Here are the tangible takeaways you can take into your own business today.
Earned-First Strategies in the Age of Generative Search
Resurgence of trusted media: Tier 1 media coverage is more important than ever, as AI skims and refers to it in top-of-page summaries. If you want your business, product or experience to come up when you ask ChatGPT, you want as many positive mentions about your brand online from reputable sources as possible.
Ongoing generation of “talkable” content: Create stories people want to share – topical, bold and conversation-worthy.
Key elements for earned media:
- Drama
- Novelty
- True new news (the first, the hardest)
- Timely, seasonal relevance
- Content that genuinely interests the audience
Always ask: “Why is the reader interested?”
Understanding the Media Landscape
Journalists are not mouthpieces: Media professionals are looking for stories their readers want to share, not advertisements. Editors decide what’s published, not you. Accept that the result of your pitch will unlikely be exactly how you planned it, but if it’s positive, it’s a win!
The evolving newsroom: Modern newsrooms are lean. Journalists are often working with fewer resources, making compelling and ready-to-publish content even more crucial.
Crafting a Winning Pitch
- Is it news? Ask: “Who cares? Why?” If you can’t answer these questions, it’s not a story. Use the “tell-your-mum/friend test.” If you can’t imagine people tagging others in comment sections or mentioning it over dinner that night, it doesn’t pass the “pitch it” test.
- Be prepared: Have everything ready — high-quality images, a designated spokesperson, and relevant case studies. When a journalist bites, move fast.
- Know your journalist: Understand their beat and what they cover. Generic pitches will be binned.
- Avoid “PRing” an ad: If you’re pitching an ad, own it. Don’t try to disguise it as news. Launching a new company website is doesn’t make a story.
- Timeliness: Provide a time-bound component to your story.
- “Colour moments”: Offer journalists unique and interesting angles that contrast with more serious news — particularly relevant in the food, drink, tourism and lifestyle space.
Building Relationships and Trust
- Being known opens doors: A good reputation will get your emails opened and calls answered, but it won’t get a non-story published.
- Long-term relationships build trust: Consistently being in touch and delivering reliable stories builds trust, making journalists more likely to consider your pitches.
Advice for Marketing Leaders Briefing PR Teams
- Embrace PR’s unique value: Marketing controls every part of the message; PR is the opposite — and that’s precisely why it’s valuable.
- Don’t micromanage the message: Trust your PR team and don’t sweat the small stuff. Allow them to build a talkable campaign that aligns with your broader marketing plan.
- Celebrate every win: Earning media coverage is tough. Celebrate all positive stories, even if they aren’t exactly what you would have done on owned channels.
The Tea
Nup, you had to be there in person to get Dan’s juicy goss about some of the biggest names in food!
Head here to register for an upcoming Food for Thought session and hear all the goodness in person (and do join the Waitlist if necessary — extra seats will be opened up if possible).
About Dan Stock
Dan Stock has spent two decades telling stories that cut through the noise — first as a journalist, then from the other side of the fence in PR. As a former Food Editor at the Herald Sun and editor of its flagship Weekend magazine, Dan shaped how Australians read about food, drink and lifestyle. He’s also led large editorial teams at Fairfax and built one of the country’s strongest media networks along the way.
More recently, he brought that newsroom instinct to brand storytelling as Senior Communications Manager at Aussie tech success story Mr Yum, driving global communications across Australia, the US and UK.
Dan joined littleBIG as PR Account Director in 2023, spearheading PR for a number of food, drink and tourism organisations including Melbourne Market Authority, Grampians Wine, Innocent Bystander, Preston Market, Melbourne Airport – Aviation and many more.
From building strategy and landing headlines to navigating crises, Dan knows how to make — and manage — a story from every angle.