August activity in focus – there’s no risk of blackouts here!
August was marked by a spectacular solar eclipse that swept across skies around the globe – and what better lens to view the month through? The eclipse may have temporarily blocked out the sun, but certainly not the PR activity here in the IBA office – from research launches and event video content, to coverage secured way ahead of the summer slowdown, it’s a pretty potent mix of activities.
Here’s what’s been on our radar this month:
- Research that steals the spotlight
While the moon was busy blocking out the sun, our client’s research didn’t dim in the slightest – in fact, this month we launched a new client research report!
For our enterprise software client, research on agentic AI usage in key vertical markets has gone down a storm. It’s a great example of the power of a well-placed press release, and with a little bit of tweaking per target industry, in less than a week, we’ve seen double-digit placements spanning aerospace & defense, energy and utilities, manufacturing, and more.
Not only did this put the story firmly in front of the right target audiences, but it also sparked further editorial interest – enough that a top-tier North American publication took the research and ran with it as a feature in its own right. When a campaign moves beyond straightforward coverage and gives journalists enough substance to build their own story from it, we know a story has hit the mark!
Of course, a press release is a great for announcing research, but the real value doesn’t end there – what comes next for the content lifecycle is what counts. We PR and Marketing pros can’t rest on our laurels when we have valuable research at our fingertips. The next step is to keep the content lifecycle wheel rolling! The key stats and figures in our client’s report will certainly fuel future thought leadership articles, blogs, and soundbytes in interviews – so watch this space.
- It’s never one and done at IBA – turning event 121s into video coverage
Events during the past few months have been in abundance, and the resulting coverage hasn’t always taken the traditional write-up form. Instead, August has seen a number of these event conversations translate into video coverage. Video itself is nothing new, but its role in B2B media continues to grow – see our July round-up for the rise of VNRs (that’s video news releases for those unfamiliar with the acronym)!
Our business management software client is still basking in the afterglow of Med-Tech Expo, the UK and Ireland’s leading trade event for medical device design, manufacturing, and supply chain intelligence. After targeted media outreach, our team secured a number of interviews for our client’s life science SME, of which one was a video interview with a highly regarded MedTech publication. Since then, the interview has gone live on the publication website, YouTube account, and been amplified across social media channels. What’s more, it has opened the door to a new feature opportunity with the same contact asking for our client’s input on how the AI Act is impacting the MedTech industry: a double win in our books!
It’s a similar story for our data movement client at TradingTech Summit. Their CTO was interviewed on-site, and that conversation has since been featured as part of a full industry-leaders podcast, with a selection of experts discussing the key factors set to define the next generation of trading technology.
A single event conversation can have a much longer shelf life when it becomes a video, a social asset, a new media relationship – or as I write, the basis for an even bigger story. It’s never one and done here at IBA.
- Pay it forward – lining up coverage before the summer lull
This August, the team reaped what we sowed! Previous months have seen the IBA team put a little extra thought into the weeks ahead. Eclipses don’t happen by accident – they’re the result of precise, predictable alignment, tracked and planned for years in advance. Our approach to the summer wind-down has been much the same – we lean into it! As journalists went on their own well-earned breaks, August saw the coverage we lined up months in advance start to come through, keeping coverage levels topped up.
Months of paying it forward are paying off! Getting stories, interviews, and opportunities in place ahead of time ensures clients don’t disappear from the media landscape just because the out-of-office messages start to roll in.
Hello, September!
August is officially wrapped. With research still generating fresh angles, video coverage continuing to build, and September’s media landscape already lined up thanks to the groundwork laid before the summer lull, the IBA team is heading into Q4 with plenty already in motion.
Georgia Harris is PR Lead Themes at IBA International.
