Getting a media outlet to tell the world about your company’s unique product or service can often feel like an exercise in futility. According to a study from PR company Propel, journalists responded only to an average of 3.25 percent of the pitches they received during Q2 2022. But what if you could run a program to algorithmically figure out which journalists are most likely to take an interest?
A new platform is betting that by harnessing the power of data, PR professionals and small business owners alike can take pitching from an art to a science. Aaron Kwittken, CEO of data-as-a-service platform PRophet (pronounced “prophet”), says that the platform can identify which journalists have previously written about similar topics and even predict what their sentiment towards your pitch will likely be.
Kwittken, a 30-year PR veteran, founded PRophet in 2020 because he was frustrated with the industry’s reliance on “overpriced online media databases,” and with the lack of new tech-based solutions for PR professionals, he says. Since its founding, the platform, which is part of the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, a suite of tools built for online marketers, has grown to 10 employees and has more than 200 active clients.
Typically, PR firms determine which outlets to focus their efforts on by using public relations management platforms like Muck Rack, which provides a comprehensive and searchable database of the media world for clients at a custom price point. In comparison, PRophet costs $199 per-month for an individual account. Enterprise account pricing is determined on a case-by-case basis.
Instead of trawling through lists, PRophet users can simply enter their pitch into the platform and select from a few relevant categories, including which country’s media they’re attempting to reach, and what kind of product or service is being pitched. After running the data, the platform ranks the strength of the pitch on a scale from 1 to 100 and surfaces a shortlist of candidates most likely to respond favorably to the pitch. Users can also search to find podcasts that might be receptive to having them on as a guest.
Lisa Peterson, an Austin-based veteran of the industry with her own practice and over 20 years of experience, says that while she thinks A.I. will be a useful option for both PR professionals and startups looking for inexpensive solutions to grow brand awareness, it will never be able to fully replace humans. Peters added that she believes artificial intelligence will be “fantastic for helping PR professionals select the right media and build out their media lists, but it can’t build long-term relationships,” she says. “A computer can’t replace the value that comes with human interaction.”
One thing that PRophet doesn’t do is actually write pitches. While Kwittken claims that the platform will eventually make use of predictive text to create pitches that are focused on targeting specific reporters, he concedes that the platform can’t magically make a story more compelling.
So what goes into a great pitch? “You have to distill what you’re offering down to its most essential element. Is it different? Is it new? Is it highlighting an issue that no one’s written about before?” Kwittken says. “That’s the sweet spot.”
Ben Sherry
Source link