Category: Marketing & AdTech

What does Trump’s surprise (was it?) win say to ambitious scale-up tech brands?

by Elate Communications

So, the polls were right. Or wrong. Or something. Much like Kamala faced an uphill battle against a well-known incumbent in Donald Trump, many scale-up tech brands must challenge established market leaders while trying to cut through the noise and build recognition. And now the dust has settled, to me Trump-Harris provides lessons that could be applied to the tech PR and communications world:

1. Build a Strong Brand Foundation Early

Donald Trump entered the 2024 election with a well-established brand—a former President, businessman, and media personality. Thus, he had already created a solid foundation; supporters knew what he stood for, and that gave him an advantage.

Scale-up tech brands need to apply the same leverage. It’s crucial to build your own brand foundation and messaging from the outset. Take time to review and refine your brand identity, ensure your messaging is consistent, and develop a clear PR strategy that aligns with business goals. The groundwork will pay off as you execute, making your brand more recognisable and credible to your audience.

Presidential To-Do Item: Start by reviewing your company’s brand, vision, mission and values. What problems do you solve? How does your product or service benefit your multiple audiences? Ensure everyone is aligned and give yourself time to prepare the foundations before you enter the ‘race’. 

2. Simplify and Test Your Messaging

One of Trump’s key strengths in the election was his ability to communicate his message in clear, simple terms. Even if they didn’t agree with everything, you know what’s on offer. For scale-up tech brands, the clarity of your messaging is equally important.

Technology can be complex, but your audience doesn’t need to understand every product feature from the outset; what they need to understand is how your proposition benefits them. It’s essential to take the time to simplify your messaging, remove the jargon and focus on communicating the value your offer. Spend time with your team and stakeholders to ensure your messaging resonates with your target audiences. You must be able to answer, What’s in it for the client?

On the campaign trail 2024: Run messaging workshops with key team members, gather feedback, and constantly test your messaging with your stakeholders. Create messaging that is concise, impactful but which also allows for some audience and geographical flexibility.  

3. Build a Supportive Ecosystem 

This year, the Republicans capitalised on the support of a diverse range of high-profile influencers, from business figures like Elon Musk to politicians like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. While some of this was controversial, it was 100% strategic in amplifying their message and reaching a broader audience. 

For scale-up tech brands, building a supportive ecosystem is equally beneficial. Influencers, industry analysts and media outlets all play a role in amplifying your message and building credibility. Building relationships with these key players takes time, but it’s an investment you need to make to get that positive media coverage, higher analyst engagement and those tier one thought leadership opportunities. 

Why you want to do the equivalent of Joe Rogan: Identify industry influencers and analysts who align with your brand’s values and vision. Look for opportunities to engage with them through smart content, interviews, and/or collaborations that helps solidify your street cred.

4. Target the Right Audience with Strategic Campaigns

From rallies to Fox News to niche podcasts, Trump used a variety of platforms to connect with his audience. Rather than focusing solely on large-scale national TV media coverage, he instinctively understood that reaching specific audiences with authenticity where they already spend their time is key to building his version of brand loyalty.  

For scale-up tech brands, it’s essential to understand where your audience is consuming content and engaging with industry thought leaders. While national media coverage can boost brand awareness, it’s not always the most effective way to shorten the sales cycle. Better: focus on reaching the right people in the right spaces, whether that’s niche trade or vertical media, industry events and/or specialised podcasts.

Now you’re changing The White House curtains: Work with experts to craft a campaign strategy that combines broad visibility with highly targeted outreach. Identify the channels where your target customers/prospects are most active, and build compelling packages of information, advice and customer backing to maximise such opportunities.

Conclusion: Getting that all-important Second Term

Building a successful tech brand doesn’t happen overnight. 2024’s US presidential election brings out ways to do it: establishing a solid brand foundation, simplifying messaging, cultivating influential support and smart targeting of the right audience. 

And just as political underdogs need to work hard to build recognition, scale-up tech businesses must be patient and strategic, too. But with time, consistency, and smart planning, you can position your brand to stand out and compete effectively in your market. 

To discuss your Comms planning for 2025, click here to book a short intro strategy call.

The Power of Vision, Mission, and Purpose for Scale-Up Tech Firms

by Elate Communications

Prompted by a recent piece in The Sunday Times written by Dame Karen Jones, co-founder of Café Rouge and a non-executive director of Deliveroo and Whitbread, she stressed the importance of businesses having a clear-eyed vision – the single, simple sentence that contains within it the distillation of all your thoughts. It has to be memorable, short, and you (and your staff) must be able to not only easily recall it, but enjoy saying it. It is your “What”, expressing the essence of what you are as a company, and if you aren’t clear about that, why should customers (or investors) buy into what you offer?

This is all sage advice from a business powerhouse, and is especially true of the jargon filled tech scale-up industry, where the journey to success is often paved with innovation, resilience, and a clear sense of direction. As a leading tech PR agency dedicated to supporting ambitious tech firms, we understand the critical role that having a well-defined vision, mission, and purpose plays in propelling a business forward.

Let’s briefly explore the significance of these elements and look at their distinctions.

Vision: Casting the Future

At the heart of every thriving tech firm should be a compelling vision that acts as a guiding star, illuminating the path to long-term success. A vision statement paints a vivid picture of the future, encapsulating the company’s aspirations, values, and desired impact. It serves as a source of inspiration for both internal teams and external stakeholders, fostering a shared understanding of the ultimate business goal.

Key elements of a powerful vision include clarity, ambition, and alignment with the company’s values. It should be concise yet comprehensive, motivating employees and attracting customers and investors who resonate with the company’s long-term objectives.

Mission: Defining the Journey

While a vision provides the destination, a mission statement should outline the journey and the means to achieve the desired outcome. A mission is a concise declaration of the company’s purpose, specifying the products or services it provides, the target audience, and the unique value proposition.

A well-crafted mission statement aligns the team’s efforts, instills a sense of purpose, and clarifies the company’s role in the market. It serves as a compass, guiding decision-making processes and ensuring that every action contributes to the overarching vision.

Purpose: Beyond Profit

While vision and mission focus on the company’s external goals and activities, purpose delves into the deeper why behind the business. Purpose goes beyond profit and encapsulates the positive impact a company aims to make on society, the environment, or a specific community.

A meaningful purpose resonates with employees, customers, and partners, creating a sense of shared values and a connection that goes beyond transactions. Tech firms with a clearly defined purpose not only attract top talent but it also helps them build stronger relationships with customers who seek brands aligned with their values.

In conclusion, the triad of vision, mission, and purpose forms the cornerstone of success for scale-up tech firms. A compelling vision sets the direction, a well-defined mission charts the course and a purpose goes beyond profit, infusing meaning into the firm’s activities.  As a PR agency committed to supporting the growth and communications programmes for tech firms, we recognise the transformative power of these elements and are ready to help your business not only scale but to also leave a lasting positive impact.

To discuss your vision, mission, purpose, all of which are closely linked to your messaging, and/or to discuss your communications needs for 2024, feel free to book a short intro strategy call.

As a reminder, Elate Communications is a UK based virtual comms agency focused on supporting US, British and global tech firms to grow and prosper.

Beyond Earned Media: Maximising PR Opportunities for Tech Brands in the UK & Europe

by Elate Communications

In an ever-evolving media environment, the landscape for tech brands seeking editorial exposure has over time become more challenging. While data indicates a decline in traditional media opportunities, the notion that securing quality earned media is unattainable is far from accurate. In fact, it’s still very possible, but the approach needs to be strategic, authentic and consistent. But, the decline in trade media does mean that PR pros need to work smarter and harder to connect with the right audience, by nurturing relationships and ensuring that stories and pitches are relevant and stand out.

While earned media relations still remains a cornerstone of many tech PR programmes, there are many more avenues, ideally part of a holistic plan, for tech businesses to consider as they seek to build mindshare, establish brand awareness, shorten the sales cycle and grow the business in the UK and Europe. 

Here are just five areas to consider:

Embrace Industry Analyst Relations: Establishing and maintaining strong relationships with industry analysts in the region remains important for tech firms, and is often under-valued. Analysts hold substantial influence and should not be overlooked in driving a successful European comms programme.

Website Refresh and Content: From blogs to case studies to executive profiles, a company’s website still serves as that front-door for your stakeholders’ enquiries. Does it needs an overhaul, refresh or a content update? It should not only effectively represent the brand but also reflect your agreed messaging, by providing valuable insights about your offer and what you stand for, within the context of the wider competitive landscape.

SEO Strategy: An effective search engine optimisation strategy is key in ensuring that well-crafted and educational website content receives the visibility it deserves. Maximising your approach to SEO is essential to providing exposure and amplifying your online presence. So, how confident are you that your strategy is correct and robust?

Social Media Focus: In today’s multi-channel era, a robust social media presence (organic and paid) is of course indispensable in supporting your comms goals. Consistent, on-message postings play a pivotal role in highlighting the various parts of your company, your executive team, your proposition, what the business stands for and what value you distinctly provide. Do you need to step back, and ensure that your messaging and social media content plan is on-point?

Maximise Events: Consider re-evaluating your event strategy, and upping the quantity and/or quality of the more Intimate networking-based events. Maximise your efforts by partnering with relevant media outlets, and include industry influencers to add that market validation and objective perspective. Executed well, events will provide valuable opportunities to engage with key audience targets on a personal level, improve brand recognition and help cultivate more meaningful sales relationships.

In summary, building and maintaining a positive profile and reputation goes far beyond obtaining a favourable media profile; it’s about leveraging a broad spectrum of PR activities to support sustainable brand recognition and business growth.

So, do you want to discuss how best to bolster your comms programme?

If so, don’t hesitate to contact us by email or to book an intro strategy call to discuss your communications needs. 

As a reminder, Elate Communications is a UK based virtual comms agency focused on supporting US, British and global tech firms to grow and prosper.

Four Tips To Cut Through In A Noisy Tech Marketplace

by Elate Communications

Getting noticed (by the right people) is a constant challenge for many B2B tech brands, as buyers are inundated with vendor content hitting them across multiple channels. Earning attention from your audience only grows more difficult as markets become saturated, with interconnected multiple messages from vendors pushing their wares.

Big stunt approaches may have some impact with buyers, but slow and steady over time normally wins the race.  Consistency and longevity is key for ambitious tech firms looking to stand out.  So, with the right positioning and smart outreach, your brand can capture the mindshare it needs, even in the most crowded sectors.

Here are just four tips to consider:

Define Your Niche & Message

Rather than copying competitors, find your unique angle in the market. Workshop it and/or conduct research to identify the pain points your technology can distinctively solve. You could have that sorted already, but the real work comes in as you define a set of messages that highlights your differentiator, but also importantly links to industry issues. Don’t short-cut that critical messaging stage and objectively consider if your existing messaging needs a refresh too.

Leverage Executive Thought Leadership

Build the profiles of the right executives and subject matter experts as forward-thinking, interesting and insightful. Work to develop relevant themes that connect to by-lined media articles, speaking opportunities, event and social media opportunities, to establish and build authority. Ensure your leaders are accessible and responsive to the media, analysts, industry bodies and other key influencers seeking perspectives on relevant industry topics.

Prioritise and Drive Targeted Outreach

Avoid spraying and praying. Carefully select media or analyst targets that reach your ideal personas at each stage of the sales process. With media, consider pitching niche publications initially that allow you room to dominate the conversation, and then evolve and customise your approach. Don’t be disheartened, as not every pitch or approach will succeed, so be prepared to learn and evolve.

Monitor Conversations and Insert Yourself > using different content formats

Use social listening tools to identify the right news, trends and regulatory discussions, so you can tap into relevant industry debates or breaking news moments. But, keep authentic to your position, as ‘ambulance-chasing’ will be spotted. Be helpful, responsive and provide insightful comments and resources rather than overt self-promotion.   Also, do use different and engaging content formats like video case studies, infographics, interactive short videos and animations. Test different short-forms and snackable assets for social sharing to keep it fresh and lively.

In summary, earning and maintaining brand attention can take time, but with a targeted, relevant, creative and authentic approach, tech brands can develop mindshare, authority and cut-through even in noisy markets. Patience and consistency is key, but it’s all very doable.  

So, do you want to discuss how best to cut through the noise together?
 

If so, don’t hesitate to contact us by email or book an intro strategy call to discuss how to improve your Comms programme.

PLANNING A SUMMER OF GENERATIVE AI-ONLY MARKETING? THINK AGAIN

by Elate Communications

The power of ChatGPT (and the like) has been spoken and written about everywhere and by everyone. And by now, we’ve all heard about the good, bad -and of course ‘the ugly,’ like the warning from global tech leaders that the technology could lead to the extinction of humanity.

How very like Star Trek that sounds.

However, putting aside the existential risk to humanity for now, what about the impact on tech brands, marketeers and senior comms professionals? For sure, AI is set to impact the way we all work as marketers, as it presents both opportunities and risks.

As other PR experts also say: there are risks around accuracy, bias, copyright, danger and ethics – but we’re advising clients and partners to embrace the technology, as there will be a raft of comms / PR areas where it can add value.

However, on the content development and social media side, ChatGPT and its competitors, whilst helpful on research and initial copy development, simply does not possess the human context, emotional punch and the authentic creativity of an experienced human writer – or a truly sentient being!

That means you, your team and comms agency partner must remain very much involved. You still need to work hard to create solid thought-leadership copy that a) stands out b) cuts through the noise and c) articulates what makes your brand and solution unique and compelling.

Despite the pressure to cut costs, delegating this important content activity to AI just won’t cut it.

To see why, download our Free 12-Point Comms Guide for ambitious and growing tech firms to get a better perspective on planning an effective B2B high-tech software and services comms programme.

We are still learning about how AI can help the PR profession, but we’d be interested to hear your thoughts and experiences, so do get in touch. In the meantime, have a great summer planning your PR programmes!