PR Can’t Define What a Company Should Be. It Can Only Refine What It Wants to Say

PR Cannot Create Momentum Where None Exists

Not long ago, I was speaking to a young founder who was eager to begin a media relations campaign. The ambition was there, the enthusiasm was genuine, and like many founders, they believed PR would help unlock visibility, credibility and growth. But as the conversation progressed, I found myself struggling with one simple question: what exactly was the story?

There had been no significant funding round. The product was not especially differentiated from competitors already in the market. The company itself was still figuring out its positioning, its audience and even parts of what it ultimately wanted to become. None of this is unusual for an early stage startup, but it reinforced something I have increasingly come to believe about PR and media relations.

A company needs momentum before PR can amplify it.

Media Relations Needs Something to Hold Onto

One of the biggest misconceptions around PR is that it can manufacture interest out of thin air. It cannot. PR works best when there is already some form of motion inside a business. That could be a major partnership, meaningful traction, a genuinely disruptive product, a strong founder story, significant funding, compelling data or a unique perspective tied to a wider industry trend.

Journalists are constantly looking for stories that matter to their audience. If a company has nothing particularly interesting, timely or differentiated to say, then even the best PR consultant in the world will struggle to generate sustained media interest.

That does not mean the company is bad. It simply means it may not yet be ready for media relations.

The Startup Trap Many PR Agencies Fall Into

Earlier in my career, I worked at agencies that regularly signed very early stage tech startups. Often, these businesses had raised relatively small amounts of money, were still refining their products and had not fully worked out their messaging. In some cases, what they were selling was not especially unique within the wider marketplace either.

Yet there was still pressure to build media campaigns around them.

The result was often predictable. Teams would spend weeks trying to force stories into existence, chasing coverage opportunities that were not strategically valuable, or stretching minor announcements into something they clearly were not. It rarely served the client particularly well and it certainly did not serve the agency’s reputation.

Over time, I realised that one of the most important things PR consultants can do is be honest about whether media relations is actually the right investment at a particular stage of a company’s journey.

PR Should Refine a Message, Not Invent One

Of course, PR consultants absolutely can help businesses sharpen their messaging and better understand how to communicate with stakeholders. That is part of the job. But PR is not there to help a company figure out what it wants to be. It exists to help a company articulate what it wants to say.

That distinction matters enormously.

If a business still lacks clarity around its identity, positioning or core proposition, then media relations can quickly become unfocused and ineffective. Before any outreach begins, there needs to be a clear understanding of the story, the audience and why anyone should care in the first place.

Once that foundation exists, PR becomes incredibly powerful. That is when consultants can step in to shape the narrative, refine the messaging, identify the right media opportunities and ensure the story reaches the people who actually matter.

But without that initial momentum or clarity, even the most ambitious PR campaign risks becoming noise rather than impact.

If your B2B tech project wants to navigate the B2B tech media landscape with clarity and impact, I help teams develop cost-effective and results-driven communication strategies that combine PR, social media and SEO. Get in touch if you want to elevate your message, reach the right audiences and build sustainable growth in a rapidly evolving market.

Let’s have a chat :‍ ‍lekeapena@thenextmachinecomms.com