But while the headlines might be dominated by bad news, the reality is that journalists are crying out for good news stories.

You just have to pitch it the right way – and to the right people.

SL Controls, the specialist software integration firm, was in the lucky position last month to have a number of good news stories to tell. And the national and regional media were only too happy to spread the news.

The company announced on March 1 that it was to create 50 new highly-skilled jobs over the next 18 months. However, many other companies were also announcing job hires around the same time so StoryLab’s aim was to get SL Controls’ story to stand out.

We did this by tying in another bit of positive news into their job announcement story. This was the fact that the company is now going to offer all staff – both existing and new – the opportunity, when restrictions allow, to work remotely or in the office or a blended hybrid of both.

This is obviously a topical issue as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic but it is also something that is very important to SL Controls as a strategic business decision. As they were the first company in the country to announce they would be formally offering this blended model of working, it sparked interest within the media.

The story generated huge media interest generating more than 50 pieces of coverage and an estimated reach of 2.2 million people. Some of the national news organisations that carried the story included RTE, the Irish Independent, the Irish Examiner, Silicon Republic, Business Plus, TechCentral.ie and The Sun. It also achieved widespread regional coverage in almost every county in Ireland.

SL Controls followed up a few weeks later with some more good news – the appointment of  former PM Group CEO Pat McGrath as Chair of its Board and John Scanlan as its new Director of Services.

Again the company proved that good news is always welcomed by journalists with the story achieving an extremely high volume of media coverage for an appointment announcement. The story ran in media outlets such as the Sunday Business Post, the Irish Examiner, the Engineers Journal, the Echo, the Sligo Weekender and the Sligo Champion.

It all goes to prove that good news does sell.

Let us help you tell your good news stories. Give us a call on +353 (0) 1 6853029.