What separates a PR campaign that gets ignored from one that dominates headlines? Substance, speed and a bold point of view, according to Grace Gervais, a Bospar account director.
Grace leads PR strategy and execution for fintech, healthcare and cybersecurity brands, consistently securing top-tier coverage that drives brand credibility. Known for her strong media relations skills, she understands exactly what makes reporters lean in.
In this Expert Insights interview, Grace breaks down how to craft narratives that land, pivot when they don’t and build PR campaigns that spark earned media.
What makes a PR campaign narrative truly media-worthy?
A PR campaign narrative is truly media-worthy when you have either data, expert insights or something new to offer a journalist.
Journalists aren’t interested in writing a puff piece about a brand that reads like an ad. They need brands to offer something new around their beat that their audience will care about.
For example, I recently secured coverage in GOBankingRates around recently proposed credit card rate caps. The client is an AI-powered analytics and infrastructure company that empowers financial institutions to make better decisions around loans using real-time cash flow.
The credit rate cap is a trending topic within the lending space and, if passed, will impact lenders dramatically. Knowing this, we shared the commentary with reporter Gabrielle Olya in our media outreach, offering new insights that informed the conversation around this topic.
It worked because it was timely, mattered to the industry and, while a consumer-facing publication, syndicated to outlets in the B2B space, creating a triple win for the client, the reporter and their audience.
When you’re kicking off a new PR campaign, what are the first steps you take?
The first part of the PR strategy is to look at what’s already being said in the industry and determine where the client can provide something never heard before. Reporters receive upwards of hundreds of pitches a day. So it takes a well-crafted pitch to get their attention.
Once we start putting a PR campaign idea together, I take a step back, removing my rose-colored glasses. This is important because when you’re immersed in the day-to-day with a client, you can become so close to the subject matter that it’s easy to lose sight of what a reporter might actually find interesting.
Then, I think of a punchy way to pitch this PR campaign in our media outreach, using fresh insights in the form of commentary, client data, an infographic or another creative asset that helps a reporter immediately visualize the story.
When a PR campaign isn’t landing, what specific adjustments do you make? Is it making changes to messaging, targets, timing or something else?
First, I scan stories with similar topics to understand why those are landing and why ours isn’t.
Then I typically pivot to a new pitch with a bolder, more provocative take to spice things up. For example, if there’s a trend around AI vulnerabilities to internal security systems, can our client make a bold prediction that this will be the norm by 2030 based on what they’re seeing? The more dramatic, the better.
Finally, I hone in on additional media targets we can offer this to and tailor the angle to each reporter’s specific beat, making a clear case for why this story is relevant and timely for their audience. Maybe it’s a topic they’ve covered before, but not this particular aspect. Maybe it’s something they’ve covered in the past that left wiggle room for challenge or further education. If it is, then we know it’s time to enter our client into this conversation.
You’ve recently had PR campaign success with a client and a Dry January angle. How did you know this angle would resonate with the media right now? What signals told you it had real traction potential?
The client is a science-based app that empowers users to moderate their alcohol intake or pursue sobriety. It uses real tools and methods that have proven successful around how the brain works.
We know Dry January is a trending topic in the media as it’s gone viral in recent years, but we also know that Dry January has transitioned into Damp January (partly dry). So, in our media outreach, we utilized real user stories to talk about how the client’s app works, and how it enables people to restructure their relationships with alcohol.
Through the client’s data, we were able to secure broadcast coverage in Action News Midday on KFSN-FRES (ABC) and Big 2 News at 11 on KMID (ABC).
What do you need from clients, in terms of access, clarity or collaboration, to ensure a PR campaign succeeds?
Data, data and more data! The more data we have, the better positioned we are to identify or provide a new twist on a trend and show why what they’re saying matters.
We also need bold commentary; something that’s outside of advertising jargon. The bolder the statement, the better positioned we are to establish credibility with media as an expert in their space and on that specific subject matter.
What’s one PR campaign you’re most proud of, and what made it successful?
One of my favorite PR campaigns was for a healthcare client’s survey. What made it successful? We thought outside the box for our PR strategy, offering data that revealed something new about data management and made hospital data entry interesting. It also educated consumers on AI in healthcare and how their data is being used. Here’s how we did it: By taking healthcare data management out of the weeds and framing it as something that matters to everyday consumers — while educating the media on how people feel about tools they already use or those that could make their lives easier — we captured reporters’ interest and secured meaningful coverage.
With this PR campaign, we secured a wave of coverage in Forbes, AI in Healthcare, Tech Times, HIT Consultant, Innohealth Magazine and Urology News.
