By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer
I think there must be a new piece of startup advice circulating among venture capitalists. Three different founders approached me this week with essentially the same request: they didn’t want a PR campaign. They wanted one legitimate media placement. And they all used the same terminology – they wanted to “reverse engineer” it.
Three unrelated founders making nearly the same request in one week makes me wonder whether someone in the VC ecosystem is telling startups that this is how they should approach public relations.
I understand the logic. Startups have limited budgets. Founders are constantly being told to preserve runway. One article in Forbes, Fortune or another recognizable publication seems like a discrete investment with a tangible result. Secure the logo, put it on the website, share the article with investors and customers, and move on.
There’s just one problem. Earned media doesn’t work that way.
Can a PR Firm Get a Startup One Story in Forbes or Fortune?
A legitimate PR firm can’t call Forbes and order an article, or reserve a Fortune story for next Thursday. That’s advertising.
Earned media requires an independent journalist or editor to decide that your company, data, founder or perspective deserves coverage. The fact that a founder wants Forbes doesn’t give Forbes a reason to want the founder.
This sounds obvious when you say it out loud, but the one-placement approach is built around the opposite assumption: We have selected the publication, so now let’s find a way to get into it. That’s backwards.
The first question should be: What is the story? Followed by – Why does it matter now? The outlet should emerge from the strategy. The strategy shouldn’t be reverse engineered around the logo you want on your website.
What Happens If Forbes Doesn’t Want Your Story?
Here is the part of your reverse engineering approach. You develop the pitch. You identify the reporter. You approach them. And the reporters aren’t interested. Now what?
If your objective was “Get into Forbes,” you’ve failed. The campaign is essentially over before it started.
A real PR strategy anticipates that possibility before the first pitch is ever sent.
Great PR Needs a Plan B and Plan C
When I was an Executive Producer at NBC and CBS in New York, stories didn’t make it onto the air simply because someone wanted them there. We evaluated whether they were interesting, timely, credible and relevant to our audience. Today, sitting on the PR side, I know that even a strong story isn’t guaranteed to interest every journalist.
That’s why I don’t believe in building a media strategy around one reporter, one publication or even one angle. If Plan A doesn’t resonate, what’s Plan B?
Maybe the national business story doesn’t interest Forbes, but proprietary company data creates an opening with a reporter covering the industry. Perhaps the founder isn’t the story yet, but a larger trend affecting the company’s customers is. Maybe a trade publication establishes the company’s expertise before a larger business publication takes notice. Or a breaking news event two weeks later suddenly makes the CEO’s experience relevant.
And if that doesn’t work, what’s Plan C?
This isn’t about randomly pitching more publications until somebody says yes. Plan B and Plan C should be different editorial routes into the company. That’s strategy.
One Media Placement Doesn’t Build Much of a Brand Anyway
Let’s assume the strategy works perfectly. You get the Forbes article. You share it on LinkedIn. Your employees repost it. You add the Forbes logo to your website. Maybe the sales team sends the article to prospects. All of that has value.
But six months later, if someone searches your company and that is the only credible independent article they find, what story does the broader market tell about your business?
One placement can provide credibility. A body of credible coverage can build a reputation. That’s an important distinction.
When different journalists independently cover a company over time, they begin establishing context around the brand. Search results change. Customers researching the company encounter third-party validation. Other reporters can see that the founder has previously contributed to legitimate stories. Investors see a company participating in larger industry conversations rather than simply promoting itself.
That’s how earned media compounds.
Startups Should Think About PR the Way They Think About Investing
I find the one-placement philosophy especially strange coming from the startup world because it contradicts how sophisticated investors approach risk. A venture capitalist doesn’t generally build an entire investment strategy around the assumption that one company must succeed.
They build a portfolio.
PR has a similar element of uncertainty. You can’t know with certainty which journalist will respond to which idea on which day. What you can do is improve the probability of success by developing multiple credible story angles, identifying the right journalists, understanding the news cycle and creating several legitimate pathways to coverage. PR Is About Creating Opportunities, Not Ordering Outcomes.
Quick PR Quote?
If you’re preparing for a product launch, funding round or growth phase, contact MACIAS PR to learn how strategic public relations can help accelerate your business goals. You can get a customized PR quote for your business or product launch from MACIAS PR by clicking here.
About Mark Macias
Mark Macias is the founder of MACIAS PR, an earned-media public relations agency specializing in media coverage, media relations and thought-leadership campaigns for healthcare, technology, AI and financial companies. Before founding MACIAS PR in 2009, Mark was an Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York, where he evaluated and approved story ideas. His newsroom experience now shapes the media strategies MACIAS PR uses to identify newsworthy angles and secure earned media coverage for clients.