Here is a listing of mat release companies, in general order of size/market share. The assessments are pulled
from company websites, company literature, and comments from a direct and agency clients who have used multiple services.
Information was accurate at the time of posting, but do the proper due dilgence to assess the current situation. All of the
companies listed below have contacted us with a beef about one statement or another here, so consider
this a springboard for discussion, not the undisputed last word. One vendor repeatedly complained about being compared feature by feature
with competitors so has been removed from the listings.
This is the biggest and most expensive player in the arena, with its decades of experience leading to the largest client
list. Many companies have been using NAPS out of habit for 20 or 30 years, including some of the bluest of the blue chips
and the best-known associations. The company has been around since 1958. Unfortunately some of their story graphics
look like that's when they were designed. They have the biggest staff and the quickest turnaround, often getting stories out
the door in a matter of days. On the minus side, this can mean editing is minimal and many features are not
in AP style.
They guarantee 100 placements (25+ clips) for newspaper stories, 300+ station airings for news radio. No guarantee on
TV and Hispanic print features. Click here to contact
NAPS sales
The number two player in the industry has been around for about 20 years and offers a similar service to NAPS, generally
at a price that's about 10 to 15 percent lower. Their graphics are more contemporary and the company claims all features it
sends to editors are in AP style. Some clients report that they get more large market newspaper placements from this service
as a result, though of course total clippings will vary wildly from story to story with either service. They employ a smaller
editorial and support staff than NAPS and have a reputation for being more helpful in writing content, but slower on turnaround.
They distribute by more methods (4) than other services and clip reports are updated daily.
They guarantee 100 placements (25+ clips) for newspaper stories, 400+ station airings for news radio. No TV offering
and Hispanic print features do not come with a guarantee. Click here to e-mail
NewsUSA sales.
This is a division of Metro Creative Graphics, a company that specializes in providing tools to art directors and advertising
managers that will increase revenue at newspapers. They service editors too, but most of their features appear to be
placed by advertising people, not content editors. Placements often come from classified page pull-outs of newspapers
(including full tabloid pages) and are more likely to have some kind of advertising designation in the clipping. They do get
features into reputable papers now and then, including some top-100 newspapers, but some customers report that the overall
variety of clippings is more limited in scope than their competitors. Lead times are the longest in the industry (Sept. 10
for Christmas stories). The company has been around since 1910 and lays claim to beginning the whole mat release concept
in the 1930s. Metro now offers a placment guarantee on par with NAPS and NewsUSA. Broadcast services are offered
through partner Medialink and the company has a separate Hispanic release publication and site.
Click here to contact Metro Editorial sales
Most know PR Newswire as a press release distribution service and that makes up the vast majority of their business.
As a sideline they put out "feature stories" that are softer and more consumer-oriented than their standard press releases.
There is no guarantee, however, and placements are often equivalent to those of a press release--spotty and inconsistent.
Because of their newswire focus, releases from this vendor sometimes get faster pickup on timely stories, without as much
lead time.
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In general, expect to get mat release stories into a variety of newspapers and on various Internet sites. Some
provide news radio distribution and guarantee placement of short news scripts. Any service beyond that, such as Hispanic print
placement or TV placement will generally be less impressive and will probably not come with any kind of a guarantee.
Hispanic print distribution is attractively priced, so there's not much downside. For television VNRs (video news releases),
you are better off contacting a company that specializes in this service--to do it right costs far more than a mat
release campaign.
