
In today’s overcrowded PR environment, some industries dominate media coverage while others struggle to break through. A recent Intelligent Relations report showed financial services and gaming clients boasted significantly higher PR email open rates, while fintech and IT lagged behind. Here we unpack the numbers to learn how companies can move past any inherent disadvantages of their industries to secure media placements.
Why Finserv and Gaming Worked
Financial services clients experienced email open rates of 61%, well above the PR industry average. Why? In general, financial service companies gain interest because they provide narratives with broad societal relevance.
Journalists want to know about economic trends, investment opportunities and regulatory shifts. Financial services companies can leverage that greater interest by providing exclusive data or commentary tied to current events. What should other companies learn from this? Stories that play into larger trends, like sustainability or economics, often have a better chance with the media.
So what about gaming? According to the above report, this category experienced a 68% open rate and a more than 9% media placement rate. (The industry average is around 1%).
The media success of video game companies is based on a number of factors. Games that win coverage are usually those that can spark excitement and provide mass appeal across multiple demographic groups or gameplay styles. Also video games backed by celebrities or competing with major industry players are naturally far more likely to gain placements. David-and-Goliath stories are often mediagenic, and having the right voices onboard makes stories that might otherwise be unsexy far more attractive.
Why Fintech and IT Lagged
The fintech and IT industries languished at 35% and 33% email open rates, largely due to market oversaturation. Also, companies in both industries often focus on technical or niche topics that fail to generate broad appeal, leaving them reliant on trade publications or specialized media for coverage.
Takeaways? Many companies may have to move away from highly technical stories to gain more appeal. They can also focus on less-traditional outlets—like blogs, YouTube channels, and podcasts to obtain smaller placements that add up over time.
Going Beyond Industry Verticals
Here are some tactics that companies in any industry can do to break past any natural limitations of PR outreach in their sectors.
- Ditch the mass pitches and micro-target instead: Use AI tools to analyze social media chatter, podcasts, and niche blogs to identify micro-communities that matter to your brand. Pick hyper-relevant angles that focus on these smaller, but highly engaged, audiences.
- Know your audience: Quit treating journalists and influencers like targets and start treating them like collaborators. Engage with their work on social media, share thoughtful comments, and position yourself as a resource. Sometimes casual interactions translate into media placements.
- Rethink your definition of news: You don’t need to break the next big story to gain attention. You just need to offer something timely and valuable. Turn internal reports, customer success stories, or partnerships into stories that align with what the media cares about right now.
The truth is, getting media placements isn’t that complicated. You just have to know what your audience wants and give it to them. Simple, but it does take work. Data-driven strategies focused on building relationships and news trends can be instrumental to success.
Stamatis Astra is Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Intelligent Relations.