Three Ways Offleash PR Cracked the New Media Code
PR professionals love to say, “the media landscape is changing.” This has never been more true, especially when it comes to new media.
As journalists and PR professionals navigate this uncharted territory, everyone is wondering how it’s going to shake out, and who comes out on top.
Here are a few ways we’ve been able to do right by our clients, and the independent journalists covering them, as the industry works through the new media puzzle.
Case Study #1: When Paid Opens the Right Door
Not every paid partnership earns a seat at the table. Securing the right placement requires matching the right spokesperson to the right platform at the right moment. Following sustained growth across business, broadcast, and trade media, a well-known public company expanded its strategy to capture a new, high-value audience.
We identified and secured a custom paid partnership with Alex Kantrowitz of Big Technology to extend reach beyond traditional channels. The result: The company’s president and CEO was featured on the show, introducing an emerging market category to a highly engaged, tech-savvy audience and driving visibility for the brand’s broader market narrative.
The program combined multiple touchpoints to extend reach and reinforce the message, including:
- A featured interview on the Big Technology YouTube channel
- A live fireside chat at its user conference
- A newsletter sponsorship with logo placement
- A direct call to action driving viewers to its annual conference
Even within a paid model, access is not guaranteed. Kantrowitz is selective about who he features. The pitch stayed focused on three elements: the client’s clear position as the market leader, a topic his audience could get excited about, and openness to a paid collaboration. What made the difference was traction. Real customer stories and evidence of commercial adoption carried the narrative.
We also worked closely with Kantrowitz on the interview structure. His priority is helping his audience understand both the technology and why it matters. That alignment kept the conversation grounded and useful.
The turnaround was fast. The interview moved from recording to publication in just four days. As a result, the company gained visibility with a new audience that already trusts the platform. The added benefit is momentum; strong placements like this often lead to organic coverage and future opportunities.
Case Study #2: Taking a Funding Story Beyond the Raise
This earned placement came together around a fast-growing startup’s seed extension funding announcement. Alex Konrad at Upstarts was the perfect fit because of how he covers funding stories. He doesn’t just report the dollar amount, he digs into what the company does, why it matters, and the people behind it.
Our existing relationship with Konrad from his Forbes days helped start the conversation, and the company was genuinely interested in exploring new media with an audience that fit. For this announcement, we focused on securing a thoughtful feature that could go beyond the funding news and tell the broader company story.
We offered an exclusive embargo, company background, and a tie to a bigger industry story about investor interest in the space, along with interviews with the co-founder, CEO, three investors, and three customer executives. Once we gave Konrad a briefing schedule, he reached out to sources directly.
Timing flexibility was especially important here too. We kept our announcement date open since Konrad had other exclusives lined up.
One thing to note: Our approach to media relationships isn’t one and done. We stay in regular contact with reporters and independent journalists – and keep track of what they’re working on and what they care about. This lays a foundation for a stronger, lasting relationship.
Case Study #3: Maximizing a Day-Of Pitch
A major technology company announced it was donating its open source agent framework to a newly formed industry foundation, alongside contributions from several other prominent AI companies. Although we weren’t able to conduct embargo media outreach, we made the most of our day-of pitching efforts.
The news landed in the typical places you’d expect, like trade press and tech outlets. But the more interesting story wasn’t the announcement itself; it was what this actually means for the developers building with these tools every day.
We built a highly curated list of independent, developer-focused newsletters and podcasts, outlets this audience already trusts, and tailored each pitch to that outlet’s beat and the angle they’d actually care about. After the news broke, we continued pitching new media outlets on the bigger story: why this actually matters for developers and the industry at large. In total, our team secured over 130 pieces of coverage, with 46 of them landing in new media.
Sure, having some of the biggest names in AI in the announcement didn’t hurt. But the coverage came down to the research and the personalization, not the names attached.
How Comms Teams Can Support Independent Journalists
Most new media outlets don’t have an ad sales team keeping the lights on. They’re sustained directly by brand support, which makes paid sponsorships and partnerships a legitimate, sometimes expected part of this landscape.
This is a real value exchange, not a compromise. You get impactful, targeted reach with an audience that already trusts the person delivering it, and you’re putting real support behind a writer or creator whose work you actually believe in. That deserves a place in your strategy, not just leftover budget.
These three case studies show what happens when PR teams treat new media relationships with the same rigor as traditional press: researching the individual, respecting their format, and showing up prepared. The brands getting ahead right now aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones willing to build real relationships with the people their audiences already trust – and they recognize the value of new media.