German vs. American Press Release Style: 7 Key Differences

TL;DR — as of May 2026: A US-style release gets rejected in Germany for seven recurring reasons: superlatives, hype adjectives, first-person quotes, exclamation marks, vague claims, missing data, and over-long copy. German editors want neutral, factual, third-person prose with the 5 Ws up front.

A press release that crushes it in TechCrunch will get rejected by a German editor. The structure looks similar; the rules are very different.

Here are seven specific differences that decide whether your release runs or sits in the rejection queue.

1. No superlatives, ever

US: “The world’s most advanced AI platform” or “the leading solution for enterprise teams” is standard opening copy.

DE: Editors strike that sentence on first read. Superlatives without independent proof are flagged as advertising under German UWG (unfair competition law). German releases lead with facts and specific numbers — “The platform processes 12 million queries per day” beats “the most advanced platform” every time.

2. Quotes are concise and neutral

US: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be revolutionizing the way our customers…”

DE: “We see significant demand from German mid-market companies for X, especially in the Y segment.” Short, factual, attributed to a specific person with their full title. No emojis, no exclamation marks, no hyperbole.

3. Headline length is strict

US: Long, narrative headlines are common — sometimes 100+ characters.

DE: Maximum 80 characters. German editors auto-cut anything longer; portals truncate it in feeds. If your headline doesn’t fit in 80 characters, the news isn’t sharp enough yet.

4. The 5 Ws come first, always

US: Stories often open with a hook, an anecdote, a “did you know” question.

DE: The lead paragraph answers who, what, when, where, why — in that order. German readers (and editors) want the news in the first 30 words. Save the storytelling for the body.

5. Boilerplate goes at the end, not woven in

US: “About [Company]” can appear anywhere; some releases sprinkle company history throughout.

DE: A single dedicated boilerplate block (“Über die [Company]”) sits at the end, ~80 words, and never gets touched in the body. Including extra company-promo paragraphs in the body is a fast rejection.

6. No first-person plural

US: “We’re excited to announce…” is the default release opening.

DE: Press releases are written in third person. “[Company] today announced…” or “[Company] introduces…”. First-person language reads like a blog post and fails editorial review.

7. Trademark and legal aspects matter

US: Loose use of competitor names, comparative claims, customer logos — all common.

DE: Comparative advertising is restricted (UWG §6). Naming competitors negatively is risky. Customer logos require explicit written permission (and the release should mention it). Health claims (especially for supplements, cosmetics, B2B health-tech) must be substantiated.

How to adapt without losing the message

Take your existing US release and run it through this checklist:

1. Strip every superlative. Replace each with a number or a verifiable fact.
2. Cut the headline to 80 characters.
3. Re-order the lead. Front-load who, what, when, where, why.
4. Quote in third person. Have the spokesperson say something specific and neutral.
5. Move all company-history into the boilerplate. Single block at the end.
6. Re-translate after editing. A US-tone release machine-translated to German keeps the US tone. Edit the English first, then translate.

The result will feel less “exciting” to a US ear. To a German editor, it’ll feel publishable — which is the only sentiment that matters here.