“WE ARE STRONG BELIEVERS IN THE POWER OF THE AVON BRAND”: GENRE FEATURES OF INTERNATIONAL COSMETICS COMPANIES’ E-RELEASES

Abstract

Press releases have traditionally been defined as short, written texts sent to the news media by companies with a global aim of accumulating publicity capital and developing a positive corporate image. With the advent of the Internet, press releases have increasingly been posted on corporate websites, appearing as separate webpages in the companies’ virtual newsrooms. In this article, the overall format, move structures, prominent linguistic features, and novel functional characteristics of cosmetic companies’ electronic press releases are examined. The study is based on a two-stage procedure of analysis which reflects a bidimensional vision of Internet genres, as both media and texts. As the results show, e-releases generally preserve the organization typical of the press release genre, while at the same time displaying some new features, such as two additional moves and the use of self-evaluative, highly promotional, and sometimes even poetic language. Digital functionality is utilized differently by cosmetics companies, depending on how they use e-releases to promote their corporate image. The findings of the study can help to enhance and enrich university courses in public relations and business communications.