Resource Topics: B2B SaaS PR

PR to Reach a Product Led Growth and Developer Audience

Product-led growth (PLG) models have exploded into the SaaS industry, with tech brands like Slack, Airtable and Calendly becoming critical components of our new hybrid working environment. Defined by Openview Partners, who coined the term, PLG is an end user-focused growth model that relies on the product itself as the primary driver of customer acquisition, conversion and expansion. It’s no surprise, then, that PLG brands make up over half of the companies on the 2021 Cloud 100 list.

Developers are the backbone of this model, as these pros build, ship out and improve upon the platforms we use every day. As a marketer or PR professional, if you’re looking to reach developers, you’ll need to keep PLG’s tenets in mind to convince and convert this savvy (and skeptical!) audience. 

Skip the buzzwords and go straight to the results 

Software developers are experts. They’re deep into the complexities of their own software and will undoubtedly be aware of the challenges and opportunities available to others in their field. 

If marketers are building external copy for a dev audience, take a red pen to any mention of buzzwords like world’s first, unprecedented, life-changing, or new paradigm. We’ve all seen late-night infomercials make outrageous promises. The importance of avoiding this dials up to a ten for developers. 


Instead, author Adam DuVander told TechCrunch how successful messaging to developers includes, “clear documentation, help getting started and use cases to spark creativity.” The quicker we are to the point, the faster devs will dive in and tinker. 

This means one of the common aspects of PR strategies today, contributed thought-leader content, might not be the best approach to getting in front of your developer audience. These types of pieces might be too wordy or read as promotional. 


But I’m not saying devs don’t want to hear your thought leader’s perspective. We need to reevaluate where the messaging is going. 

Involve yourself in the (real) community 

Look beyond the go-to channels to find your dev audience.

Press release wires have their own value, but issuing through PRNewswire and sharing a post on LinkedIn isn’t going to be enough to drive engagement. We’re not talking about underground, Matrix-style hubs, but whether on Twitter, in subreddits, Stack Overflow or DZone communities and Discord channels, you’ve got to dig deep into these communities to understand the day-to-day. This is where you should start having conversations. 


And, once you’ve found your niche, your SME’s own voice won’t be enough to check the box. To alleviate any concerns about messaging being overly promotional, put your own customer use cases front and center and have them speak candidly.

This could look like coordinating a webinar where your core buyer sees and hears their problems unfold from the experience of another. You could also tap your customers for media opportunities where they talk about the best practices and tools, like your own tech, that help them do great work. Do this time and time again, though, as your dev audience is going to need proof.

Take the feedback in stride


If you’re a PLG company trying to reach developers, you already recognize the value of feedback on the path to improvement. But, it’s easy to forget this mindset if your team gets negative feedback. Celebrate that as a win too.

Be mindful of what worked and what didn’t: Was the use case clear, or did we offer value? Are we engaging in the right channel? Do we have a community of partners who can help us educate and amplify the initiative? 

And, like a developer does, it’s time to move forward and improve. 
Want to know how BLASTmedia can help you determine your product-led growth PR strategy? Contact Lindsey Groepper for more details!

SaaS Acquisition News: 3 PR Strategies to Consider

Acquisitions are an exciting, yet uncertain, time for any SaaS company. They often involve complex transitions focused on aligning internal and external messaging to tell a cohesive brand story. Used correctly, PR serves as a critical tool for bridging the gap to a successful acquisition announcement, amplifying the news to new investors, stakeholders and customers. 

Given ample time to prepare for the announcement, your PR team can develop an effective PR strategy around your goals. For example, suppose you’re interested in getting in the room with investors. In that case, the team may focus on earning top-tier coverage. Or, if you’d like to reach prospective customers, they may target trade outlets to highlight your growth plans.

Whatever the agreed-upon strategy might be, your PR team will offer recommendations on whether to pitch the news as an exclusive, share under embargo ahead of the announcement, or execute day-of pitching. 

Here’s a closer look at three strategies for announcing an acquisition and the challenges and benefits accompanying them:

Offering an Exclusive

Why pitch the news as an exclusive? You’ve been working for months to finalize the acquisition details, so what’s the upside to offering a single reporter the opportunity to break the story? “Exclusive” is an enticing word for publications — this strategy allows your team to attract interest from a top-tier or national outlet while controlling the messaging.

On the other hand, an exclusive may reduce the likelihood of other top-tier publications covering the announcement and impact the total coverage due to a lack of early access. 

Pitching Under Embargo

While an exclusive targets one media contact, embargo pitching refers to sharing the news with several reporters before the announcement date. Within an embargoed pitch, your PR team should only include enough information to entice reporters to request an interview or additional details and commit to an embargo date — the date when the acquisition announcement will be made public.

While the rule of thumb for embargo pitching is 48-72 hours ahead of the announcement, this timeline can be extended to a week or more depending on the target outlets and if your team offers an exclusive first. 

Embargo pitching can garner more media coverage in the long run, providing reporters with the time needed to conduct interviews and gather outside information to run a story. But you run the risk of a publication breaking the embargo, so it’s important to consider the implications of pursuing this strategy. 

Executing Day-Of Pitching

Regardless of your acquisition announcement’s goals, day-of pitching should be a part of your PR team’s strategy. A day-of pitch is shared at the same time you issue your announcement and should include everything a reporter needs to cover the news. These pitches may result in an interview request, a posting of your announcement press release, or a feature or mention in the publication.

The good thing about day-of pitching is your PR team can control the timing and message around the announcement, but reporters might not cover the news due to time constraints or other editorial obligations. 

Well, it’s finally game time. Your PR team is ready to execute a winning PR strategy around the announcement of your acquisition of another company.

As the team schedules interviews, prepares briefing sheets for your spokespeople, and monitors and shares coverage, make sure to align your internal team with talking points and encourage them to share the news on social media. 

Want to know more about the strategies driving your acquisition announcement? Check out our ebook on how to use PR to control and propel the message surrounding your acquisition of another company.

Securing Coverage in The Wall Street Journal

With more than two million subscribers and 12 million monthly website visitors, the 131-year-old The Wall Street Journal consistently ranks as one of the top media outlets in the world. As the pre-eminent American business newspaper (not to mention its significant, complementary digital presence), companies in every industry covet Journal coverage.

While brands like Apple, Google, Oracle and Tesla are frequent recipients of attention from editors, name recognition isn’t a prerequisite for getting mentioned in The Wall Street Journal — something BLASTmedia has consistently demonstrated for our clients.

As a B2B SaaS PR agency, we have our fair share of clients with eyes set on Journal coverage, among other national publications. This is true for those actively fundraising or gearing up for a public offering (for obvious reasons), as well as those who wish to raise their profile within highly competitive spaces and leverage Journal coverage for greater attention and leads.

If your company aims to get mentioned in The Wall Street Journal, here are things to keep in mind.

It’s a Courtship, Not a Full-Court Press

Patience will be your best companion on the road to the Journal. It’ll take some time to build a relationship with an editor who covers your industry. Is it possible to get a Journal editor’s attention on your first try? Sure. Anything’s possible. People do win the lottery, after all. But is it likely? Not at all.

Journal staff are at the top of their game, and they have the luxury of being particularly choosy about their sources. If you want to be one of those sources, you had better demonstrate knowledge of who covers what and why. Don’t expect to get a response most of the time. This is the long game. Your job is to be helpful to them, not the other way around.

Know of a great industry story no one is covering? Pass it along. It doesn’t matter if it’s not about your company. A source that can only offer one kind of story isn’t much of a source at all, and the Journal isn’t interested in covering a story just because someone else is covering it.

Keep at it, and once you’ve caught an editor’s interest, prepare for several conversations. It’s not uncommon for a Journal editor (incidentally, this is the case with other top publications like The New York Times, too) to spend a phone call or two simply getting to know the company and whomever you’re positioning as a spokesperson. These calls will almost certainly be on the record but are more akin to background research for the actual interview. Essentially, the editor needs to suss out whether or not there’s a Journal-worthy perspective.

This was certainly the case with BLASTmedia client Credly, which spoke with editor Douglas Belkin three times before being included in the Journal’s coverage of higher education during the pandemic, a placement that continues to draw attention to Credly months after publication.

How would you want to be treated?

While you’re doing your due diligence and demonstrating an aptitude for Journal editors’ beats and interests, make sure you don’t shoot yourself in the foot by treating them like, well, just typical journalists. They’re not. Top of their game, remember?

Resist the temptation to BCC or mail-merge them along with however-many other contacts. This will completely defeat the purpose of the time you’ve invested in crafting the right approach to the right editor. Take the time to contact them individually. The potential payoff is worth the extra effort.

And, please, don’t be cute. Unless you have a relationship with the editor, steer clear of the personal commentary. They may have tweeted about how much they liked the WandaVision finale; it doesn’t mean they want to read about it in an email from you.

Don’t take my word for it. As the Journal’s Ann-Marie Alcantara said last year: “Doing all the tricks people do on your inbox, like putting something personal on this. Please don’t. It’s not a good time. And we all have limited time. Don’t mess with my time that way. It’s usually always a pitch that’s unrelated to my beat, and they’re just trying to catch my attention, and I don’t appreciate it because it’s like, you didn’t even pitch me something relevant to what I’m reporting on, and now you made me hate whatever I supposedly liked in the subject.”

Ouch.

Bring Your Data — and Your Friends

If you’re not sure if you have a story to bring to the Journal’s attention, consider what kind of data you can talk about and which customer relationships you can leverage. The Wall Street Journal loves a good data story, but your internal metrics won’t cut it. (The Journal isn’t the right target for a momentum release.) You’ll need data from analysts or academics, or from a study you’ve commissioned from a well-known research firm.

If you do have compelling data that’s paired with a noteworthy stance — let’s say, something that runs counter to a prevailing industry narrative or a shot across the bow of a big, entrenched player in your space — you might be onto something. Presumably, your company has something to say about what sets it apart. Get credible data to back up your position, and use it to your advantage.

Another way BLASTmedia has had success with the Journal is by bringing in a client’s high-profile customers to help tell the story. While our client Moogsoft may not be a household name across the consumer space, their customers American Airlines and Fannie Mae sure are. By leveraging that name recognition, we earned two prominent pieces of Journal coverage for Moogsoft and its intelligent observability platform. 

With rare exception, the Wall Street Journal won’t cover your company for routine news, product announcements and modest growth. Being able to offer surprising data, tangible (not potential) results or support from high-profile customers will go a long way toward securing an editor’s interest.

If you’re in B2B SaaS and the Journal is a media target for your company, the process might feel a bit daunting. Remember, it’s going to take time and effort. If you’re on your own or your current agency isn’t pushing you to unearth better data, sharper points of view and stories from your best-known customers, BLASTmedia can help. Contact Lindsey Groepper to learn more about how we approach media relations with publications like The Wall Street Journal and hundreds of others.

How AI Application is Impacting the Future of IT

According to a 2020 survey by Tata Consulting Services, in 12 out of the 13 major industry verticals, IT is the most frequent user of AI and more than 46% of IT organizations at large corporations have incorporated AI into their work portfolios.

Just like any type of technology, AI comes with its own risks. However, as AI continues to evolve and expand, circumstances like the pandemic have made the benefits clear in the world of IT. 

How are the applications of AI currently poised to impact the future of IT? Thought leaders from Moogsoft and InterVision provide insights on how AI applications are already allowing IT teams to increase effectiveness and add business value:  

AI in a Self-Healing IT Infrastructure

Imagine you’re running late and sprinting through a busy airport to catch a plane. Your heart rate has dramatically increased and when you get settled on the plane, it won’t go back to its normal rate. This soon could turn into a fatal problem. In this instance, the body should be trained to heal on its own and get back to its normal rate. In this way, the body is similar to a self-healing IT infrastructure, which allows IT teams to quickly get back on track by fixing issues before they become a million-dollar problem.

When a system shuts down due to software malfunction for an extended amount of time, that company loses an average of $301,000-$400,000 per hour. IT and DevOps practitioners, now more than ever, must do whatever they can to keep systems up and running and stay under budget. The pressure is on, but if they don’t have access to the proper tools and technology, this makes their job extremely difficult. Through automating the incident management process, a self-healing IT infrastructure allows IT professionals to boost their productivity and focus on building new products and developments which in return will increase revenue.

“The idea of a self-healing IT infrastructure doesn’t have to be a distant vision,” explained Adam Frank, VP of Product and Design at Moogsoft in a recent piece for DevOps.com. “In fact, the democratization of cloud computing and advanced data science has put the required observability technology within reach of teams of any size with any budget.” 

In the article, Frank goes on to explain the biggest advantage of using AI in IT: it allows developers to operate less and innovate more. IT teams, just like the rest of us, have faced many challenges this past year. The more that can be taken off their plate, the more effectively they can do their job. A self-healing infrastructure is a prime example of AI opening endless doors for the IT industry.

AI in Data Cloud Management

Another way AI is positioned to make IT teams more effective is the use of this technology in data cloud management.

“Data intelligence, or the use of data to glean useful information, allows a business to both increase revenue and their position in the market,” explained Jeff Ton, Strategic IT Advisor at InterVision, in a bylined article for InformationWeek. “But the continual multiplication of data and its sources are making an already substantial challenge even more laborious. [The] emphasis on data is where artificial intelligence (AI) can play an especially useful role.”

Ton goes on to explain how AI can accelerate business time to value. “By leveraging the cloud and AI for the storage, collection and analysis of data, a business can monetize information in a fast, effective manner. The cloud is perfectly positioned to assist organizations in AI because of its unique ability to provide businesses with flexibility, agility, scalability and speed that other models of infrastructure simply can’t achieve at the same level. If the core of a business isn’t managing a data center, then the cloud is all the more appealing, since it allows IT teams to focus on the value-driving projects that will truly make a difference for employees and customers. AI is one of many innovations to get there, and the cloud is the foundation upon which to enable AI to do its work.” 


The use of artificial intelligence within the IT sector and other industries is only going to grow with the global value of the AI market expected to surpass $89 billion annually by 2025. Want to join the conversation around the future of artificial intelligence? Contact Lindsey Groepper at BLASTmedia to find out how our team can help!

SaaS Marketing Perspectives: Bradley Davis, CEO of Podchaser

Whether it’s true crime, catching up on the latest news, or taking advice from your favorite self-help advocate, there is a podcast for everything. In fact, as of February 2021, there are more than 1.7 million podcasts. As our clients dive deeper into podcasts, either hosting or playing a guest role, I wanted to connect with someone who knows the ins and outs of podcasts. That’s why for our next SaaS Marketing Perspectives I connected with Bradley Davis, co-founder, and CEO of Podchaser. Bradley talks about the value of podcasts, recommendations on what to look out for when creating a podcast or being featured on a podcast, and shares his ultimate dream to be Jeff Probst, host of Survivor. 

KATIE: In a few sentences, what is Podchaser?

BRADLEY: Podchaser is a podcast database that aggregates all the fragmented data in the industry in one spot. 

KATIE: What value do podcasts bring to companies? Which would you recommend first for a business: starting its own podcast or working to be a guest on other podcasts? 

BRADLEY: Podcasts are a unique opportunity to let ideas breathe for 30+ minutes. This allows for a company to show off its brand and image with unprecedented depth. I definitely recommend being a guest on other podcasts first, it is a much lower barrier to entry and is a good way to test the medium. 

KATIE: If a company is thinking about creating its own podcast, what are some things they should keep in mind?

BRADLEY: There is generally a direct correlation between time/effort invested and success of a podcast. There are nearly 2 million podcasts out there, so creating one people want to listen to requires excellent content. I think it’s also important to have a solid idea of why you are creating a podcast. If it’s to sell x widgets, it likely won’t work. If it’s to sell a brand or vision to then sell x widgets, it may work really well. 

KATIE: Do you have any recommendations on what businesses should look for when evaluating whether or not to participate in a podcast (as a guest)?

BRADLEY: To get the plug out of the way, our Pro tools allow you to examine reach, listener demographics, and chart position for all podcasts, so this is the most efficient way to evaluate an opportunity. However, pure reach isn’t the only thing to evaluate. Depending on the initiative, a podcast with 200 listeners that is targeted to your exact goals could be a better opportunity than a podcast with 2,000 listeners that is less targeted. It’s also handy to use Podchaser’s credits system to look at past guests to see if you are aligning with the right cluster. 

KATIE: What metrics are currently available for podcasters? Are these metrics public or easily accessible?

BRADLEY: There are many metrics available to podcasters. Generally, a podcaster’s hosting platform is a great place to start. Additionally, there are analytics tools like Chartable that can be useful. These metrics are not publicly available but are easy to access for the podcaster.

KATIE: Outside of listenership, are there other metrics companies should consider before going on a podcast?

BRADLEY: It can be useful to look at a podcast’s social media following (though this can be tricky, since some podcasts buy followers, so look out for engagement). 

KATIE: How can podcast owners use these metrics to create better content? 

BRADLEY: It’s good to focus on drop-off rate so you can experiment with changing up the format of the show to potentially retain listeners. 

KATIE: We’ve seen a couple of thought leaders in the B2B space start leveraging Patreon to share unique content with listeners. Is this something you foresee continuing in the future? 

BRADLEY: Yes, I think tools like Supercast and Glow that are more specific to the podcast format will continue to grow. However, I think these are more intended for a mature podcast with a hungry audience. In general, I think subscriptions will increase as ads decrease in podcasting.

KATIE: Do you expect marketing teams will invest more into podcasting into 2021 and beyond? Why/why not? 

BRADLEY: For sure. It’s such an efficient means to accomplish branding and advertising goals. The only thing limiting spend is tools available from the industry, but there are plenty of smart people building those tools. 

KATIE: What’s your dream job outside of software (dolphin trainer, lead guitarist in a rock band, etc.)? 

BRADLEY: I honestly just want to be Jeff Probst. 

Interested in hearing from other marketing leaders in SaaS? Check out the SaaS Half Full Podcast where BLASTmedia President Lindsey Groepper takes a deep dive into the strategies behind companies like Zendesk, Sprout Social and Moz.  

5 Awards B2B SaaS Companies Can Use to Showcase Company Culture

The best SaaS companies are redefining what it means to be a top workplace by showing that they invest in their people. Awards opportunities focused on company culture can help showcase those efforts. 

Winning a company culture award can help SaaS companies differentiate themselves from others in the market — both when it comes to hiring new talent and engaging current employees.

Awards focused on company culture can help attract talent researching a new place to work. Being acknowledged for your culture also helps elevate fears hires potentially have about the company. When companies are recognized with company culture awards, it attracts better job candidates.  

Awards that highlight your company culture can also help with retention. Depending on the award, the application process can allow employees, who might not otherwise have the chance, to share their experience. The application process can also sometimes provide new hires the opportunity to learn more about your company. When SaaS companies win culture-focused awards, it gives your organization something to celebrate. These types of awards can contribute to a sense of pride and can even provide a morale boost.  

Interested in using your company’s award program to support recruiting and retention efforts? Here’s a look at a few company culture awards we recommend considering.

1. Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators – Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators celebrates company cultures that empower employees at all levels to improve processes, create new products, or invent new ways of doing business. This award is an international award that is open to companies worldwide. The deadline is fastly approaching! To be considered for this award, you must complete all requirements by February 26, 2021.

2. Top Workplaces – Top Workplaces includes a number of national award programs including culture excellence awards. Top Workplaces is associated with 50+ media outlets — including The Washington Post, Dallas Morning News and Chicago Tribune — that receive advance access to the list of winners for a chance to publish the lists in print and online.

3. Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For – Conducted by Great Place to Work, the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list provide companies around the world with the opportunity to be recognized as a great company to work for. This award is open to companies located within the U.S. with at least ten part-time/full-time employees. Applications for this award are not yet available for 2020, but the submission deadline is typically in the fall. We recommend checking the website in June for updates. 

4. Inc. Best Workplaces Award – The Inc. Best Workplaces Award celebrates companies who love what they do, whether that be in an office or remote location. In order to be considered for Inc. Best Workplace, you must be located in the U.S. with at least ten employees, and have been in business for at least two years. The award submission period is closed for 2021, but expect to see this award re-open in December 2021 for the next calendar year.

5. Powderkeg Tech Culture Awards – Powderkeg’s Tech Culture Awards provide SaaS companies worldwide the opportunity to share what makes their culture unique, earn national recognition and attract even more top talent. Applications for this award are not yet available, but the submission deadline is typically in the fall. 

Interested in building an award program to support your hiring and talent retention efforts? Contact Lindsey Groepper to learn more about BLASTmedia’s award services.

Turning Emerging Trends Into PR Coverage: Trendjacking

There are many ways to win through reactive pitching, including researching and reacting to a breaking or developing industry news story, or even to specific competitor news. But, what if there aren’t any industry-related announcements? 

Even if there isn’t news, there are always trends, especially in the fast-moving, constantly-changing field of SaaS. “Trends” is a broad term used to describe topics being discussed by significant industry stakeholders, including your customers or prospects, or subject matter consistently receiving coverage from media. A vertically broad, present-day example of a trend is sustaining a culture and supporting effective task workflow while entire businesses work remotely. 

After identifying a trend, trendjacking comes into play. Trendjacking — providing commentary or insights from an industry thought leader on emerging trends — enhances your thought leader’s prominence in the field. Generating thought leadership coverage on rising trends also showcases your spokesperson or company’s expertise on the topic — enticing potential stakeholders. 

Receiving coverage via trendjacking is incredibly beneficial for brand awareness but is a difficult PR strategy to implement. A lot has to fall into place to run a successful campaign. Here’s what you need to achieve results and turn an emerging trend into PR coverage:  

Preparation, Research and Timing 

Preparation, research and timing are always crucial when conducting media outreach as they’re a successful campaign’s foundational elements. But, when trendjacking, those special PR ingredients need even more emphasis. 

As PR professionals, we should already know the ins and outs of our clients’ businesses, their opinions on specific market trends and topics, and their spokespeople’s interests and voices. This gives us the knowledge to monitor and research pertinent trending topics, identify potential media opportunities and respond accordingly. 

In SaaS PR, trends move fast. If you don’t capitalize right away, you’ve missed your opportunity — and, most likely, a competitor has taken advantage instead. Timing is everything: you need to be equipped to capitalize on identified trends and talking points before they arise, then mobilize quickly when they finally surface. To ensure a fast-moving process, prepare drafted and approved quotes and relevant company data to lend insights on trends and topics. You’ll have attractive materials ready to pitch at a moment’s notice. 

Take a Bold Stance 

When commenting on an ongoing trend, be bold. Quotes or insights from thought leaders should take a real stance or convey something different than what’s already been published. Repeating common knowledge or the same information a competitor said won’t get a reporter’s attention. Thought leaders must cut through the noise with a statement worth exploring. 

Other ways to stand out and be bold include insightful survey, customer or software data as well as customer stories related to the emerging trend. Like a quote from a thought leader, the data must be insightful or contrarian to what’s already out there. 

When referencing customer stories in relation to a specific trend, you need to highlight what makes the story special. Anecdotal evidence adds value to a reporter’s story and may provide helpful insight into posed questions about the topic. Thought leadership quotes, customer stories and data help a media target connect the dots between your product, your expertise and the overall industry trend. 

Media Targets

A common mistake PR professionals make when reactive pitching is focusing on members of the media who’ve already covered the topic. Why would the same reporter write about 5G’s impact on telemedicine two separate times? They most likely wouldn’t. 

Instead, pick publications and reporters who have yet to cover the specific trend but do cover the overall topic or industry. Using the same 5G and telemedicine example, research those who cover consumer, enterprise or general technology as well as healthcare and healthcare technology. A wide range of reporters may potentially cover the emerging trend, but make sure they haven’t specifically written about it already. 

Does trendjacking sound like a necessary strategy for your SaaS brand? Check out “The Reactive PR Playbook for SaaS Brands” to see your next steps.

Industries Poised to Seek Growth with Machine Learning in 2021

According to a 2020 Refinitiv AI/ML Survey, 72% of respondents — including data scientists, quantitative analysts, technology and data decision-makers — say that artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities are a core component of their business strategy and 80% reported making significant investments in AI and ML technologies. Industries like security, finance and advertising are no stranger to the benefits and possibilities within machine learning. In fact, since it was originally created in 1952, organizations have been fine-tuning machine learning capabilities to correspond with their needs. Whether that task was detecting fraudulent activity or predicting the impact of an upcoming advertising campaign, machine learning has been shown to greatly improve accuracy and efficiency while decreasing human error.

It is true that some industries aren’t prepared to fully buy-in to machine learning yet. Areas of business subject to interpretation, such as language translation, still need the perspective and attention of a human. Adrian Cohn, Head of Marketing at Smartling — a language translation technology and services company— shared his perspective with Fast Company: “Machine translation has come a long way and is evolving every day, but translations done by computer programs can sometimes alienate non-English speakers.” While some business functions may not be ready for full-reliance on machine learning yet, this technology is evolving and adding more smart capabilities to its skillset every day.

Machine learning advancements coupled with companies’ growing need for efficiency and accuracy has led to many new industries taking the leap and integrating machine learning into their business processes. Thought leaders from Brightflag and Greenlight Guru weigh in on two industries providing new and innovative capabilities with machine learning in 2021.

Legal: Spend and Budget Predictions


Historically, AI and ML capabilities in the legal sector have been largely utilized for tasks such as contract review, contract performance litigation prediction and legal research. So, widely-speaking, the legal industry knows a thing or two about machine learning.

Processes like legal spend predictions and legal matter management were traditionally outside of ML capabilities. As the legal industry shifts its focus to machine learning and big data analytics, these processes and more are now available to legal organizations. Ian Nolan, CEO and co-founder of Brightflag told VentureBeat, “For the second time in the last 15 years, companies are grappling with the legal and financial implications of a global recession. Brightflag is providing corporate legal departments with unparalleled visibility into their operations as they work to maximize the strategic value of their spending.”

The need for time efficiency, cost-savings and the importance of proactive efforts is not lost on the law industry. Machine learning innovations being brought to the industry allow these legal organizations to streamline processes and focus their time on providing better service as opposed to handling menial and time-consuming tasks. In fact, in an article for ITproportal James Loxam, Chief Technological Officer for Luminance shared that lawyers can increase time-savings of at least 50 percent from day one of the technology being deployed. By looking at the recent ML integrations alongside vast benefits associated with these technological capabilities, it is clear that the legal industry will continue its push for machine learning in 2021 and into the future.

Medical Device: Change Management


Similar to the legal industry, machine learning is fairly common within medical device companies. For example, machine learning is a key factor in wearable health technology — a smart sensor device that can predict the likeliness of heart failure — as well as imaging systems that use algorithms and data to identify skin cancer. However, as we head into 2021, more niche sectors within this industry are turning to machine learning for the first time.

Change management is one of the most cumbersome and high-priority tasks related to medical device quality management. As David DeRam, CEO of Greenlight Guru recently shared with Aithority, “28% of medical device professionals say it still takes a full day or more to run a change impact analysis. This tells us that medical device professionals are working from a reactive state that is tedious and error-prone, limiting organizations from gathering the quality insights that are needed to stay ahead of change.” To combat this, Greenlight Guru offers an AI and ML-powered change management solution.

Even the FDA has noticed the heightened focus of machine learning with the medical device industry. They have dedicated an action plan to address AI and machine learning in medical devices, proposed regulations and workshops that aim to share insights into this fast-approaching integration.

As we witness more industries integrating machine learning capabilities, it is clear machine learning will be a factor in the future of business success. Want to join the conversation around machine learning? Contact Lindsey Groepper to find out how BLASTmedia can help!

PR Planning Success: Media Analysis

So you have decided to look into new ways to reach your audience, customers, and investors through public relations, but where to begin? When kickstarting your PR planning, implementation, and evaluation efforts, research should be at the forefront of every great strategy. Rather than an unending loop of trial and error campaigns, taking the time to conduct research can be the make or break of your PR efforts. With proactive and strategic methods, PR initiatives can and should thrive. 

In order to execute successful PR planning, understanding the role research has in developing those strategies can play a key factor in determining next steps. There are many different types of essential research, but the one I want to focus on today is media analysis.

A media analysis provides valuable insight into what is currently happening in the media landscape — and what competitors are talking about. Having this information can help guide and build the best PR strategy for inserting thought leaders into conversations. 

First things first: media analysis 

PR planning is fun and exciting, making it easy to want to dive into brainstorming ideas and campaigns right off the bat. However, it is important to take a step back and gain perspective on key market players and the conversations they are having in the media. By doing so, goals and strategies can be better aligned. Instead, starting with a media analysis prior to planning and implementation can provide crucial information, such as what kind of stories are being written, which reporters and publications are writing about similar topics or stories, and who is covering competitors. This can include an assessment of many things: 

  • Share of Voice measures the percentage of all online content and conversations about your company or brand, compared to those of your competitors. Share of Voice is a great tool for understanding how much coverage you are receiving compared to competitors, however, it does not provide a representation of the quality of coverage received. 
  • Media mix consists of the make-up of a company’s different types of coverage including contributed content, features, quotes, mentions, and press release postings. We recommend a mix of 50% news, 25% contributed content, and 25% interviews and quotes from subject matter experts.
  • Press release strategies include a sound cadence of announcements to show consistent innovation and growth. These strategies can consist of product announcements, executive additions, fundraising, customer wins, original data and more. 
  • Spokespeople are the company executives who will be sharing their thought leadership expertise with the media. Their titles, experiences, and bold ideas help stand out against others in the industry and build up a brand.
  • Website impact can be analyzed through an assortment of metrics such as domain authority, potential reach, backlinks and website sessions driven by articles. Understanding impact better determines underlying strategies for outreach and media placements. 

At BLASTmedia, we provide a media analysis as part of our research process. Our new client onboarding includes an analysis of their media landscape prior to beginning our PR strategy and efforts. When conducting this research, we take a look at all of the above assessment topics from share of voice to website impact for both our client and each individual identified competitor. Breaking down each facet of their media strategies can help us determine where our clients stand in relation to their competitors and set realistic expectations and goals for standing out and driving thought leadership. In doing so, we come across key findings that impact our overarching PR strategy. For example, if competitors are focused on a cadence of press releases but with minimal thought leadership campaigns, our team can plan announcements in-tandem as well as prepare unique and bold angles to fill the thought leadership gap in the industry that competitors are lacking.

Also with our media analysis, BLASTmedia is able to take a deep dive into the different publications and reporters for specific verticals. For example, we don’t want to reach out to the New York Times education writer about healthcare technology, do we? If one competitor is gaining traction in a specific vertical or publication, we use this knowledge to see how we can also best reach out to those writers. Knowing what they cover and trends in their writing we are able to insert our clients into the conversation. Additionally, taking the time to research competitors and the industries they are in as a whole helps us better understand our clients, build thoughtful campaigns that speak to their audiences, and overall execute on the needs of our client. 

By analyzing this information, one gains a holistic view of the media landscape. In turn, this helps guide the PR planning process and develop an educated and effective PR strategy moving forward. 

Challenges of media analysis 

Effective media analysis requires an understanding of who is writing what, when and how you can fit into their cadence of storytelling. Simply looking at coverage is insufficient in providing the necessary information for effective PR planning. Instead, analysis and application of information is what uncovers opportunities and drives successful initiatives. A media analysis can be tricky, as all of this information is open to interpretation. There are no formal quantitative methods of conducting a media analysis; it relies on subjectively looking at the company, competitors and the stories being told. 

Additionally, analysis is not a one and done effort. The media landscape is constantly changing as new stories, writers and publications pop up every day. An initial media analysis before the PR planning process is crucial, but it is just as important to continually research, explore, and evaluate new opportunities. 

At BLASTmedia, media relations and securing meaningful coverage is our priority. As each client is different, so are the opportunities with media. We prioritize understanding the media landscape prior to building a PR strategy to better educate ourselves and our clients on goals and expectations and best prepare them for PR planning initiatives.If you want to learn more about BLASTmedia and our dedication to educated and impactful PR strategies, contact Lindsey Groepper.