“Trust arrives on foot and leaves on horseback.”

If you work in cybersecurity, that saying will feel all too familiar. Trust is the foundation of everything. Without it, your customers won’t invest in your solution, won’t hand over their data and won’t bet their reputation on you.

Cybersecurity operates in the background. It’s invisible, until something goes wrong. Yet, businesses and individuals are expected to take a leap of faith, entrusting you with their most sensitive information. One breach, one failure and that trust evaporates. And as we all know, once it’s gone, it’s a long, uphill battle to win it back.

So how do you build trust when your customers can’t see what you do? This is where modern PR – and more specifically, Performance PR – can make the difference.

Why trust matters in cybersecurity

Your customers don’t just need a cybersecurity solution. They need confidence that their data won’t be compromised, misused or exposed. The consequences of failure – financial losses, legal action, reputational damage – are severe. Trust is shaped by perception, and perception is shaped by how you show up in the market. It’s built over time, reinforced through consistency and strengthened by the right strategic communications. That’s where thought leadership comes in. When done well, thought leadership educates and reassures. It positions your brand as the expert, the innovator, the safe pair of hands. It takes complex, intangible security concepts and translates them into tangible proof points which  build confidence.

Performance PR: Building trust and credibility

If you’re new to Performance PR, here’s what you need to know: it’s PR with purpose. Every campaign is tied directly to business objectives, measured rigorously and delivers quantifiable results. No vanity metrics or vague promises. Before a campaign even begins, targets are set. And if those targets aren’t met? You don’t pay. At Whiteoaks, that’s our ‘fixed fees for fixed outcomes’ promise. 

What does thought leadership look like?

Trust is built through consistency, expertise and smart amplification. Performance PR goes beyond traditional PR by taking media coverage and supercharging it through content, social media and creative.

• Content collateral: Insightful content, such as articles, blogs, talking heads videos and whitepapers which establish your
  authority and shape industry conversations.
• Social media presence: Sharing expert insights, engaging in discussions and reinforcing credibility in real time.
• Speaking opportunities: Security events, webinars and podcasts which allow you to showcase expertise and reach audiences in a more
  direct, engaging way.
• Strategic media placements: Coverage in the high-profile industry outlets your audiences read that position you as a go-to expert in cybersecurity.

Thought leadership delivers more than trust

Thought leadership is about consistently showing up, adding value and shaping the right conversations.

Over time, this builds trust. And with trust comes:

• Market differentiation: A distinct, authoritative voice that sets you apart from competitors.
• Greater visibility: Media opportunities, speaking engagements and partnership potentials.
• Business growth: The credibility and confidence which attract new clients, retain existing ones.

But can you measure trust? You can certainly measure the markers of trust through carefully tracked metrics in Performance PR.

What’s the media saying? Sentiment analysis can distinguish positive, neutral and negative feelings towards your brand. If confidence in your brand is growing, you’ll see it.

How do you compare against your competition? Media mentions, social engagement and industry presence reveal influence. Are analysts citing your insights? Are decision-makers engaging with your content? If your voice is driving discussions, that’s trust in action.

Is trust growing? Brand perception surveys, sentiment tracking and first-party feedback tell you if your thought leadership is building credibility. Are you shaping decisions and perceptions? If the answer is yes, your strategy is working and you’re building trust.

If trust arrives on foot, we’ll make sure you’ve got the right boots and a clear path forward. Let’s talk if you’re ready to establish your brand as a trusted cybersecurity leader.

ABM and PR might seem like two distinct strategies, but, in fact, when combined, they create a powerful approach to engaging high-value accounts. PR builds a credibility and awareness for a brand, while ABM ensures your efforts are laser-focused on a key audience.

We recently hosted a webinar, “The Marriage of ABM and PR”, exploring how these two strategies work together to drive stronger results. If you missed it, you can now watch the full webinar on-demand. But first, here are some key takeaways to whet your appetite.

PR lays the groundwork for ABM success

ABM is all about precision – targeting high-value accounts with personalised campaigns. But before you can engage decision-makers, they need to know who you are and trust your brand. That’s where PR comes in.

A strong PR strategy builds brand awareness and credibility, and helps to shape your reputation. This ensures that when your ABM campaigns reach key accounts, they’re already familiar with your business and ideally have a favourable perception.

Aligning sales, marketing and PR improves targeting

ABM requires close collaboration between sales and marketing to identify and engage the right accounts.

PR adds another layer of intelligence by helping to map audience personas, understand industry conversations and position your brand as a thought leader.

Together, these elements create a more informed and strategic approach to account targeting – helping every activity to be more impactful.

You don’t have to start from scratch

Effective Performance PR campaigns generate valuable content, whether that’s thought leadership articles, case studies or reports, that can be repurposed to support ABM initiatives.

Rather than starting from scratch, you can tailor existing PR assets to appeal to specific accounts and what you know about them. This ensures consistency in messaging while also maximising the impact of your content and the initial outlay of time and resource to create those pieces.

Data sharing strengthens both strategies

PR provides a broad view of industry trends, audience sentiment and brand perception – valuable insights that can sharpen ABM strategies. Understanding how your brand is positioned in the market helps refine messaging and outreach for high-value accounts.

At the same time, ABM generates detailed data on target accounts, from engagement patterns to key pain points. Feeding this intelligence back into PR efforts ensures media outreach and thought leadership align with what truly resonates with decision-makers, making both strategies more effective.

Want to learn more about how to make ABM and PR work together for your business?

Watch our webinar on-demand and get in touch to find out more!

Research projects are increasingly becoming a strategy of choice for B2B tech brands looking to position themselves as thought leaders. The media continues to have an appetite for the insights these industry surveys can deliver.

By investing in research, brands like yours can generate credible insights that serve to differentiate themselves from the competition and leverage for the media coverage to reach their target audiences and strengthen their market position.

Whether conducted in-house or outsourced to a specialist research company, however, surveys take time and resources to complete. B2B tech brands may also have concerns about the outcomes, with fears that results will fail to challenge the status quo and therefore won’t be newsworthy.

But research surveys with carefully crafted questions and responses can generate useful insights from target audiences.

Here are the three key reasons why it’s worth the investment:

One: Data-backed thought leadership

By collecting and owning data from their own surveys, businesses like yours don’t have to rely on external data to deliver industry insights.

Instead, you have your own IP, which enables you to differentiate your commentary, repurpose the data for marketing and strategic planning, and build credibility among clients, prospects and industry peers alike.

Successful research projects may even spur on yearly revisits, allowing you to compare and contrast data over a period of time, thereby enabling you to build insights into market trends and momentum and truly own a niche. 

Two: The opportunity to become a market trailblazer

Commissioning research enables a brand to shape industry conversations, rather than just reacting to them. By uncovering new trends, challenges or opportunities, businesses can be positioned as forward-thinking leaders.

These insights can also be used to inform strategy internally – giving a business unique market intelligence into its audiences that can shape product launches etc.

Three: Fuel for long-term marketing and content

Insights gained from research can fuel far more than a single report; they can provide a foundation for ongoing marketing efforts.

Key findings can be repurposed across PR campaigns in thought leadership articles, news releases, eBooks and industry whitepapers, as well as assets that can be shared on social media, such as infographics, social media tiles and videos.

They can even be leveraged for sales presentations. By selecting relevant results, and inserting them into their pitch slides, your teams can build a more persuasive case for a product, or service offering; address buyer pain points or validate the need for a solution.

In addition, you can revisit the data to comment or add context to breaking news stories, or to deliver insightful and timely commentary pieces.

If you want help in bringing these benefits to life but aren’t sure where to begin, we can offer guidance.

To kick-start your research journey, get in touch with us today.

“People buy from people”, as the old sales adage goes. But the idea that people are more likely to buy from someone they know or have built a relationship with is still relevant in today’s social media age.

LinkedIn is a perfect example. More B2B tech brands than ever are initiating content strategies on LinkedIn, with 85% of B2B content marketers identifying the platform as delivering the best value. And while posts from B2B brands can generate engagement and leads, main feeds for users are often populated by insights from thought leaders and industry experts.

Credibility counts for a lot when you are a B2B company in the tech sector with a new product or service. It’s why endorsements by acknowledged industry gurus on LinkedIn are gold dust. That’s true whether they are bigging you up outright in posts or if it is more subtle – in mentions, links and tags. It’s all great to have. But like gold dust, endorsements from major industry figures can be hard to come by and their impact can be time-limited. For increased visibility and more sustained effect, B2B tech brands should think about putting their own people at the forefront.

Driving engagement

Employees make great advocates and persuaders. When they share content, insights or personal experiences from their own profiles, it can feel more authentic than traditional corporate messaging – depending of course on how they word it. User-generated content in the form of employee advocacy is a powerful way to drive engagement. For a start, many employees have networks that extend beyond their company’s following. What they write or post will reach a wider audience that already knows them and can gauge their credibility.

At the same time, when employees speak positively about their work environment, it strengthens the company’s reputation. The overall impact of user-generated content on LinkedIn increases significantly when the business itself starts reposting what its employees have to say. That could be about how a product helps customers overcome a common industry challenge, or it could be about why they like working for the company. According to LinkedIn, employees make up about 30% of their company’s engagement.

However, for it to be effective, employee advocacy should be voluntary and supported by a culture where staff feel confident in sharing their perspectives.

Encouraging employee advocacy the right way

Brands can play a role in encouraging advocacy from staff, ensuring it hits the right marks by drawing on the expertise of dedicated social media experts. For example, employees need to use convincing language. They should avoid repeating sales slogans parrot-fashion or making claims that have no basis in reality. Everyone benefits from a dose of boosterism but that can only go so far. Employees may need help to achieve the right tone. What’s important is to keep each person’s individuality. But it’s not as if every single post has to be minutely re-crafted by teams of influencers.

There are, however, definite advantages in using professionals who know how to use social media – and especially LinkedIn – in the B2B tech market. They can advise on the use of images and video as well as text. They can devise schedules of relevant content with the right kind of insight that colleagues can leverage on their own channels.

If you would like to find out more about how Whiteoaks’ social media team can help you build great content from your employees into your social strategy, get in touch with us now.

“PR is rubbish.”

“It’s not for us.”

You might have said it, or even believed it. Maybe your last agency overpromised and underdelivered. Maybe PR has always felt like smoke and mirrors – big retainers, little impact. Maybe you’ve never done PR before, but you’ve heard the horror stories.

We get it. We’ve heard them all. And the truth is, you’re not wrong to be sceptical.

PR, done badly, can be a waste of time and money. Sometimes it can be a costly investment with very little to show from it.  But here’s where we’re different from most agencies: we do things differently from what you might have heard or previously experienced. PR, done right, is a measurable, strategic asset which can help you achieve your business goals. Let’s break down the biggest frustrations and misgivings, one by one.

1. “We’ve been burnt before – PR felt like a waste of money.”

The problem
You hired a PR agency expecting them to make a big impact. Instead, you found yourself stuck in an endless cycle of press release edits, eating up your retainer. Then halfway through the month, they hit you with: “Your hours are up.” You paid the invoice, but the results were underwhelming. This is exactly why PR has a reputation problem. Too many agencies charge exorbitant fees for time without delivering tangible business outcomes. PR should never be a glorified copywriting service. It should be a strategic, measurable function which directly supports your business objectives.

The Whiteoaks way
As the client you deserve full transparency on what you’re paying for and what it’s doing for your business. With our Performance PR model, you know exactly what you’re getting – both in terms of deliverables and measurable results. When you share your business objectives with us, we build a PR strategy designed to deliver real impact. Every campaign is built on set deliverables which achieve defined outcomes. Those deliverables could include: X press releases, Y articles or Z video interviews. And we don’t stop at execution. We measure the direct impact of our work using clear, meaningful metrics such as coverage volume, audience engagement or key message penetration. There is no wasted spend, just campaigns which deliver measurable value to your business.

2. “What exactly are we paying for?”

The problem
The PR pitch was slick. The agency sounded like they knew their stuff but when it came down to actual deliverables? Vague. No clear outputs. No defined impact. You gained no real understanding of what your investment would actually do for your business. For too long, PR agencies have relied on ambiguity when it comes to pricing. Unlike other marketing disciplines – where costs, deliverables and KPIs are clearly defined – traditional PR has operated in the shadows of unclear commitments and subjective success metrics. PR should be as transparent; if an agency can’t articulate what’s included and what success looks like, it’s a red flag. When you invest in PR, you should have absolute clarity on what you’re getting in return. That means knowing:

> What’s included in the scope: How many press releases? How many media opportunities? What kind of thought leadership content?
> How success will be measured: What KPIs will be tracked? How will PR’s impact on brand awareness, reputation or lead generation be demonstrated?
> What business outcomes PR will influence: How does media coverage contribute to your wider commercial objectives?

The Whiteoaks way
When you work with us you can expect a clear, measurable and results-driven approach  – one which holds us fully accountable for delivering impact. Our Performance PR approach is built on defined metrics which prove the value of your investment. From media reach to inbound leads influenced by PR efforts, everything we do is tracked and measured. We’re committed to our ‘fixed fees for fixed outcomes’ model, so you’ll always know exactly what you’re paying for, with no hidden costs or surprises. We work in close partnership with you; we set agreed targets which directly align with your business objectives, backed by a formal service level agreement. And here’s the difference – if we don’t hit those targets, you get your money back. It’s a model which provides peace of mind for you and accountability for us. 

3. “PR will just create more work for us.”

The problem
Too many businesses assume that hiring a PR agency means more work, not more results – and honestly, with the wrong agency, they’re right to worry. They picture themselves drowning in drafts, rewriting press releases, providing endless quotes and getting stuck in a never-ending cycle of approvals. Instead of freeing up their time, PR starts to feel like just another task to manage. For busy teams, that’s a dealbreaker. PR should make an impact, not pile on extra work.nA well-run PR strategy should feel like an extension of your team, delivering results with minimal demand on your time. The reason PR sometimes feels like extra work? Misalignment from the start. When agencies don’t take the time to fully understand your business, messaging and positioning, they rely too heavily on you to fill in the gaps.nThat’s not how it should work.

The Whiteoaks way
Our team has deep expertise across media, content, creative, digital and social media, and we take ownership of every element, so you don’t have to. We’ve specialised in B2B tech PR for nearly 30 years, which means we already understand the complexities of your industry. We are attuned to getting to grips with technical concepts and we translate your expertise into compelling narratives to position you as a thought leader. From day one, we get under the skin of your business. We define your positioning, map out your audience and build a strategy which aligns directly with your commercial goals. We pinpoint what drives your customers, where they engage and what influences their decisions so every campaign lands in the right place, with the right people, at the right time. PR should be a growth engine, not a time drain. 

4. “Our leadership team won’t sign off on PR.”

The problem
You see the value of PR. You know it can raise your brand profile, position your company as an industry leader and drive engagement. But your leadership team isn’t convinced. They don’t want vague promises about ‘raising awareness’. They want clear ROI, tangible business impact and data which proves PR is worth the investment. If they can’t see a direct link to commercial goals, they won’t sign off.

The Whiteoaks way
We know the key to securing buy-in is to make PR measurable and show how it can accelerate business objectives. Fortunately, that’s exactly how Performance PR operates. It directly supports commercial priorities like launching new products, generating leads or scaling quickly. Instead of saying, “we’ll increase awareness,” we can demonstrate how PR will deliver real, quantifiable results:

> If you’re launching a new product we say: “We’ll secure X high-profile media features to drive awareness, credibility and demand from day one.”

> If you want to drive leads into the business, we say: “We’ll create thought leadership content and media placements which fuel inbound marketing and push potential customers into the pipeline.”

> If you’re under pressure to grow fast, we say: “We’ll position the company as an industry leader, attracting customers, investors and partners to support your expansion.”

When PR is structured like this, it’s a results-driven investment which leadership can’t ignore.

If you’ve been let down by PR before or you’re sceptical about whether it’s worth the investment, let us prove that it can be done differently. Get in touch to see what Performance PR can look like in action.

 

Establishing real and lasting brand visibility can seem like an intimidating prospect for many B2B tech business, especially for those entering new markets or launching innovative new solutions.

Even a manufacturer unveiling IoT-ready machinery or a start-up launching a revolutionary AI analytics tool can struggle to achieve brand recognition, despite offering something truly unique.

Often, the missing piece of the jigsaw is the human angle that reveals the depth of knowledge and passion within the organisation.

Why personalities matter

Leaders are often overlooked in brand-building efforts. One approach that can shift the focus from products to people is executive profiling: highlighting the views of key spokespeople so they become go-to voices on industry trends and important topics.

Many organisations focus on product features instead of the perspectives and insights that really set them apart as organisations.

Leaders are typically hot on trends and have an opinion on the direction an industry/business should or will take.

By positioning these executives as credible, reliable commentators, a business can connect with audiences on a more personal level.

This strategy harnesses the passion behind new technologies and translates it into stories that resonate beyond technical details, creating a sense of familiarity and trust.

When executives become influential voices, they aren’t just promoting a product, they are sharing viewpoints that align with big-picture trends in the market.

Whether highlighting the impact of sustainability on manufacturing processes or offering data-driven insight into customer demands, they spark curiosity.

That sense of curiosity is exactly what drives brand awareness, because it encourages potential clients and media outlets to keep watching for updates and further commentary.

Creating authentic, timely messages

Executive profiling hinges on developing narratives that feel both relevant and authentic. For many

businesses, the first step is to pinpoint industry themes that match their expertise, whether that’s supply chain efficiencies, green initiatives or breakthrough data applications.

By clarifying these themes and matching them with the right spokesperson, a business can speak in a voice that resonates with the wider sector.

Workshops and strategic content planning help leaders find their own style and tone. This ensures they offer something distinct whenever they speak or write.

A confident manufacturing lead who understands how IoT devices can reduce environmental impact, for example, is more compelling from a media perspective than a generic message about improving productivity.

Authenticity is crucial, because journalists and audiences alike respond positively to ideas that reflect real-world experiences and firsthand knowledge.

How Performance PR boosts impact

A well-rounded Performance PR approach focuses on using every coverage opportunity to advance brand visibility and reinforce awareness.

A single interview or commentary can unlock new angles for editorial pieces and social media discussions. Each time an executive appears in a respected publication, the business’s reputation is enhanced.

These benefits accumulate when leaders consistently offer timely viewpoints on newsworthy topics.

Over time, this leads to more interview requests, higher quality placements in top-tier publications and steady growth in awareness levels for the business.

Prospective clients, partners and investors begin to see the brand as a key reference point, not just for products but also for strategic thinking and industry insights.

Building momentum and lasting awareness

Consistent exposure can transform an unknown brand into a recognised name, provided leaders keep sharing informed perspectives.

Once executives become trusted commentators, they can remain visible on multiple platforms and use the opportunity this affords to showcase and explain how their organisation’s innovations solve real world problems.

As industries evolve, leaders will need to evolve their roles, understanding and processes to learn and grow in their field.

They might develop new angles as technology develops or respond to emerging issues with fresh insights.

That flexibility helps executives and the brand they represent to stay aligned to changing consumer preferences, regulations and market conditions.

Standing out in a competitive landscape

Executive profiling has a vital role to play for any business that is aiming to elevate its visibility and gain a foothold in a crowded sector.

By pairing real expertise with timely commentary, leaders can help their organisations transcend ordinary marketing chatter, sparking a deeper conversation about what their solutions can achieve.

When integrated into a Performance PR strategy, each piece of thought leadership, interview or event appearance builds on the one before.

This cohesive approach helps make leaders within the business the voices people turn to for guidance, while at the same driving ongoing momentum for the organisation itself.

Want to learn how we can help turn your organisation’s leaders into industry trailblazers? Get in touch.

We’re thrilled to share that Whiteoaks has once again been recognised as a Top 50 B2B Marketing Agency in the 2025 B2B Marketing UK Agencies Benchmarking Report.

This achievement reflects our team’s commitment to delivering performance-led campaigns that drive real impact for our clients.

For over 30 years our clients in the tech space have trusted us to deliver integrated B2B tech PR campaigns that perfectly combine media relations, content strategy, digital PR and social media elements to boost brand visibility, drive credibility and support lead generation to enable growth.

Commenting on this recognition, Whiteoaks CEO, Hayley Goff, said:

“This is a testament to the hard work and expertise of our team. We take pride in delivering measurable results for our clients, helping them cut through the noise and achieve their business goals.”

Download your copy of the report, and get in touch to discuss how we can support your brand’s growth.

No matter how strong or innovative a technology business’s product or solution is, standing out as a thought leader can still be a significant challenge.

Putting an overriding focus on product features and functions is likely to be misguided.

After all, differentiating yourself from the competition isn’t always about highlighting what you offer, it often comes down to demonstrating how you think about key issues.

Expert-led roundtables offer a way to shift your brand from simply commenting on events to actively steering the narrative, creating powerful conversations that help people see you as a genuine authority and thought-leader in the market.

Shaping the conversation

A roundtable brings together a range of voices, from commentators, journalists and analysts to in-house experts and business customers.

Instead of delivering a monologue, the host organisation fosters an open debate that resonates well beyond the virtual or physical room and highlights the important role they play in the industry conversation.

A mid-sized cybersecurity firm, for instance, might struggle to gain traction next to bigger names day to day, but by hosting a roundtable that includes its key spokespeople and a respected industry reporter, it can spark an honest, dynamic discussion that commands attention.

Audiences become more invested because these talks provide a range of insights, not just promotional pitches.

Meanwhile, a trusted analyst taking part might challenge assumptions or request deeper analysis, encouraging genuine back-and-forth.

This authenticity boosts credibility and ensures that participants and observers walk away with a better grasp of your point of view on the market, adding weight to any future coverage and positioning you as a reliable source of industry knowledge.

Transforming debate into visibility

As roundtables involve shared opinions rather than one-sided sales messages, the content generated has a value that endures far beyond the event itself.

A recording can be sliced and diced to produce engaging videos, while the day’s discussions can be reworked into blog posts and thought leadership articles.

There is a good chance that journalists in attendance at the event will reference your experts in any subsequent coverage, while analysts might cite your brand in their research reports or on social media channels.

This kind of exposure is likely to have more impact than simply making a company announcement, because it stems from genuine objective interaction between roundtable attendees.

The result is often higher-quality editorial placement, increased trust and an enhanced reputation as a thought leader.

Being front and centre during lively discussions shows that you’re part of the industry’s evolving narrative, which makes it easier for people to remember and reach out to you when they need a reliable voice to comment on hot topics and issues.

Building on expertise

While these events can be a powerful tool, hosting them effectively takes careful planning.

The right moderator helps keep the conversation focused and ensures each participant has their moment to share or debate key points.

The topics chosen should reflect current market issues that matter to your audience, so that a roundtable highlights a brand’s depth of insight without feeling like a sales presentation.

A B2B tech PR agency experienced in Performance PR can simplify the process, from helping shape the conversation itself to securing credible voices that elevate the debate.

As media experts, they can also help by following up targeted media opportunities and converting the output of the event into content that can be shared more widely.

Reaping the rewards

The benefits businesses can glean from expert-led roundtables are many and varied.

They create a valuable opportunity to forge new relationships, deepen existing ones and inspire ongoing editorial coverage.

In an environment where trust is both precious and hard-earned, offering a forum for open, honest debate can make all the difference.

Get in touch today to discover how these expert-led events can help you stand out in a crowded technology landscape and build lasting credibility with the audiences that matter most.

B2B tech firms with expansion plans in overseas markets are right to be excited about the prospect of reaching new audiences, but they also face unknowns. Whether it’s a difference in culture, business practices, media or even political factors, even the most innovative brands may face barriers to success.

Early in the process, challenges in establishing a trusted reputation and gaining credibility with local media can materialise. However, with a combination of local expertise and central coordination from a lead PR agency, companies can move ahead with an international campaign with confidence.

Deciphering the challenges

Before attempting to engaging audiences in a new territory, it’s important to understand any potential barriers. Cultural norms may differ widely, influencing exactly how specific messages should be framed.

Procurement in public sector can differ by region, for example, and is subject to distinctly different approaches within Europe and in the Middle East where cultural and diplomatic influences are at work. And financial services, for instance, are highly regulated by national as well as international watchdogs.

Also, each region has its own media ecosystem in which journalistic practices differ. Who knows which publications, broadcasts or influencers are best suited to a company’s purpose? Trade events may also be easy to find in the calendar but may turn out to be all show and little substance.

Is the answer to engage a different B2B tech PR agency in each country or region at huge cost of money and time? Of course not. But the alternative of having a single agency doing everything is hardly likely to provide the flexibility and regional insight required for an effective PR campaign.

Local knowledge from local experts

The solution is to combine the expertise of on-the-ground agencies that know the media landscape intimately with the overall coordination from one lead agency at the top of the tree.

This approach is agency-agnostic, meaning the lead team collaborates with best-fit local partners, all of which share a focus on measurable success.

Tactics can be tailored to the culture and language of the target country, and execution is made easier thanks to trusted local relationships and well-established media contacts.

Delivered in this way, campaigns will be cohesive, flexible and cost-effective.

Reaping the rewards

With local experts overseen by a centralised team, B2B tech companies can stay agile, control costs and keep their brand identity intact.

Instead of relying on generic messaging, agencies can craft content that resonates with each market’s culture and business environment.

This level of localisation is beneficial to brands and journalists. Content that’s relevant and tailored increases the chances of getting meaningful media coverage.

Building long-term relationships with local media and influencers also becomes more natural and intuitive when genuine engagement replaces one-off transactions.

Simultaneously, brands benefit from consistent reporting and real-time insights, so they know exactly where their PR efforts are paying off and where improvements might be needed.

Looking to the future

Markets around the world are constantly changing. New regulations, platforms and cultural developments are constantly emerging. Brands need to be flexible and proactive to ensure success.

With central coordination and local expertise working together, B2B tech companies can establish a lasting global presence, while keeping their USPs intact.

This approach is both effective and long-lasting, ensuring that growth remains resilient to global changes.

Find out more about the best way to do international PR with our agency-agnostic approach.

 

The next 12 months could see much private equity (PE) activity in B2B tech. Globally, a $2 trillion PE mountain of “dry powder” (the amount of cash that a PE firm reserves) is said to be waiting for an investment home.

Any influx of PE investment in a B2B scale-up focuses on achieving growth within a specific timetable. That may demand a significant rethink about brand image, profile, customer base and partnerships.

PR is vital, but done the traditional way, it is unlikely to offer much return on investment. It is easy for scale-ups to fritter away cash on retainer-based campaigns that lack focus or incentives.

There is a better way, so here are some questions that businesses with new private equity backing should ask when examining PR proposals.

Is there anything measurable in this campaign to give us confidence?

In the traditional retainer model of PR, little apart from the constantly ticking hourly rate will be measured in a way that matters.

It’s true that PR isn’t an exact science – but there is plenty you can measure meaningfully, such as engagement rates on shared articles or website traffic resulting from articles and comments in the trade or mainstream media.

Using our Performance PR model of fixed fees for fixed outcomes, every piece of work will contribute metrics, whether that’s podcasts and webinars or email campaigns. All these measurements of visibility, engagement and impact can be aggregated to form KPIs. Those KPIs help give you confidence about how your PR campaigns are helping to achieve your business goals.

How does the proposal meet our specific requirements?

KPIs should align with business objectives, not offered as a standard bill of fare. This requires collaboration between you and your PR team to tease out where the emphasis in a campaign should be and who it should target.

Is the priority establishing brand awareness, reinforcing trust, boosting a reputation for innovation or getting in front of senior decision-makers at potential partner organisations or big-name customers?

Fixed fees for fixed outcomes sounds inflexible – is it?

No, it is exactly what you need. The KPIs can be adjusted, as can the focus of campaigns.

When the business you are scaling needs to shift its focus because of market conditions or what competitors are up to, Performance PR will respond and adapt quickly.

How much experience of B2B tech is there behind this proposal?

Some PR agencies are newly-arrived in the B2B tech sector. Others like Whiteoaks, have been providing results-driven PR for a vast array of clients for 30 years and more.

An agency with a long heritage has the reputation and relationships to be trusted by the highest quality media – organisations that really matter to ambitious scale-ups. Experience counts for a great deal in understanding audiences and addressing them in the right way.

What sort of in-house capabilities does this agency have?

Any campaign needs the full range of skills across creative work, marketing, news and thought leadership content, media relations and social media.

Those capabilities should be transparently available in-house so the service clients receive is fully integrated, responsive, adaptable and provided by specialists who talk to one another. That’s specialists in each area rather than “all-rounders”. Fads in communication come and go, but quality always counts.

Is this a truly integrated campaign and why does it matter?

PR and marketing should be fully integrated to ensure delivery of business objectives. Campaigns need to be multi-faceted because today’s audiences are not monolithic.

A B2B business needs to meet them through different channels wherever they are, but without wasting effort and money on initiatives that address the wrong people. Finding the right balance – being ambitious but realistic – takes experience.

Is this PR campaign likely to boost brand awareness or growth within our timelines?

If a campaign is crafted to deliver the right messaging to the right audience consistently, it will raise awareness and persuade prospects to move along the sales funnel.

Campaigns can be structured to feature key landmarks along the way. Triggered interventions such as email campaigns, newsletters or dissemination of eBooks can tip the balance of audience awareness at key moments.

That’s enough questions for now. All the best answers for private equity sponsors of B2B scale-ups are to be found in Performance PR.

Get in touch with us now if you want to find out more.