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| Dustin Siggins |
PR agencies face a serious challenge in keeping up with our constant digital evolution as well as the emergence of the influence game. Few firms have the luxury of primarily or exclusively offering earned media services; many have added entire departments dedicated to digital marketing, website and brand design or services tailored to owned media like podcasts, LinkedIn content and Substack columns.
Running an old-school operation focused on old-school earned media services might feel quaint these days. But those of us still on the traditional side of the PR game don’t need to worry: There are three market realities that keep earned media at the heart of what PR is all about.
For traditional media, PR pros are more valuable than ever
I know, I know: traditional media is “dead.” (Not really.) But the Wall Street Journal’s or CNBC’s credibility hasn’t disappeared. Neither has the influence of the top daily newspaper in major metro areas. The business model and personnel at these outlets have changed, with fewer gatekeepers covering fewer topics per day and week. What that means for PR pros is that pitching is a more specialized skill—one that increases the demand for those pros who can navigate these narrow straits.
“Getting positive coverage has never been harder, which only further enhances the ROI of PR,” said Andrew Healy, a Partner at Water & Wall. “Brands are investing in PR like never before, because they see the reputational value it can offer.”
That reputational value matters. When we get past the hot takes about the death of legacy media, those who react to top news still get their information from somewhere. That’s true even inside the public relations industry, where many of those who praised how LLMs are creating more value for public relations got it from Semafor—you guessed it, one of those traditional media outlets people say is pushing up daisies.
“Recent reports that AI will rely heavily on trusted, third-party media coverage shouldn’t be very surprising,” said Healy, who pointed me to the Semafor article. “AI bots aren’t scrolling digital locations with little trust and value. They want sources with credibility and influence.”
More outlets = more opportunities
On the flip side of this market dynamic is the diversity of smaller, niche outlets. When I ran communications for a trade association, it wasn’t in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune or Boston Globe where I remember making the biggest difference for the organization and the industry. It was with the reptile and fish people—not mutants, but the super-niche bloggers and writers, who, as one prominent such person told me, “thought that you guys forgot about us.”
By engaging with these niche outlets and influencers, we were able to make a big difference with the folks most trusted in the niche and in the states where key legislation was being considered.
“Micro-influencers have been a growing part of the media and impact landscape ever since blogs and social media were created,” said Tracy Samantha Schmidt, Founder of The PR Accelerator and a former Time reporter. “Brands that are looking for real impact know that flash and vanity don’t matter—like a national media hit that’s irrelevant to your audiences. Effective communications reaches people with messages that matter to them and motivate action, whether that’s a purchase, a donation or a vote.”
Sure, most brands want CNBC or Tech Crunch—even if they have no shot. But smart PR folks will help management recognize that there’s a ton of opportunity at smaller outlets, including blogs, that can help put a new brand—or an established brand entering new markets—on the map.
This is how earned media specialty firms like mine effectively—and accurately—brand ourselves as able to serve clients in any industry. It’s a seller’s market if you know where to look.
More niching = more value for narrowly focused brands
The downside of being an industry-neutral company is that you never learn one industry so well that you know which gatekeepers to pitch with each client’s unique story.
For example, in 2022, my firm was hired to support Michael Kingsley, a then-SVP with Forefront Communications. We didn’t know anything about Generative AI or insurance technology, never mind the key outlets and their gatekeepers.
But we were ready—and agile enough—to learn. Kingsley got us up to speed on everything from strategic objectives to narratives, which set the foundation for us to secure coverage at key outlets in both industries—and, for the AI client, two interviews with the Wall Street Journal.
Niches aren’t limited to industry. New York is for finance, Washington, D.C. for politics and government contracting and Los Angeles for Hollywood.
But each of these cities and every small town across the country has local and regional media that’s desperate for good stories. Being able to niche down in a handful of regions can drive value quickly for brands that are new—or that are trying to enter a new area.
In short, niche firms may bring three advantages to the table:
- You know the specifics of the industry, so you can do more than just speak comms jargon.
- You know the outlets and the gatekeepers. Relationships matter, as does knowing how to customize coverage, a pitch, etc.
- Clients and management can become trusted go-to voices more quickly.
PR in 2025
Running a PR firm doesn’t mean being stupid or prideful. Building a robust Google Roadmap is most impactful when paired with strong marketing and business development squads. That’s one of the things we tell prospects early: Public relations is most impactful as part of a surround-sound marketing and branding campaign.
“One of the biggest branding misses is leveraging media coverage into marketing collateral on LinkedIn and elsewhere,” said Medbury CEO Meredith Farley. “One properly repurposed Forbes article is worth five similar under-utilized mentions, and one positive press mention can generate tens of thousands of positive impressions in the following quarter on LinkedIn.”
Farley also said that the press and influencers should be targeted with the same approaches companies use to reach prospective buyers. “Hard-won pitch lists and nurtured relationships are a high-value audience worthy of inclusion in go-to-market campaigns and martech integrations.”
That’s where it makes the most sense to run a purely PR firm. Bringing other services in-house at scale can be a horrendously challenging endeavor. It’s often better to focus on what you do best—and find partners who can do the rest.
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Dustin Siggins is a former Capitol Hill journalist and Founder of the public affairs and PR firm Proven Media Solutions.
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