“Do you have relationships with the editors that cover our technology?
“
That is the question start-up companies often ask when they are creating or using new, unique technology. They think that their PR agency needs to have prior relationships with the editors that cover that technology.
However, in our experience, it often doesn’t matter if we have worked with an editor before. What really counts is the story that we are pitching and our experience in targeting the right story to the right person. We help you shape the story to make it interesting and newsworthy. If your story isn’t interesting to the editor, he or she won’t write about it, even if we know the editor as a friend.
The more we know about an editor’s professional life, the better we are at bringing him the stories he’s interested in. Knowing an editor’s reputation can help us decide whether he is an appropriate person to trust with early an briefing under non-disclosure, for example, or whether he has knowledge about the industry and is known for balanced reporting.
Personal relations do often come out of professional relationships. They certainly can help to smooth the way to access, but ultimately, press coverage doesn’t hinge on who you know.