The future press release
A sample Future Press Release for an imaginary AI company
Capturing early energy
Have you ever noticed how optimistic and enthusiastic we are at the start of a project? A feeling that the group is excited to solve a problem for users and will achieve something great by the end. In my experience, doing a Future Press Release captures this early energy and serves as an ambitious and positive guide. As the project stretches out, we might feel as though we’ve strayed off track or are losing momentum. Referring back to this shared vision can help us realign and be inspired again.
Setting a vision
Although it only takes an hour, the workshop allows the team to lay out their aspirations for the project. Working alone / together, each person writes out an ambitious press release for an imaginary date in the future. When everyone is finished writing, each author will get up and present their press release. As we listen to the different team members, something really important happens. Everyone gets to hear and share each other’s priorities and aspirations for the project. Whilst this can sometimes drum up conflicting opinions, this is exactly why we do this early in the project. If we have different expectations, the start of the project is the right time for this, not the end.
Adapted from Stanford HCI group
User first
As with all of my Design Thinking workshops, the user is at the centre. By focusing on the problem we are solving for the user and how they will benefit, it sets a precedence for subsequent workshops and strikes a balance between positive user outcomes and business objectives. We don’t want to get bogged down worrying about the technical or financial constraints at this stage, we are free to be ambitious and even a little idealistic.
Attendees
This is really for senior stakeholders only. Whilst I usually defer to the opinion that great ideas can come from anywhere, aligning on a vision for the service becomes increasingly harder the more voices you add. Choose people who know your service well and have a robust opinion about what it should be.
Workshop objective
Because the press release is set in the future, it frees up the team to be more optimistic and ambitious. Instead of asking ourselves direct siloed questions like:
Who is the target audience?
What problem do they need to solve?
How does the service solve the problem?
What other benefits does it bring?
High-level business objectives?
The press release style somehow makes it easier to stitch these answers together into a cohesive narrative. One that makes more sense than providing individual responses.
The 8 key sections that make up a successful Future Press Release
For more information on how Future Press Releases fit within the larger Design Thinking process, or to talk about your business, drop me a message or schedule some time for a free consultation.
