-page product news announcement featuring three new products. Pick any three related products you prefer and assume they are new. Target your announcement to appropriate consumer, business or industry publications. Your description of each product can be quite brief (one short paragraph per product). Give the name of the product, describe its features and price, and identify its benefits based on information on the site or other benefits you might identify. Conclude your release by providing ordering and shipping details (see site). Include the web site address, postal address and telephone number for the company. Include an appropriate tag paragraph to provide background about ScissorsOnline. Note: Besides the web site, Heritage and Klein products are sold at specialty stores serving various industries across the country. You may create additional details as long as they are not contrary to the information provided.

2) Now think more imaginatively about scissors. Based on the three products you selected (or scissors more generally), write a product feature story that promotes interest in some aspect of scissors. Target your feature to a consumer, businesses, or specialized industry audience. Your goals are to create an appreciation of scissors and enhance the reputation of ScissorsOnline (or Klein Cutlery). You may write about any aspect of scissors you wish. Your story should be succinct and no more than 500 words (two pages). Although you can use a current "news hook" to begin your story, this approach is not necessary. Feature stories do not follow the conventions of a news story and are often "evergreens" that can be run at any time. Many feature stories focus upon human interest elements or provide timely or practical advice.

Here are some possible feature ideas to consider:

• The history of scissors and the product's impact on the world.
• How to use scissors safely--instructions for beginners
• Scissors and their importance as a tool in the home or office
• A trend story about consumer preferences
• The proper care and storage of scissors and cutlery.
• Hobbies where scissors are important, e.g. scrapbooking, oragami paper cutting, etc.
• A seasonal story involving scissors, such as making Valentines or wrapping holiday gifts or using scissors as gifts
• The popularity of ordering products online, citing scissors as a product that particularly lends itself to online catalog sales (and mentioning ScissorsOnline as an example)
• An application story -- How scissors are used in different industries or a particular company, e.g. hairstyling, pet grooming.
• Scissors and their importance to teaching motor skills to young children.

For background, consult library or online sources--including books, magazines, trade articles and encyclopedias--to obtain generic information related to scissors. Do NOT draw exclusively from any easily identifiable source (particularly Wikipedia). Do not cite the background sources you use to collect basic facts or generally common (verfiable) information. Cite sources only if you quote them or must attribute opinion or facts to them.

Note:

• As possible, the news release and feature should complement each another. Specifically, the feature story should make at least one reference to one of the new products or or Scissors Online/Klein Cutlery. Another possibility might be to quote an expert about cutlery from the company.
• Both the news release and the feature story should follow the standard news release format discussed in class and be written in AP style.
• Avoid being overly commercial as well as language that makes your story sound like an advertisement.