Press release distribution review methodology: how services are admitted and scored

This protocol compares one exact UK-available service with the buyer's current manual route for one authorised England announcement. It does not review a brand in the abstract. Without a complete service dossier and a common controlled test, the only defensible verdict is HOLD.

An editorial check of the protocol took place on 6 September 2026. The reviewer is to be assigned. Official pages and blank evidence fields were examined, but no supplier account, contract, sales conversation, buyer record or hands-on test was available. There was no funding, affiliate relationship, gift, commission or client engagement.

What to take away

A verdict of HOLD is the only defensible outcome without a complete service dossier and a common controlled test.
Hard gates on authority, rights, evidence, privacy, accessibility, security and exit must pass before any preference scoring.
First-party pages support only attributed supplier statements, while testimonials remain selected accounts rather than controlled test results.
A passing verdict covers only the observed configuration and does not prove publication, readership or legal compliance.
Reopen the review on any change to entity, edition, endpoint, status, price, term, data flow or control.

Fix the subject and baseline

Record the buyer problem, source-copy unit, required route, intended endpoints, geography, timing, accessible formats, correction need and exit condition. Keep owned newsroom publication, manual outreach, technical transmission, paid placement, monitoring and independent editorial publication separate.

Baseline vs Paid Service

Manual baseline

Input: Same source copy
Criteria: Same acceptance
Evidence: Staff actions logged
Correction: Recorded
Cost fields: Recorded
Exit: Recorded

Paid service

Input: Same source copy
Criteria: Same acceptance
Evidence: Supplier claims logged
Correction: Recorded
Cost fields: Recorded
Exit: Recorded

The manual baseline uses the same input and acceptance criteria. It records staff actions, evidence, failure recovery, correction, cost fields and exit. It is a genuine option, not a weak comparator designed to make a purchase look better.

Admit candidates by exact identity

The candidate record needs the legal entity, trading name, exact edition or service, UK availability, contract date and evidence owner. GOV.UK's company information service can confirm displayed register facts such as address, incorporation date, officers and filings. It cannot establish service quality, suitability or financial health.

Admit or Reject Candidate

Is the contracting entity and exact edition unambiguous?

Yes

Admit and record identity, ownership and terms as recheck triggers

Reject admission; a parent page, reseller blurb or undated screenshot does not repair the gap

Reject admission if the contracting entity or edition is ambiguous. A parent-company page, reseller description or undated screenshot does not repair that gap. Record changes in identity, ownership or terms as recheck triggers.

Build the evidence ledger

For every criterion, capture the claim, URL or document ID, publisher, date, version, geography, evidence type, observation and limitation. First-party pages support only attributed supplier statements. Terms support their wording. Testimonials remain selected accounts and are not controlled test results.

The CMA's reviews and endorsements guidance addresses genuine, accurate and disclosed review material. This protocol records incentives and selection methods; it does not use ratings as a substitute for buyer evidence.

Intellectual Property Office ownership guidance shows why creation circumstances and written agreements matter, and CAP recognition rules require identifiable marketing and advertorials within the Code's remit. Those sources do not clear unseen material, and reviewers still assess the actual use.

Run hard gates before preferences

The unweighted gates cover source authority, rights, claim evidence, paid-content identification, privacy and PECR, accessibility, security, correction, export, deletion and exit. The ICO's controller and processor contract guidance supports checking instructions, confidentiality, subprocessors, assistance, security and end-of-contract terms where those roles apply. Its page is under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act, and roles remain fact-specific.

NCSC supplier assurance questions support asking who owns security, what incident and recovery evidence exists, and how independent assurance is obtained. A questionnaire answer is a lead for verification, not a pass by itself.

The ICO's business-to-business marketing guidance distinguishes channel and subscriber types and notes UK GDPR duties for personal-data processing; its review notice follows the Data (Use and Access) Act.

Each gate receives pass, fail or unresolved, plus evidence ID, owner, reviewer and expiry. Fail or unresolved means HOLD. No weighted score can compensate for it.

The table lists each gate and the evidence it must carry.

Gate	Evidence required
JOB	announcement, source-copy ID, decision owner, route, timing, manual baseline
ENTITY	legal entity, trading name, register details, edition, UK availability
SCOPE	separate newsroom, outreach, transmission, paid placement, monitoring, editorial
FACT	owner, source, approval and correction route per claim and quotation
RIGHTS	ownership or licence for copy, images, marks, territories, formats, editing, post-exit use
AD	paid or controlled placement, approved identifier, advertising review
DATA	source, provenance, purpose, roles, objections, suppression, retention, transfers, deletion
SEC	identities, least privilege, supplier access, incident notice, recovery, assurance, closure
EXPORT	status history, corrections, suppression evidence, required records
ACCESS	formats, users, assistive checks, alternative route, defects, acceptance owner
TEST	fictional or authorised fixture, checksum, test accounts, endpoints, clean-up
RECOVERY	account recovery, failed submission, correction, withdrawal, rollback
PRICE	currency, VAT, charging unit, period, minimum term, inclusions, overages, renewal
CONTRACT	parties, scope, endpoints, subcontractors, support, liability, continuity
EXIT	cancellation, export, transition to manual, data return, residual limits

A favourable price or claimed endpoint count cannot compensate for a failed gate.

Use one controlled fixture

The test uses fictional non-news content or an expressly authorised fixture. Send it only to documented test endpoints and accounts. Do not contact journalists, publish dummy news or imply a live campaign. Fix the input checksum, configuration, expected status transitions, output comparison, correction, export and clean-up before execution.

Log who performed each action, date, service version, observed state, evidence and deviation. A supplier-led demonstration and a buyer-run test are different evidence types. Untested claims remain untested.

The government's accessible communication formats guidance is written for public communications but helps buyers brief format needs early; it is not a supplier certification.

Score only buyer preferences

After all hard gates pass, the buyer may weight workflow fit, administration effort or contract preferences. The measure, unit, weight, threshold and rationale must be set before results are revealed. Keep all blanks visible when the buyer has not supplied them. Do not average incompatible units or convert unknown to zero.

The verdict names the service, job, evidence cutoff, tests actually run, limitations and expiry. Passing supports only the observed configuration. It does not prove publication, readership, editorial endorsement, business effect or legal compliance. Reopen on any entity, edition, endpoint, status, price, term, data-flow or control change, and recheck on publication day.

Before you act

Record the buyer problem, source-copy unit, route, endpoints and exit condition.
Confirm the legal entity, trading name and exact edition before admission.
Capture claim, URL, publisher, date, version, geography and limitation for each criterion.
Run the unweighted hard gates and mark each pass, fail or unresolved.
Use a fictional or expressly authorised fixture sent only to documented test endpoints.
Set preference weights, units and thresholds before results are revealed.

Common questions

What happens if a hard gate fails or stays unresolved?

The protocol states that fail or unresolved means HOLD, and no weighted score can compensate for it. Each gate receives pass, fail or unresolved, plus evidence ID, owner, reviewer and expiry. Preference scoring only begins after all hard gates pass.

Can a supplier-led demonstration count as a test result?

No. The text says a supplier-led demonstration and a buyer-run test are different evidence types, and untested claims remain untested. The controlled fixture must be sent only to documented test endpoints and accounts, with actions, dates, versions and deviations logged.

What does a passing verdict actually prove?

It supports only the observed configuration. It does not prove publication, readership, editorial endorsement, business effect or legal compliance. The verdict names the service, job, evidence cutoff, tests actually run, limitations and expiry, and reopens on any relevant change.