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<span id="hs_cos_wrapper_name" class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field hs_cos_wrapper_type_text" style="" data-hs-cos-general-type="meta_field" data-hs-cos-type="text" >HAVAS Red and H/Advisors Klareco forms strategic partnership in Singapore</span>

HAVAS Red and H/Advisors Klareco forms strategic partnership in Singapore

HAVAS Red and H/Advisors Klareco have launched a strategic joint venture in Singapore to deliver clients across Asia an integrated communications solution. This partnership looks to blend H/Advisors Klareco’s strategic advisory and public affairs strengths with HAVAS Red’s creative, social-first, and earned media capabilities as they address rising demand for cross-disciplinary communications.

As part of the partnership, Mark Worthington, Managing Director and Co-Founder of H/Advisors Klareco, takes on the additional role of Managing Director of Havas Red in Singapore, which will now incorporate the H/Advisors Klareco brand PR team. Mark will continue to drive the growth of H/Advisors Klareco alongside Co-Founder and CEO, Ang Shih Huei.

In an exclusive chat with Telum Media, Mark said, “Since we joined under the H/Advisors banner, what’s become very clear is that the full spectrum is really necessary. We’ve long had that, but when it gets to more creative, experiential work - what Havas calls ‘corpsumer’ - that sits beautifully with what HAVAS Red has been doing in Singapore.”

James Wright, Global CEO of HAVAS Red and Global Chairman of the HAVAS PR Network, sees the joint venture as a natural next step in the evolution of HAVAS’ global strategy - aligning two complementary networks under one roof.

“We started HAVAS Red as the global agency brand six years ago in three markets, and we’ve expanded to 20. Singapore was one of the first. What’s happening now is a reorganisation of our talent and capabilities within Singapore. Mark’s team at H/Advisors Klareco does more than the traditional services, so the talent that exists in that ‘corpsumer’ space becomes HAVAS Red,” he explained. “It’s awesome that clients can now come through one door and access both teams.”

When asked whether this integrated agency model will be the future of PR, both leaders pointed to evolving client expectations and the blurring of traditional boundaries between strategy and brand storytelling.

“The future is around moving on from the concept of earned media into the concept of earning the right to be part of people’s lives - in culture, in conversation, in trust,” said James. “There’s a real appetite for brands to find smarter, more creative ways to tell their stories that fit with culture, even in moments of crisis.”

“It used to be that strategic advisory was the suit guys and creative was the hip guys in t-shirts. Now it’s all one experience,” he furthered. “Our model is about putting the client problem at the centre and surrounding it with all our capabilities - creative, tech, issues, content, strategy - that’s a real point of difference for us.”

Mark added that the collaborative model is already showing promise. “We want to put the client’s issue at the centre - not a templated approach. We do everything, and we will find the best solution - the most efficient, the most creative, the most impactful,” he said.

“There’s a real will to collaborate - not just within Singapore, but across Asia. It’s a very exciting time for everything HAVAS can offer.”

(Pictured L-R: Mark Worthington and James Wright)
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Are media releases dead? What 10,000 journalists told us they want from PR Teams in 2026

Every few years, someone declares the death of the media release.

Today, the arguments sound familiar. Journalists don't read them anymore. Everything is social-first. AI is replacing traditional media outreach. It's all about the pitch. Press releases are becoming little more than AI-generated filler.

And yet, when we speak with journalists across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, a different picture emerges.

Media releases aren't dead, but expectations around them have changed significantly.

We've analysed more than 10,000 Journalist Interest Survey responses in the Telum Media platform collected over the past five years, alongside insights gathered from conversations with editors, reporters, and producers across the region.

Key takeaways:

  1. Journalists still value useful PR content
  2. Relevance matters more than reach
  3. The pitch and the release serve different roles
  4. The best releases reduce friction for journalists
  5. Modern releases need to support multiple platforms

The conclusion is clear: journalists still value media releases, but they value them for different reasons than they once did.

The media release has evolved from a distribution tool into something far more strategic.

The media release is no longer the story

For decades, many PR professionals treated the media release as the centrepiece of media relations activity.

Write the release. Send it widely. Hope for coverage - “spray and pray”.

That approach was far from perfect, but you could get away with it in an era when newsrooms were larger, competition for attention was lower, and journalists had more time to evaluate incoming information.

Today's reality is very different.

Journalists are producing content across multiple platforms, often with smaller teams and tighter deadlines. Their inboxes are flooded with pitches, announcements, thought leadership submissions, and increasingly, AI-generated content.

As a result, journalists have become far more selective about what earns their attention.

The modern media release is no longer just about news stories. It has become a source-of-truth asset, a newsroom resource, and a content hub that supports broader communications activity.

The best PR teams understand this shift.

“The strongest message from journalists can be summarised in a single phrase: ‘Understand what I cover’. Relevance remains the most important factor in successful media engagement.”

What journalists are actually rejecting

One of the most revealing findings from our analysis is that journalists are not rejecting PR content altogether.

What they're rejecting is low-value outreach.

Across thousands of responses, the same frustrations appeared repeatedly:

    • Irrelevant pitches
    • Generic outreach
    • Mass distribution
    • Weak story angles
    • Excessive follow-ups

In other words, this is less a rejection of media releases and more a rejection of poor media relations practice.

The strongest message from journalists can be summarised in a single phrase:

"Understand what I cover."

Relevance remains the most important factor in successful media engagement. In fact, our journalist surveys over the past two years have seen a sharp increase in a desire for both relevance and personalisation in pitches.

Journalists increasingly assess pitches within seconds. If the connection to their beat, audience, or current priorities isn't immediately obvious, the opportunity is often lost before the email is even opened.

The pitch and the release have different jobs

One of the biggest misconceptions in modern media relations is treating the pitch and the release as the same thing.

They are not.

The pitch exists to earn attention; the release exists to support the story.

The best pitches are:

    • Brief
    • Human
    • Relevant
    • Contextual
    • Conversational

The best releases are:

    • Structured
    • Factual
    • Complete
    • Reusable
    • Easy to reference

At a recent Telum Media event, a senior journalist described the fastest way to kill a pitch with a single word: “Respect”. Or a lack thereof.

A generic greeting. A story unrelated to their beat. A mass-produced email that demonstrates no understanding of their audience.

All signal a lack of respect for the journalist's time and expertise.

High-performing PR teams increasingly write pitches and releases for different audiences. The pitch is written for the journalist. The release is written for the journalist's audience.

That distinction matters.

Why journalists still value media releases

Despite predictions of their demise, journalists continue to actively request media releases.

But they want releases that help them work more efficiently.

The most common requests include concise writing, clear headlines, strong news angles, supporting data (with downloadable images and assets), spokesperson access, and easy-to-use formats.

These preferences reveal the modern role of the release: it functions as a workflow tool.

A strong release helps journalists:

    • Understand the story quickly
    • Verify information
    • Access supporting materials
    • Build content efficiently

The best releases reduce friction. And in today's newsroom environment, reducing friction is often more valuable than generating hype.

Think beyond media coverage

Another major shift is that media releases are increasingly serving multiple audiences.

A modern release doesn’t just support journalists; it might also support clients and prospects, employees, investors and analysts, partners, and search visibility.

Rather than creating a single-use document, leading communications teams are building content ecosystems.

The release becomes the foundation for:

    • Media outreach
    • Newsroom content
    • Executive communications
    • Social media content
    • Email campaigns
    • Sales collateral
    • Thought leadership activity

This approach not only improves consistency but also increases the return on investment from every announcement.

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The role of the modern media release

 

Not every story needs a release

Perhaps one of the most important lessons is recognising when a media release is the wrong tool.

Releases tend to perform best when there is:

    • Genuine news value
    • Multiple stakeholder audiences
    • A need for factual consistency
    • Strong supporting assets
    • Broader business significance

They are often less effective for internal milestones framed as major news (or self-congratulatory announcements), generic thought leadership, and untargeted mass outreach.

In some situations, a targeted pitch, LinkedIn strategy, executive commentary programme, or direct relationship-based outreach may be more effective.

Good communications strategy isn't about defaulting to a media release; it's about choosing the right tool for the objective.

A framework for modern media releases

If there is one word that captures what journalists are asking for today, it is respect.

At Telum Media, we summarise this through the RESPECT framework:

R – Relevance
Make it relevant to the journalist, their audience and the moment.

E – Efficiency
Help journalists work faster through clear, concise, and usable content.

S – Substance
Provide genuine value through expertise, data, insight, or access.

P – Personalisation
Demonstrate that you've done your homework.

E – Ecosystem
Think beyond the release and consider how it supports broader communications goals.

C – Clarity
Make the key message immediately obvious.

T – Timing
Reach out at the right time, not simply any time.

Media Releases - RESPECT

What journalists are asking for in a pitch / media release: RESPECT

 

The future of the media release

The debate over whether media releases are dead misses the point.

The more useful question is how do we make releases work better in today’s media environment?

Journalists still value relevant information, credible sources, strong story angles, and efficient communication. Media releases continue to play an important role in delivering those things.

But success today depends less on the existence of the release itself and more on how strategically it is used.

The media release remains a valuable communications tool.

Just not in the way many of us were taught to use it.

 

FAQs

Are media releases still useful in 2026?

Yes. Journalists still value media releases, but these days want targeted outreach, relevance to their beat, alignment with their audience, and contextual pitching.

What makes a media release useful to journalists?

Journalists are looking for releases in a format that helps them work efficiently. Which means releases that are concise, factual, with a clear angle, contain usable quotes, and come with downloadable assets and supporting data.

What is the difference between a pitch and a media release?

A pitch earns the journalist’s attention in their cluttered Inbox. A media release supports the story by providing structured, factual, and reusable information relevant to their audience.

 

With more than 30 years’ experience spanning journalism, corporate communications and media intelligence, Reuben Aitchison is Telum Media’s Head of Insights and Communications.

Explore Telum Media tools that help PR teams pitch with precision. 

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