How to Create Compelling Data For Marketing & PR Campaigns

Public relations professionals pride themselves on being excellent storytellers, finding ways to craft a company’s messages and weave them into creative and insightful narratives. 

To make these stories not only stand out, but be credible, we also need to identify the proof points that will validate the company’s messages and points-of-view. Marketing and communications professionals know that data plays an integral role, and if a company doesn’t possess enough proof points, oftentimes it makes sense to conduct a survey–either on its own or to support existing proprietary data. As such, PR folks need to be just as comfortable in analyzing data and looking at how the facts and figures can provide compelling insights. 

If you’ve decided to embark on conducting a survey, however, how do you decide what data to create, so that it will be compelling and useful? Here are a few starting points: 

1. Define the key issues, themes and trends that your company wants to be associated with

If your company focuses on hiring & training, would you want to be viewed as an authority in identifying the top skills now, and what the most in-demand skills and roles will be in the future? Or how about discussing the need to learn AI across industries, and the role that AI will play in hiring expertise in the future? Before embarking on any data-driven initiative, it’ll be vital to define the top themes and narratives that correlate to the business.

2. Confirm your key audience(s)

Who do you want to reach and attract with this data? The key findings from such data should have a clear target audience in mind - whether it’s the C-Suite, technology decision makers, or white-collar workers. This will allow a survey to have questions posed toward this audience, and have findings that they will care about.

3. Research, research, research

Before jumping into creating data, look at what information and insights are already available in the market. For example, ADP is well-known for putting out its monthly jobs report, based on its payroll data. Consider what kinds of data/insights you can present that aren't an echo of what's already readily available.

4. Identify the "white space" and what people would want to learn more about, next

Too often, surveys provide no meaningful insight, because the data they’re soliciting  simply verifies what everyone already knows. This, in turn, renders any report or marketing collateral that would come out of the survey uninteresting immediately. So, it’s important to think one step ahead in coming up with data and create survey questions that are forward-looking. If you can find data that can illustrate or confirm what appears to be an emerging trend, then you’ve hit the mark.

5. For more complicated topics, add visuals

Graphs, pie charts, and colors that vividly and clearly demonstrate the findings can make the information easy to grasp at a glance and, importantly, allow for the media and the public outside of your company to easily digest and share your findings.

6. Keep the tenets of what makes news in mind

When highlighting the key findings, it’s important to consider what makes news–or simply put, what is something you’d find interesting and eye-opening enough to recount to someone at a dinner party. Journalists, for example, will always decide whether to cover a story or not based on its news values, which include impact (its effect on people), proximity (how it affects a specific community), timeliness, conflict/controversy, and oddity. As the saying goes in journalism, “‘Dog bites man’ is not a headline. ‘Man bites dog’ is front-page news.”

At Gravitate PR, we’ve successfully established and led data-driven marketing & PR campaigns for our clients over many years, working with brands including Hired, EDITED, Traackr, Remote and many others. For more information on designing and executing a successful data-driven storytelling program, you can contact us, or download our free eBook for additional recommendations.

As we wrap up this year, what predictions do marketing & communications leaders have for the year ahead?

We asked a variety of executives, who work in corporate communications roles in-house, run communications agencies, or are consultants, to provide one prediction for 2024. The future and impact of artificial intelligence was a prominent topic, with other perspectives focusing on the tech IPO market, the importance of brand marketing/communications investments, as well as the continued blurring of lines across media channels. 

What do you think of these predictions? You can also read Gravitate’s predictions on the state of AI in 2024 here, and more general predictions on the state of the tech sector and PR industry respectively here.

At Gravitate PR, since the emergence of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, we’ve been keeping an eye on the rapid developments in artificial intelligence–helping clients that work in spaces that touch AI craft compelling narratives, while simultaneously assessing how else it can be used in day-to-day tasks.

Associations such as the PR Council have published guidelines about the use of generative AI in our field (which we’ve also summarized into the following key takeaways). We’re still very cautious in how we use AI, and currently use it primarily for several core but very basic activities–transcribing/summarizing calls, research, ideation, and extremely fundamental writing. However, all of our own content, like this blog post, and anything produced for our clients is entirely created by people. 

Since ChatGPT launched a year ago it’s evolved at such a rapid pace, that we will undoubtedly see more innovations than we could possibly fathom in the next 12 months. We have a couple of additional blog posts about predictions in the marketing communications industry and the tech sector (read our more general predictions post here), but given AI’s omnipresence, we’ve created a specific post about how it could evolve next year. 

1. More PR tasks will be automated and accelerated 

Outside of ChatGPT, there are a slew of AI tools that focus on making tasks more efficient. These include Grammarly, which checks for grammar, tone of voice, and readability, Otter.ai, which is a meeting note taker and transcription tool, and Midjourney, which uses generative AI to create images. 

Within the PR industry, there have been a number of tools launched specifically for PR professionals, including an AI-powered software that surfaces relevant journalists based on press release keywords. Next year, we can expect more products for PR tasks that will capitalize on the capabilities of inference in AI systems. With all that is possible, we could easily see AI-powered tools that summarize a reporter’s stories and the key elements of their articles over the past year, and provide suggestions on new topics to pitch those reporters based on current trends. Tools that capitalize on inference will help to rapidly shorten the research associated with incisive PR strategy and instead allow PR pros to focus on creativity. 

2. The “hard news” you read may be written by a bot

A number of publications uploaded policies on how they plan to use generative AI to support reporting (here’s Wired’s policy, and the Associated Press’ policy for example). While some publications have staunchly opposed publishing stories with text generated by AI, others have been more open in embracing it. However, not all publications that used AI to produce articles were upfront–CNET’s stories triggered backlash after it was found that many articles contained factual errors or plagiarized material, and Sports Illustrated deleted articles with fake author names and AI-generated photos. 

Despite this, with the media landscape continuing to shift each year and with more publications cutting staff or shuttering their doors, the trend is looking like AI-generated content will almost certainly proliferate. But that’s not all bad! AI can be effective in information dense reporting, like  recapping a company’s quarterly earnings, or the US jobs report that is released on the first Friday of every month. With journalists more time crunched each year, ideally AI will alleviate the need to report on certain topics and allow more time to dedicate on stories that require more analysis and insight. 

3. The AI land grab will continue, but there’s risk of AI tech giant dominance

ChatGPT’s record-breaking growth (it reached 100 million monthly active users two months after launch) naturally led to an AI technology frenzy–in San Francisco that same month, one neighborhood was nicknamed “Cerebral Valley” due to it becoming a hub for AI startups. 

Based on some estimates, there are almost 58,000 AI companies worldwide, with 1 in 4 based in the US. But like many other hot technologies that have preceded it, next year we’ll likely see this number decrease as some companies may be acquired, but a significant number will also fail in such a competitive and saturated market. On the other hand, AI is quickly becoming dominated by the tech titans with deep pockets to invest in the top AI talent, R&D, and innovation. The top companies today with the largest AI investments are Microsoft, OpenAI, Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Anthropic. A few years ago, US big tech was known by the acronym FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Alphabet). Could we see a new “Big Tech” acronym dominating the headlines next year–MOMAAA, anyone? 

4. AI will replace some tasks, but will create new ones

There’s plenty of literature about how AI will replace jobs. According to McKinsey, 70% of jobs will be automated by generative AI, while a report from Goldman Sachs estimated that AI could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs. 

While AI has been touted as driving efficiencies and making our lives easier, so far technology hasn’t reduced our work–rather, it’s just evolved it. Remember when email was meant to cut down on time needed to communicate in the workplace? For many of us, the ease of typing and sending emails has actually made it more difficult to disconnect from work. Similarly, while AI can cut down time or automate certain tasks, the consequence is that, as a society, we will likely evolve to create a new set of roles and responsibilities. There’s already been a rise in the “Chief AI Officer” role, with 11% of midsize to large organizations already designating the role. Next year, we can expect more emphasis on AI skills training, AI-centered positions, and consequently, a new set of responsibilities, expectations and goals where teams work alongside AI to get work done. 

Do you agree with these predictions? What predictions do you have about AI in 2024? And of course, if you’re a company that’s looking to cut through the competitive tech (or specifically AI!) space, we’re here to help. Drop us a line here.

As we approach the end of the year, the Gravitate PR team has developed its own predictions on where we see the state of technology public relations faring next year as a guide for companies looking to begin their PR programs or those hoping to make meaningful adjustments to ongoing efforts. 

Staying on top of hot issues and topics are a cornerstone of our work with clients–in fact, part of our job consists of predicting what’s next as we guide their programs–and so we wanted to share our  research and insights. 

How accurate will these be? Who knows. In the same way few people would have predicted Nvidia becoming the world’s seventh trillion-dollar company in 2023, the future is impossible to guess with 100% certainty. But, it’ll be interesting to look back in 12 months’ time on what trends transform our industry. 

And, since we have just mentioned the growth that Nvidia saw on the back of the AI boom,we have written a separate post focused on predictions for AI here. 

1. Companies will double down on brand initiatives

A tougher economic climate this year meant that many companies emphasized short-term, performance marketing initiatives instead of brand marketing programs. For many businesses, this approach seemed logical given the multiple forecasts of an impending recession–cut costs as much as possible, focus on driving leads and closing deals as efficiently as possible to insulate from any downturn. 

But that approach–throttling down brand marketing in favor of short-term revenue goals, has implications in the long term for a company’s viability, and we’re already seeing companies double down on bringing back brand marketing and communications programs. For example, fast fashion brand Asos announced that brand marketing will be a cornerstone in its urgent rescue plan to reverse declining sales. 

This year, the tech industry has been plagued by widespread layoffs, with more than 270,000 US tech workers losing their jobs since the start of 2022, a rollback of corporate diversity, equality, inclusion & belonging commitments, and a nosedive in trust levels primarily driven by concerns about Big Tech and its disproportionate power and influence. As companies seek to stand out against stiff competition, highlight what makes them unique, and focus on steady, purposeful growth, brand marketing and communications initiatives will inherently play a central role. 

2. Authenticity will be the hallmark of a strong reputation  

It’s no coincidence that Merriam-Webster's word of the year is “authentic,” particularly in a world where consumers feel obliged to question the veracity of every bit of content or news they consume. The rise of bots and AI around the world means that the line between what’s real and what’s not is becoming increasingly hard to determine. 

Because of this, it’ll put greater pressure on brands to ensure that the messages and narratives they present are authentic–whether by overtly disclosing that the content has been developed by a person and not a bot, or by backing up any claims through undisputable data, and publically following through with their statements or commitments. 

3. Data-driven storytelling will continue to be paramount

Given the increased skepticism and scrutiny toward brands, data-driven storytelling will be even more crucial to supporting a brand’s messages and perspectives. Over the years, we’ve seen companies heavily focus on data – whether that’s from within their technology platforms or from commissioned research – and often, blending that with third-party insights. But using the data in an impactful way is key – to ensure that it’s not self-serving, too obvious, too complicated, or is overlooked because it’s not maximized across media channels and across the business. 

At Gravitate, we’ve been designing data-driven storytelling programs from the ground up for years. This includes creating the methodology, partnering with market research firms to put the research into the field, analyzing proprietary client data and external information, distilling the most compelling insights, crafting corporate materials and leading an integrated marketing communications push to launch. 

4. Media channels will continue to converge 

Over the years the lines between earned, owned, shared and paid media have converged–and brands need to ensure that they approach their marketing communications programs through an integrated and holistic lens to maximize reach and impact to their brand. 

This year, LinkedIn hit a milestone of 1 billion users, and it’s vastly expanded over the years to be more than a job platform. For example, many journalists from traditional media publications such as Fortune, Business Insider, and Wired have joined LinkedIn to form LinkedIn News, which boasts over 250 team members responsible for creating, curating and cultivating news for users around the world. LinkedIn not only has its own series of news digests, videos and podcasts, but has become a place for companies to launch their own newsletters and updates given the widespread usage and engagement on the platform. 

Meanwhile, traditional publications have also continued to adapt their business models, including blurring the lines between earned and paid media. Forbes is well known for its fee-based Technology Council article opportunities, and other paid opportunities include CNBC’s Technology Executive Council and Fast Company’s Impact Council. 

5. The tech sector’s resilience will see a rebound 

This year, more than 1,000 tech companies have laid off more than 270,000 workers–from small upstarts to global tech titans. While layoffs are still occurring as we hit publish on this post, next year we can expect the all-encompassing nature of technological advancements will fuel a solid resurgence, and not just in hot sectors such as AI. Rather, we can expect innovations in critical industries such as education, future-of-work focused tech, healthcare, cybersecurity, semiconductors, and many others.

While venture capital investments have been more muted compared to previous years due to market uncertainty and a shift in investor preferences, a more focused approach will also allow a variety of innovative and important technologies to flourish. Additionally, the strength of Arm’s IPO this year could spur other tech and tech-forward companies to finally go public, or–at the very least–provide confidence to other successful overseas brands continuing to feel more bullish in their plans to grow and scale. 

What do you think of the above predictions – agree or disagree?

For PR professionals, “data” is the key to creating compelling and credible messages and stories for their organizations. This could be from a consumer survey, aggregate information from a company’s technology platform, commissioned analysis from a market research firm, or even third-party statistics.

When the role of public relations is to inform, influence and inspire audiences to take action, data is an incredibly powerful tool. It can be used across the organization and across multiple channels – including press releases, opinion pieces, presentations and much more.

Yet for every example of how an organization has used data effectively to support its PR, marketing and broader business goals, there are countless examples of where data has fallen flat. This could be for a number of reasons. Perhaps the data didn’t tell a compelling story, maybe it was too complicated, maybe it was packaged in a way that was overtly self-serving, or it failed to make an impact because it isn’t properly amplified across a variety of media channels. 

At Gravitate, we’ve amassed years of experience and seen immense success in data-driven storytelling. We’ve worked with a variety of clients to develop the right methodology, approach, and compelling narratives centered around credible data. 

A few examples include:

• Our award-winning work with Hired where we’ve partnered closely with Hired to develop the methodology, messages, and content to launch quarterly reports focused on the state of hiring in tech. These thematic reports – including the State of Software Engineering, tech salaries, skills and more – have played a central role in driving leads and discussions among prospects and other stakeholders, while generating top-tier coverage in publications including Bloomberg, Insider, Forbes, MarketWatch and others. 
• Our engagement with retail analytics brand, EDITED, a previously unknown company in the US, to launch its presence and thought leadership. Its proprietary data was a cornerstone of our PR strategy and program, which successfully positioned EDITED as a pioneer and go-to resource for retail opportunities and trends. Within the first year, we secured over 220 media placements, in publications such as Fast Company, Fortune, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, The New York Times, and more. 
• Our work with influencer marketing platform, Traackr, over several years included establishing its data reports, focused on the state of influencer marketing. Public relations was the primary vehicle to launch these reports. This led to thousands of downloads of the reports on Traackr’s website, and served as a key lead magnet to cultivate and pursue sales leads. 

We’ve put together a free, downloadable eBook that covers the steps to an impactful data-driven storytelling program – it’s a good starting point whether your company is just starting to use data in its PR programs, or is looking at ways to improve an existing initiative. 

If you are looking to kickstart or successfully use data in your marketing & communications activities, we’d love to chat about how we can help. Contact us here.

Gravitate PR yesterday was the recipient of two public relations awards from Bulldog Reporter. The Bulldog PR Awards program, conducted annually, recognizes remarkable communications campaigns and impressive individual and public relations agency contributions to the industry. 

Gravitate’s award focused on its work with client Hired (previously Vettery). Hired provides unbiased insights, DEI tools, skills assessments and dedicated customer success managers to be the most efficient way to fill tech and sales roles today, working with over 10,000 companies worldwide to match them to thousands of qualified candidates. Hired’s platform possesses unique, proprietary data that can help deliver interesting and insights on the state of the hiring market.  

Gravitate PR worked with Hired to release a report, titled “Hiring in the Great Resignation: 2021 State of Tech Salaries.” This report - one of several marquee reports that we launch annually - highlighted how, since the pandemic and the “Great Resignation,” compensation, benefit preferences, and remote work trends have evolved. 

Our goals were to position Hired as a thought leader in tech hiring, build upon Hired’s messaging/point-of-view around employers needing to revamp their recruiting and hiring strategy, while reframing staffing challenges as opportunities for change, and drive a set of compelling narratives to conduct an integrated marketing communications and support lead generation efforts, using Hired’s data as the centerpiece.

Gravitate embarked on a multi-faceted, integrated marketing communications approach, which included deep data analysis, messaging development, content creation (report and corresponding PR assets such as a press release), and highly-targeted and customized media relations spanning business, tech, HR and local media audiences. We worked closely with Hired to ensure all marketing communications assets would be unveiled simultaneously (across earned, owned, social channels), driving back to a dedicated landing page to boost website traffic and report downloads. 

Gravitate secured 10 media briefings, with over 30 unique articles in top tier publications including in Axios, Bloomberg, The Boston Globe, CIO Dive, Crain’s Chicago, Crain’s New York, Forbes, San Francisco Business Times, TechRepublic, ZDNet, and many others. Within the first month the news release, media coverage and report generated an impressive number of views, leading to significant downloads and marketing qualified leads. Ultimately, the success of the report and the breadth of impressive results demonstrated a highly concerted and effective strategy to support Hired’s brand awareness, thought leadership and lead gen/sales goals. 

In a press release from Bulldog Reporter, Christopher Elliott, award-winning journalist, author, consumer advocate and long-time Bulldog Awards judge commented, "This year's entries were the most impressive I've ever seen. They showed PR pros at their best-helping clients overcome seemingly impossible business challenges, navigating the treacherous waters of an unpredictable pandemic, or offering to assist the neediest in society. It's a defining moment for the industry. I'm honored to be a part of it."

The Bulldog Awards offer a unique, industry-specific evaluation process by being the only PR awards program judged exclusively by journalists. 

This is the first PR award that Gravitate PR has ever applied for (common to our industry, we’ve prioritized our branding/marketing communications work for the brands we partner with, and not our own branding/recognition efforts)! We are humbled by this industry honor and recognition of this successful campaign. Another example of our work with Hired can be viewed in this case study, and other case studies can be found here. 

If you are interested in learning more about Gravitate and how we can partner with you on a strategic, creative and integrated marketing communications program, contact us.  

Whether you call them bylines, guest columns, contributed articles, opinion pieces, op-eds, these all refer to writing articles on behalf of an executive, typically for a publication (although such articles can also appear in some variation on a blog or as a LinkedIn post). For many Gravitate PR clients, opinion pieces are a cornerstone of many of our marketing communications programs, as a way to build visibility for executives, position them as having a unique and compelling perspective on a particular topic, and elicit dialogue based on the point-of-view expressed. 

Over the years, as the media landscape has evolved and newsrooms have had less resources, it’s opened up more opportunities for opinion pieces from executives, academics and other industry leaders to be published. 

At Gravitate, we’ve created our own list of tips and considerations for writing compelling bylines (which we’ve also created a training session on as part of our ongoing commitment to regular learning & development). Here are a few best practices to consider when writing bylines. 

The First Stage: Pitching & Securing the Byline 

If you’re looking to secure a byline placement in a particular publication, it’s important to have a compelling pitch and perspective from the onset. Remember, bylines are not the place to be marketing a product or service. Rather, it’s about having a compelling perspective on a hot topic or trend. Ahead of pitching that publication, make sure to scour the site to see what bylines have been published in the past, and make note of any patterns that you’re seeing in what makes the cut. 

Should a publication be interested in a byline from your executive, make sure to obtain the editorial guidelines, which are often posted on a publication’s website. An opinion piece in a publication like CNN, for example, is significantly different from tech publications VentureBeat and TechCrunch, as well as industry publications such as GCN (Government Computer News) and HR Dive.

The Second Stage: Crafting the Byline 

While some bylines are not particularly long - some only ask as little as 500 words - it’s always helpful to have an outline in mind before drafting the full piece. What are the keywords that you’d like to insert, or what key messages do you want to incorporate into the copy? Moreover, as a rule of thumb, any contributed article should have a key argument, backed up by several well-thought-out points within the piece. 

Sometimes these arguments could form particular tips (e.g. 5 ways to better engage your workforce). No matter the form of the byline (e.g. tips, how-to’s, agreement/disagreement with a particular topic, a future-looking piece), a strong, coherent and compelling point-of-view is vital to educate, inform and engage the reader. 

Additionally, for any statement or claim in the article, it needs to be backed up by credible sources - such as research, data, or news articles. While a cybersecurity audience will tend to agree that the number of ransomware attacks have increased over the years, it’s still good to validate the extent of this increase as a way to then explain why organizations continue to struggle with this ongoing threat, for example. Again, this isn’t the forum to be providing links to the client’s technology or marketing materials as a veiled attempt to promote their offerings - publications tend to be incredibly critical of this and will likely remove or even reject a byline outright with this approach. 

Finally, make sure that the writing is in a clear and accessible manner - and find ways, where possible, to inject personality into the piece. Bylines aren’t term papers or scientific articles for journals. Even articles on the most technical topics should keep readers engaged - and the most effective ways of doing this often revolve around anecdotes, personal experiences, and humor. 

The Final Stage: Amplifying the Byline  

Ahead of a byline’s publication, it’s critical to make sure you know how you plan to maximize visibility and use of the article. You’ve done the hard work in writing a long-form piece of content, and it can always be used further across a variety of different ways and viewed across an array of channels.   

For example, can the article be used as a core resource to create other types of assets - such as infographics, proactive media pitches, blog posts, or presentations? If it’s a tip-based article, for example, could each tip be expanded upon? From an amplification perspective, will this also be shared on the company’s social media posts, as well as from the executive who the article is attributed to? 

While bylines can initially seem like a daunting undertaking at first, breaking down the steps can make the task easier, and certainly more fun. When done effectively, bylines bring visibility to a client’s thought leadership, build trust, and play a key role to help advance their reputation.

At Gravitate PR, for most of the startups that we work with - whether they’re an early-stage startup or late-stage venture, a key milestone is closing a funding round. 

In the last year alone, the number of companies that have secured funding rounds have skyrocketed. According to business analytics firm CB Insights, as of February 2022, the number of “unicorns” (i.e. those with valuations of over $1 billion) reached over 1,000 companies. These days, getting to unicorn status is no longer a rarity. 

With so many startups closing funding rounds, it’s important to design the right strategy and approach for this exciting funding news. A “one size fits all” approach with a basic funding press release won’t cut it. Before you dive into the marketing and communications approach for announcing and amplifying your news, make sure to review the five critical points below to make the most impact.

1. Delve into the story 

Funding announcements can seem rather transactional. At the core, they all consist of the same key information - how much was raised, what is the total amount raised, which investors led the round, what will the company do with the funding, etc. 

Even if your company has raised a significant amount of money, look beyond the dollar figure. In 2021, the average Series B round for a U.S. company was $45 million - up a whopping 50% from the year before - although simultaneously global venture funding has fallen, with speculation that there could be a slowdown. Either way, any funding announcement should be viewed as a springboard to tell a wider story, and a way to tell a more holistic, compelling and memorable narrative. Some questions to think about include: 

• What is the company’s mission and vision, and how will the funding propel this? 
• Who are the investors - are they well known in the industry, and does this funding support their own goals? 
• What is happening from a macro perspective that ties into the relevance of the funding news? 
• Are there any strong growth numbers or corporate plans that can further emphasize the importance of the news? 

2. Create a comprehensive timeline

Like any launch, it’s important to create a timeline to make sure that all parties involved are aligned and moving in the right direction. For funding announcements, there are many components - the content (press release, blog posts, social media posts, FAQs, etc), the players (investors, the co-founders/executive team, employees, media, analysts, influencers and other stakeholders), and the key deadlines. 

Because there are a lot of moving parts, it’s critical to work backwards from the announcement date on what needs to be drafted, edited and approved by whom, and by when. This timeline should also be shared with all key parties so that everyone is on the same page. 

For example, if you’re drafting a press release about the funding, factor in enough time to complete the draft, go through edit and approvals ahead of a final copy. Meanwhile, if you’re looking at announcing this news across multiple markets (e.g. the company has a strong presence in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom), consider the right time to announce the news in both geographies. 

3. Devise the right strategy 

How can you make the biggest splash in getting visibility for your funding announcement? From an earned media perspective, there are typically two main approaches. The first is an exclusive route, where the story is pitched to one reporter at a highly-regarded and relevant publication. The benefit of this is that the company is featured in a prominent publication - and by giving one reporter the scoop, this can potentially result in a more in-depth and impactful story with a reporter you’re looking to build a relationship with. 

The second common option is to go down an embargoed media approach, which means pre-pitching the news ahead of it going live to a slew of relevant publications. The rationale for this is because you have confidence in seeing this across a slew of outlets at the time the news goes live, although the stories could be less in-depth compared to progressing the exclusive path. Ultimately, think about the narratives (see point #1) to help guide the right strategy to announce the news. 

4. Amplify across multiple channels 

While many startups prioritize earned media as a key channel to amplify the news, remember that this is only one vehicle to amplify the news. At Gravitate, we spearhead discussions with our clients, the investors, media/influencers and the company at large to make sure that all channels are being used to gain as much visibility to the announcement - this includes earned, owned (newsletters, blogs), social and in some cases, even paid (a Nasdaq billboard in Times Square!) media. 

For example, if the company is in the B2B space, is there an approach to maximize eyeballs on social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter? And it’s not just about sharing the announcement on the corporate channels. Is there content that has been created to make it easy for investors, partners, customers and employees to share the news on the day as well on their own profiles? Is there also a breadth of content that is shareable - not only the press release and/or blog, but also earned media coverage, images and video? 

For LinkedIn specifically, Gravitate has also employed LinkedIn Live to announce the news on the day, which has generated thousands of additional views for our clients about the news. In one particular instance, LinkedIn Live was used as the best approach for a high-profile investor to speak about the funding outside of earned media.   

5. Look beyond funding to advance your narrative  

Finally, while a lot of focus is put towards making any funding announcement a success - and rightfully so - remember, that this milestone is part of a broader strategy focused on the company’s growth and long-term success. 

At Gravitate, we specialize in partnering with high-growth technology companies to solidify their category leadership, and we view this news as being one part of continuing to effectively position and convey a company’s story. Based on our years of experience announcing dozens of funding announcements, we’ve created highly bespoke approaches based on each company’s unique offering, goals and vision. If you’re interested in learning more or have any questions, please contact us.   

As a marketing communications team that works with high-growth technology brands, it’s easy to be swept up in the day-to-day busyness of what’s on our immediate to-do list. But the last couple of years have certainly been difficult to get together in-person (hello, COVID and all of its variants) - and as the pandemic has brought about changes in how we work, our client’s businesses, and our own firm, a kickoff was clearly top priority to assess the past year, and look forward to the year ahead. And it’s not just Gravitate - many companies are prioritizing kickoffs and offsites as a way to bring teams together.

At Gravitate, we took a couple of days away from our usual schedules to come together, and foster a safe and open space to discuss who we are as a team, our culture, values, goals and future growth. Ultimately, the two days were incredibly well spent - we’ve come away feeling energized, excited and eager to progress with the actions we’d agreed upon during our kickoff (which we’re already ticking off less than a week since our time together)!  

If you’re looking at planning your own company offsite - or are interested in knowing more about Gravitate - here’s a few takeaways from the two days.

Get everyone energized ahead of time. 

Everyone at Gravitate was excited about the kickoff (we’d been talking about it since the end of 2021), but some people on our team had never participated in a kickoff before, at any company. For any kickoff, it’s really important ahead of time to get people energized, involved and thinking about the event. 

Ahead of the kickoff, we asked everyone to share their thoughts on what would be a theme that embodied Gravitate, that we could weave into the preparation and actual event. We had a whopping 20 kickoff theme suggestions to choose from. It was a close race, but the winning theme for 2022 was “integrity.” We felt that it embodied who we are - a straight-talking, honest, and diverse team who are equal partners with our clients, and each other. We’re accountable to each other, and it’s our “can-do” spirit that allows us to do our work exceptionally well, uncover compelling stories and insights, punch above our weight, and secure phenomenal, industry-leading results. Having a theme made sure that we came into the kickoff operating with a very open, supportive and transparent space when sharing ideas and suggestions. We didn’t ask everyone to do much planning ahead of time, other than have some high-level thoughts on highlights/areas for improvement from last year, ideas for this year, and bringing their own goals to the meeting. 

Finally, we sent some new Gravitate swag (yay!) related to the kickoff. (Well, it was meant to arrive ahead of time, but global supply shortages affected that… however, it’s also the thought that counts)! 

Solidify the kickoff agenda. 

Any company kickoff is a big undertaking, and part of the challenge is that we felt that there was so much to cover - we could probably talk for weeks if given the opportunity! Several teammates sat down ahead of time and narrowed it down to these areas of focus: 

• Why we’re here 
• Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT)
• Gravitate’s goals 
• Individual goals 
• Values 
• Putting it all together 

By having several of us come together ahead of time, we were able to finalize the agenda quickly and effectively, and collaborated effectively to plan the big picture down to the minute details (including some very meticulous time allocation against each of the agenda topics).  

Recognize where more topics need more time. 

We made a conscious decision to bring our team together to meet in person for the kickoff, to break us out of our daily routines, and foster a more open and spontaneous environment to share ideas and feedback. We used our massive whiteboard to see everything plotted out - and starting with the SWOT, it was amazing to see how open we were as a team to talk through all the good (strengths, opportunities), and areas for improvement (weaknesses, threats). 

This led into our goal setting - sharing the future from a broader company perspective, but then mapping back all of our goals to be part of the bigger picture. What was exciting and gratifying was that we could not only connect each other’s insights and goals more tangibly, but that people were literally cheering each other on in the room as we discussed these as a team. We asked each other questions. We built suggestions on top of ideas. We created plans and deadlines. 

Towards the end of the last day, we had a section focused on values - and while we’re close to unveiling these, we recognized that we needed to spend more time in the other areas. There’ll be more to share shortly on values soon! 

Have fun! 

The Gravitate kickoff gave us all an opportunity to really connect in new and meaningful ways that enriched our ways of working together. At times we were vulnerable and candid with each other, and this afforded us the chance to be more empathetic of each other, and encourage an open and judgment-free space. While there’s a lot to unpack, discuss, scrutinize and plan when it comes to kickoffs, it’s also the perfect time to socialize as a team - including a team breakfast, lunch and happy hour!

At Gravitate, we’ve always humbly sought out the experiences and insights from a variety of communicators and industry professionals. As an agency that places a strong emphasis on diversity & inclusion, a number of us have been proud participants in Bay Area Storytellers of Color (BASC), which is a diverse network of media & PR professionals who gather several times a year to speak on a variety of topics and learn from each other.

You’ve spent your career in PR and just recently transitioned into a Partnerships role at the Kapor Center. Why the shift and how are these relatable?

As far back as I can remember, I’ve been a promoter – the “hype” person. From small events to big gatherings, whatever I was involved in and loved, I wanted to promote it and encourage everyone to get involved. I loved being in the mix of things and knowing who was making things happen. Little did I know that those innate skills were the foundation to a career in Public Relations for over two decades.

The Kapor Center recently created a new Partnerships role which has provided me an opportunity to utilize my diverse network and passion for making connections. I love “connecting the dots” between people, organizations etc and creating strategic alliances to better help all parties involved move towards a common mission. It’s a win-win for everyone involved! 

Your career in promoting diverse voices and culture in the Bay Area preceded you and I’d love to better understand how you’ve been able to weave together your skills in communication and your passion for highlighting diversity in your career?

Anything I’m involved in, both personally and professionally,  I look at through a diverse lens and try to determine how I can connect the dots.

Back in 2016, I co-founded BASC, Bay Area Storytellers of Color, a diverse network of media and PR professionals in tech who gather a few times a year to share best practices and network. This group continues to grow with over 100 members who find solace in a group that truly understands what they are experiencing in the industry.

For many years I served as the Diversity Chair for the PRSA-San Francisco Chapter. During my leadership, we organized many Unity Mixers where we brought together Bay Area PR and journalists from the Black, Hispanic, Asian and LGBTQ communities. These gatherings were a big hit which is currently held during the PRSA National Conference. I’m happy to say that the Diversity Mixer is still a signature event, even a decade later!

In your previous role with Visit Oakland, you took the mantle to highlight Oakland on a national level. Can you tell us about the significance of making sure that Oakland was given attention, especially during the rise of the Warriors?

I’m from New York, but my heart lies in Oakland. We call it The Town. For almost 20 years I’ve lived in The Town and have watched it change, both for better and worse. When I was hired at Visit Oakland– the tourism bureau for the city– I felt it was a natural extension of the passion I already had for the city. Oakland has been and remains an underdog city. In my role, I was able to positively shift the outward perception of Oakland through media coverage, locally, nationally and internationally.

One of my proudest career moments came during the 2015 NBA Finals with the Warriors.  I worked tirelessly to convince the producers at ESPN and TNT to show a majority of Oakland during their broadcasts, rather than “the City”– San Francisco. The Warriors are Oakland’s team!  It had never been done before and I wanted to ensure everyone saw the beauty of a city that I truly love.

You are an active and vocal member of the Armenian community. Can you discuss how your role in that community helps inform the work you do at the Kapor Center?

My entire life I’ve been an active (and proud!) member of the Armenian community no matter where I’ve lived. While we are not large in numbers we are powerful with our collective voices. 

Similar to so many minority groups, Armenians have been persecuted for over a century. Our community continues to fight for justice for the acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide where 1.5 million Armenian were massacred at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. To this day these atrocities have not been acknowledged by many governments – including the US – and generations later Armenians globally continue to fight for recognition,

Having this lived experience has made me more empathetic to the work we do at the Kapor Center and to everyone we serve. We all come from somewhere. We all have a past and a history. Ultimately we want to create opportunities and provide access to level the playing field for all.

The tech community has long been criticized for its problems in addressing diversity. Even as more resources and attention are being given to this area, where do you think the largest disconnect remains in tech’s ability to recruit and retain talent from diverse backgrounds? 

It’s funny, people believe that there isn’t enough diverse talent to successfully fill tech positions. We’re often told that there’s a pipeline problem. That’s a joke and simply not true.

The real questions remain: where do you look to hire talent? What does your staff look like? How are you helping to build that pipeline? How do you retain the people that you’ve got?

Take a closer look at your recruiting process. Which colleges do you recruit from? Do you have an internship program to cultivate talent? Do you give larger referral incentives for recruiting underrepresented people of color? Do you have a workplace culture that allows everyone to thrive?

Change will only happen if you begin to look inward– at yourself, your organization and leadership. Sometimes it’s as simple as creating opportunities for people, and supporting them along the way and amazing things will happen.

COVID-19 has also changed a lot of advocacy and networking opportunities, especially for women and minorities. How are you/ the Kapor Center adjusting to the new normal to ensure progress isn’t lost? 

As an extrovert, it’s been difficult not being out and about at industry and community events on a regular basis, like I always did before. However, this is the new normal and we must adapt. It’s weirdly easy to stay inside for days and weeks on end without much connection.

One thing that I have found helpful is keeping a list of friends and colleagues (present and former) who I call when I have spare time. Usually it’s a 15-20 minute check-in to see how they’re feeling. In the end, we both feel better actually hearing a live voice. 

To keep our ecosystem connected, the Kapor Center has shifted to online events and webinars. Our goal remains to be a valuable resource for many underrepresented people of color in tech and venture capital.

What would your words of advice be to the next generation of women and BIPOC leaders in your field?

Speak Up. Get Involved. Take Action. 

Change can’t be made – big or small – from sitting on the sidelines. Look around your organization and see where you can make a difference. Mentor someone younger or with less experience. Work with your HR team to find new pipelines to find diverse talent. Create an internship program with diverse candidates. Help build the pipeline you want to see in the workplace. 

Creating opportunity and access to those who are often marginalized should be your focus. You’ll always find success when you are trying to help others!