YOLO - You Only Launch Once

Launches in the tech public relations world are one of those things that you crave – yet subsequently dread.  They can provide some of the biggest coverage hits of your career, yet never fail to give you that squirmy feeling in the pit of your stomach reminiscent of that ill-advised tequila shot on Friday night. There are a lot of rewards, including that Christmas-morning-thrill you get when the Wall Street Journal emails you back, but equal trepidation around setting proper client expectations.

The thing about launches is there is always a lot riding on the outcome. Profit and future company success collide with personal pride, board pressure and the pursuit of another funding round to create one giant web of expectations. Whether fair or not, the public perception of the launch often overshadows the technical achievement of the product or the company itself. Much of this stems from the inherent value of third party validation – like the first time someone besides your mother tells you that you’re pretty. While good ol’ mom may have been saying those words for years, hearing them from one other person, no matter how random, always seems to carry more weight.  Coverage in Mashable, TechCrunch or GigaOm can be turned into credibility for investors or board members who are slightly removed from the day-to-day process. It gives these parties instant reassurance that they’ve placed their money in capable hands.

Given all that’s riding on a PR bang on launch day, how do you make sure to gain the attention of the masses?

Self-Reflect

Let’s face it – we all have our biases. These are only exponentially increased when you’re the CEO of a company that you’ve created, helped to grow and essentially thrown away your 401k to fund. I get it. You think what you’ve done is great and many times it is – the challenge is convincing everyone else of its epic awesomeness. Be realistic about your shortcomings, they’ll be much easier to address if you’ve taken the time to actualize legitimate solutions. People (journalists especially) appreciate a candid, honest interview over an hour-long sales pitch. 

Set Expectations

Want a feature in Wall Street Journal? Get in line. Features in top tier business press publications aren’t the reward of the lucky, or even the most innovative, companies. They’re typically reserved for semi-established organizations that are living examples of bigger business trends. Or those that get $100 million in funding. If you achieve either one of those things, we can definitely talk, but in the meantime focus on building a strong base of industry press who love you. It will only help you achieve those bigger outlets in the future. 

Be Different

If you release the same old boring press release, expect the same old boring articles. Want press to talk about your company culture, innovative nature or extremely awesome workforce? Find a new way to break the news. Check out SEOmoz’s Memenouncement for an excellent example of how to break funding news without boring the masses.

On the same token, differentiate yourself from your competitors. Be able to intelligently speak about why your solution/company is better than the rest – and have the proof to back it up.

Be Flexible

The most successful companies are willing to step outside the box and accept the risk (and reward) that comes with going against the norm. This goes for PR as well – often we’re rewarded for being creative and making the journalist’s job of reading one more pitch just a bit more entertaining. Occasionally we’re abused via email, but those cases are relatively few and far between. I won’t name names. This time.

Be willing to take those risks, evaluate afterwards and readjust. There isn’t anything wrong with making a mistake – these often lead to flashes of brilliance that manifest themselves in more successful attempts down the road.

Try to Enjoy Yourself

There's nothing more satisfying (except maybe that whole profit thing) than seeing your company or product reviewed in a positive light. Try to relax and enjoy the process - you'll likely be spending the days leading up to the launch chatting with reporters and bragging about the culmination of all those sleepless nights. If you can, lay back, have a beer and let your PR team do their job. After all, you only launch once. 

-A

Dating, Douchebags and Women in Tech

*Originally posted on Barokas.com

There are few experiences more painful than the agony of a first date. First, there is the unnecessary pressure, the endless hours of worrying what to wear, the polishing, extra moisturizing – all in anticipation of hanging out with someone that will likely have the mental capacity of a 13-year-old (I have endless amounts of data to back up my previous statement, in the interest of keeping this a valid and informative post). During any first date you inevitably reach that moment where you’re sitting across the table from your suitor, nervously stirring your first drink and the number-one-lamest-way-to-start-a-date question comes up:

“So, what do you do?”

Typically, I respond with something like this (verbatim):

“Well, I work for Barokas Public Relations, the Northwest’s leading mid-sized public relations agency. We also offer ancillary marketing services – if you’re interested.”

Just kidding.  I typically launch into some type of overview about how I work in tech public relations for a (super cool) firm in Pioneer Square and how it’s exciting because we’re constantly working with new start-ups that are literally changing the way we interact with technology. That actually isn’t a joke, and I’m not even vying for a raise (although if you’re offering…), I truly do enjoy learning about our clients and the innovative ideas they bring to the table. It’s one of the cool things about working in this industry – you get to be a part of the living and breathing monster that is the technological world.

It usually takes my counterpart a second to respond, as if the cogs in their brain are slowly turning into motion, or as if they can’t believe that I would have any interest in tech-anything. Shouldn’t I be worried about a Kardashian or something? In about 90% of my personal experiences, this sparkling nugget of conversational brilliance is the response:

“Oh – so like computers and stuff?”

This is normally the moment where I realize the date is going nowhere. I’m not sure if these otherwise seemingly-intelligent individuals feel like they’re “dumb-ing” it down for my benefit (because if I’m working in it, it can’t be THAT difficult) or if I’m really, truly attracted to tree stumps. I typically bite back the urge to say that the first programmable computer (the Z1, in case you’re interested) was actually invented between the years of 1936 – 1938, so to consider computers “new and exciting” technology is, in short, a little asinine and instead sip my drink (please, God, let it be strong).

I guess I can’t totally blame the guys. As women in this industry we play a fairly new role, and we’re not exactly brought up valuing the technical and strategic mindset that it takes to be successful creating (or working for) these types of companies. In some cases we do allow ourselves to become a novelty in the space – I’m totally guilty of simplifying my job duties or the descriptions of the companies I work for in order to make it easier to comprehend. I’ll also shamelessly admit that I’m constantly running across new terms and technologies that I don’t understand – but isn’t that the point of innovation? If everyone already knows about it, it can’t be considered groundbreaking.

I don’t want to work in a space where there isn’t anything left to discover and the moment I stop seeking the answers to all my new questions is the moment my growth will stall. There isn’t any room for complacency in tech PR – you’re constantly expanding, which is why the lazy, routine-driven and apathetic individuals rarely hack it in this environment. It’s sort of a Survivor-esque business model, and if you’re not constantly strategizing, forming alliances and making creative tools out of sticks, you’ll probably get snuffed out.

So – the point of this long-winded post is that navigating the tech PR world as a woman is much like navigating dating. You start out going into a world you don’t understand, you’ll most likely have to prove your worth at one point or another and you have to be prepared for people who won’t take you seriously. The only thing that keeps you coming back, in both instances, is an insatiable curiosity for what the next day (or date) might hold.

-A