Why Mission-Driven Companies Get the Headlines
- 23 hours ago
- 2 min read
Business success alone isn’t news. Story and purpose are what get media coverage.
Congratulations! You just had a banner profit year, reached record sales numbers, or raised an incredible amount of seed funding. Surely the press will be knocking on your door the second the press release is sent out. Not so fast.
While your business may be thriving and successful, it’s not necessarily newsworthy. What many entrepreneurs and founders fail to understand is that the two don’t always go hand in hand.
While hitting a new record and closing a large round of funding are big accomplishments for you, they’re unfortunately, not news to anyone else. While it doesn’t diminish the hard work, fortitude, and vision it took to get where you are, there are plenty of successful businesses in the world. Unless you’re launching an IPO as a unicorn valued at over a billion dollars, I can issue a press release, but few, if any, will care.
Recognize what is newsworthy
What makes a successful business newsworthy is knowing how to tie it to a great story. You raised $100 million in seed funding? No big deal, but when a 15-year-old founder raises $100 million in seed funding, that’s business success paired with a phenomenal story of an unlikely underdog.
A restaurant owner scales their business nationwide? Okay, good for them, but a single mother who used to cook for the neighborhood out of her home kitchen now has restaurant locations across the country? Now, that is newsworthy.
As PR professionals, it’s our job to uncover the bigger story that we know the news will want to cover when they talk about your success. The only problem is that not everyone has a Cinderella or underdog story to tell. Some of us are just adults with a vision. When that is the case, it’s essential to connect your work to your mission or redevelop and refine your mission into one that is more compelling or newsworthy.
Mission-driven stories capture attention
Mission-driven leaders, organizations, and businesses have a bigger “why,” or choose to donate profits to create a positive impact in their industry, for those in need, for their employees, or for something else.
For example, a home builder funds the building of a new house in another country for every home they sell. A business that prioritizes its employees’ health and well-being and, as a result, has created an extraordinary place to work. When you connect your organization’s mission to your business success, you become much more newsworthy. Suddenly, producers and journalists are sharing the amazing work this successful business is doing for both their clients and others, rather than simply promoting you.
While most businesses already have a mission, few understand the power of incorporating it into their PR pitches. That is the power of working with the right PR team, one that understands how to craft a pitch that will make you newsworthy. So, whether it’s the non-profit you founded or the values at the heart of your operations, incorporating your mission into your business wins will make you newsworthy because it’s not necessarily about being the best at what you do; it’s about the why and how behind the work you do.