Popular stories in the media often originate from a press release. Each month, we pick one of those popular announcements and distill down key PR lessons that you can immediately apply in your own business.

This month: A dizzying jumble of technical jargon spews from Huawei’s press release. Still, Huawei captures the media’s attention by tying in the artificial intelligence trend and through the implied conflict as it threatens Apple’s and Samsung’s dominance in the smartphone market.

What Works:

Strong News Hooks. The trend of integrating artificial intelligence, or AI, into so-called smart gadgets has gained popularity in recent years and Huawei reminded readers that they are a leader in the space, mentioning the terms AI or “intelligent” almost 40 times in their statement. It’s also human nature to support the underdog in any conflict, especially a race dominated by the big brands Apple and Samsung. The media jumped at the chance to showcase the race.

What Doesn’t Work:

Too Many Messages. Huawei’s press release was overloaded with technical jargon, features, and specifications. Despite drawing readers in with the AI trend, the first paragraph included confusing information about press events at two cities — Munich and Berlin. All but the most tech-savvy readers probably lost interest by the fourth of the dozen or so paragraphs of the press release.

What We’ve Learned: Capitalize on Your Strengths And Don’t Get Bogged Down by Jargon

Simply put, trends and conflict sell news. Huawei capitalized on this and showed that it is emerging as a possible serious contender in the smartphone market with its focus on AI.

If you have a lot of factual information about your product, don’t confuse or bore your readers with unnecessary, industry-specific technical details. Stick to the main points and keep them concise and simple. Huawei’s press release could have been improved by cutting out the jargon, making the announcement more reader-friendly, and directing readers, via a link, to its website.

Check out the Huawei announcement here and let me know in the comments section below why you think the media liked this story so much and what lessons you will likely apply in your next press release.

Alex Armitage is co-founder of Publiqly, whose step-by-step systems help small and medium-sized companies write press releases that journalists and bloggers can’t ignore. Were you forwarded this post? Sign up to receive our weekly press release lessons directly in your inbox.