Dos and don'ts

Some rules of thumb that you should take into account when timing the release of news about your company and its technology.

Do:

• Time a press release about a scientific publication so that it is in line with journal embargoes or press conferences at major scientific or medical congresses.
• Bear in mind that releasing your data to the press at a scientific meeting might compromise the novelty of your research if you are considering submitting it to a major scientific journal.
• Consider what other news-making events are going on at the time you are planning to release your news.
• Time releases about financial news after the end or before the start of the trading day (either in the United States or in the European Union), consistent with regulatory and legal obligations.

Don't:

• Issue a release after the close of the market on Friday, or before a holiday. Unfairly or not, this will be perceived as a weak attempt to conceal poor or unflattering news. (Of course, exceptions to this rule abound.)
• Time a release in the midst of a major scientific congress or high-profile investor conference at which you have no role (unless, of course, the timing is dictated by 'full disclosure' requirements). Such meetings are notorious for the 'noise level' they generate and it is usually wise to give them a wide berth, chronologically speaking.
• Release information about a deal before it has been definitively agreed to—no matter how confident either party might feel. More than a few companies have insisted on issuing a press release before the ink had dried on a contract, to their later chagrin.
• Release news without the full approval of a company's management team, spokespersons who are quoted therein, or strict legal and regulatory review.