Media Relations

Experienced executives know that good press, or lack thereof, can make or break a company. In fact, studies show that decision-makers are five times more likely to be influenced by editorial copy than advertising. Strong media relations can help you secure positive stories that streamline the sales cycle or help get that crucial investment round closed. Get surpassed in the press by your competition and the results can be nothing less than disastrous.

Walker Sands pursues a wide range of focused activities to facilitate coverage of our clients. We proactively create opportunities to tell your story to target media when and where it matters most.

What We Do for You

A strong public relations plan is important, but we also bring a “bias-to-action” to any engagement, and we like to move quickly.

Our proven kickoff process allows us to get strong results out of the gates. We’ll quickly zero in on the stories you want to tell, who is effectively equipped to tell them, and which media or influencers are best suited to meet our objectives.

With these foundational elements in place, we then aggressively solicit media coverage on your behalf. We develop and maintain comprehensive, focused target lists of editors and influencers who are interested in your offering.

We review editorial calendars and follow up on published opportunities to secure coverage. We are constantly in touch with media – via email, phone, face-to-face, Slack, LinkedIn, Trello and other channels – to learn about new opportunities. If appropriate, we arrange for press tours or face-to-face time at events. We work with editors to suggest novel story ideas or to gain coverage of a specific company press announcement. We pursue feature coverage, roundup coverage and sidebar coverage. Secured coverage will potentially include product stories or reviews, case studies, executive profiles and byline articles.

Once we have a specific opportunity in hand, we manage the process for best results. We arrange for interviews, facilitating an introduction and taking notes when possible. We proactively work to ensure that your coverage is accurate and positive. For example, in the case of a product review, we can work with the reviewer to define the evaluation criteria, and we always follow up to address any problems or open issues. We ensure that the publication has access to graphic materials such as logos, screenshots, or product shots. We coach your spokespeople through Executive Q&As. Our detailed knowledge of your company and your industry allows us to deliver the highest service levels to journalists, which ultimately translates into good and growing coverage for you.

We close the loop with you by preparing timely status updates and coverage and results reports. We constantly monitor your satisfaction with our results and make adjustments accordingly.

Our Connections

Sometimes it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. We leverage our extensive network of contacts to generate high profile coverage of our clients across a broad range of trade and business press, including:

• Business Press. Top outlets such as Businessweek, Forbes, Fortune, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
• Technology Blogs & Trade Press. Leading tech media such as TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Re/code, Axios, Computerworld, InformationWeek, PC Magazine and others.
• Vertical Press. Major publications in manufacturing, retail, marketing and advertising, HR, professional services, education, electronics, financial services, government, telecommunications, healthcare and accounting.
• Broadcast Media. Television and radio programs including: Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, The Today Show and local radio stations.

Thought Leadership

Successful campaigns promote thought leadership – a key ingredient in tech PR. At Walker Sands, our clients are routinely recognized as leaders and influencers in the B2B tech sector. By focusing on thought leadership improvements, we help our clients achieve greater visibility within their industries, increase lead generation and build trust with existing customers.

Media & Speaker Training

We work with your executives to improve their success rate interacting with important audiences, including the press, research analysts and investors.

Crisis Communications

Bad news happens. When (or better yet, before) a crisis occurs, Walker Sands can help minimize and eliminate reputational damage through proactive crisis communications that preserves the trust of customers, employees, partners and other key stakeholder groups.

Industry Analyst Relations

Influencer and analyst relations are a crucial component of any successful marketing and public relations strategy. Gartner, Forrester and other industry analysts define key trends and influence media coverage, purchasing decisions, investor opinion and industry status. Let us help you speak with these key influencers.