David Lucas, Head of Technology at 3 Monkeys Zeno introduces the agency’s latest research exploring the imperatives for technology media relations through the pandemic and beyond.
It’s been the year that everything changed. For many technology companies, this has delivered a boom in business, as the world turned to their tools to maintain operations and keep in touch through lockdowns and social distancing.
With the pandemic putting a squeeze on all kinds of business, the resulting downturn in advertising has led the world of media to also take a hit in many places. Publications have closed, journalists have been on and off furlough.
But others have seen record readership and expanded their reporting. So, what has the impact been on the titles covering the technology keeping us all going? The logic goes that, if the technology sector is booming, the publications covering these businesses should be as well.
Is that really the case? And what impact is there for running technology communications campaigns over the next six months to a year?
We wanted to explore this to help understand the imperatives for technology media relations through the pandemic and beyond. How to structure campaigns, which topics are resonating most, how to launch and when to expect results. So, we looked at data on media coverage since early March to help us analyse the trends in what’s landing in our target publications. We then overlaid this with our own insight from speaking with the UK’s top technology journalists to add some depth and context to what the data showed us.
The results have provided a guide to running technology communications campaigns in 2020. And, while some of the old tactics remain, we need to refocus efforts and reset expectations to achieve the impact required to drive changes with audiences. The report delves into this in more detail and provides some clear guidance to technology brands looking to cut through in an often confusing media landscape.
Good news wins: Unsurprisingly, there is media fatigue on telling stories that add to the tension and anxiety many of us are feeling. Finding light at the end of the tunnel or showcasing new ways of talking about well-trodden subjects will help technology brands stand out
Get ready for a longer tail of coverage: Coverage is still coming in, but not necessarily in the first 48 hours after a campaign launch. Expect coverage volumes to stay the same or similar, but to be spread out over a longer period
Focus on the facts: Thought leadership is still powerful, but many mainstream titles are looking for evidence of trends. Using this to counter some of the uncertainty many of us are feeling can be powerful
Exclusives are still powerful: As competition heats up between publications, being able to offer an exclusive remains a key way to win favour
Keep it human: Case studies of individuals and their own personal experiences go a long way to winning media attention. Find the human stories from within the business and champion these in communications
Visit 3 Monkeys Zeno's profile to download and read the full report
David is a technology communications specialist, working with brands to help tell their digital transformation stories and show how technology solutions are driving business impact. His experience includes supporting globally-recognized brands including Google, Microsoft and Adobe in targeting businesses, consumers and key opinion formers, as well as specialist players including Trend Micro, ServiceNow, Canonical and Gemalto in raising awareness of how their products and services solve business challenges. David is passionate about creative storytelling for brands, helping them to craft campaigns that drive action amongst audiences and achieve business objectives. His career has spanned the creation and execution of UK, regional and global communications programs, working with client leads to achieve stakeholder support for ideas and with his team to deliver activities.
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