Mastering the art of media exclusives and knowing when not to offer one
Summary
Of course, the act of giving the news exclusively to one reporter or publication is an integral part of a good PR strategy and a great tactic to resort to in certain situations, which I discussed at length in my previous article. When you prepare for your first-ever media announcements, it gives you a chance to engage with key reporters and publications and initiate a relationship with them, which can contribute to your brand visibility down the line, regardless of whether you secure coverage. If for instance, you raise €1 million in seed funding, a good strategy is to share the news under embargo to a broad range of chosen publications, so that they become familiar with your brand and business. In a few months, you might go back to the same reporters with a larger round, or a product launch, and at that stage, you won’t be starting your media outreach from scratch, publications will already have some level of familiarity with your company. For example, when Apple unveils its new iPhone annually, the company knows it will secure coverage from the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, down to smaller hardware publications.