Every company that wants to build its brand and strengthen its position in the market sooner or later runs into the question of PR and media visibility. The problem is that the traditional route — paid advertising in the media — costs tens to hundreds of thousands of CZK for a single article. For small and medium-sized businesses, that's often an unrealistic budget. Our client faced exactly this dilemma: they needed to raise brand awareness, strengthen credibility and earn quality backlinks for SEO, but they didn't have the budget for a conventional media buy.
We offered an alternative — a digital PR approach that combines content strategy with targeted outreach to journalists. The result? Media coverage worth over 200,000 CZK (≈ €8,000) in total, achieved for a fraction of the cost of the traditional approach. And with placements in respected Czech media that would have cost several times more as paid advertising.
The challenge
The client operated in the healthy-lifestyle segment and needed to build a position as an expert in their field. Their marketing to date had been limited to social media and PPC campaigns, but a third party to legitimise the brand was missing — and that role belongs to the media. We also identified that the site's backlink profile was weak, which was holding back its SEO results. Quality links from authoritative media domains could solve that problem.
The budget for PR activities was limited — a fraction of what a conventional media buy would cost. So we needed to find a way to earn organic media coverage: articles and mentions you don't pay an advertising rate for. That called for a fundamentally different approach than writing and blasting out mass press releases.
The digital PR approach
1. Positioning analysis and spotting opportunities
We started with an analysis of the media landscape in the client's segment. We mapped which topics resonate in the media, which journalists cover them and what types of content have the best chance of being published. We identified five thematic areas where the client had expertise and where there was genuine media interest. That became the basis for creating content that would be truly interesting to journalists — not because it promotes the client, but because it delivers value to readers.
2. Strategic selection of media and journalists
We built a list of 30 target outlets and specific journalists who regularly cover relevant topics. For each journalist we found out what they're currently writing about, which content format they prefer and what their publishing habits are. This research took more time than the outreach itself, but it was crucial to the success of the whole campaign. We rejected the mass "one email to 500 journalists" approach right from the start.
3. Creating valuable, newsworthy content
For each outlet and journalist we prepared unique content materials. Not a press release about how great the client is, but materials journalists could actually use: original industry data and surveys, expert commentary on current trends, practical tips and how-tos for readers, and case studies with concrete numbers. Each piece was tailored to the style and focus of the specific outlet. An article for a lifestyle magazine looked completely different from a brief for an industry portal.
4. Individual outreach
Outreach took the form of personalised emails. No "Dear editorial team", but addressing the journalist by name, referencing their recent article and explaining why our material was relevant specifically to them. Every email was written by hand. Yes, it's more time-consuming, but the response rate is incomparable — while mass press releases have a response rate of around 1–2%, our personalised outreach reached 25%.
5. Monitoring and reporting
We carefully documented every piece of coverage — where it was published, its reach, its media value (AVE — Advertising Value Equivalent) and its impact on the client's SEO metrics. The client had a clear report with concrete numbers and links to all the coverage. Transparency is the foundation of trust in PR — unlike PPC, where you see results immediately, PR requires patience and trust in the process.
Why not mass press releases
We often hear the question: "Why not just send a press release to every newsroom?" The answer is simple — it doesn't work. Journalists receive tens to hundreds of press releases a day and ignore the vast majority of them. A press release is, by its very nature, a self-promotional document that brings newsrooms no value. It's like sending spam — most of it ends up in the bin without anyone opening it.
A personalised approach, on the other hand — where you offer the journalist real value: data, expertise, a story — works an order of magnitude better. A journalist doesn't open a PR email to help your company. They open it because they need quality content for their readers. Once you understand this dynamic, your entire approach to PR changes. Instead of asking for attention, you offer value. And that makes all the difference.
The results
Over the three months of the campaign we secured 8 pieces of coverage in leading Czech media, including lifestyle magazines, health portals and industry websites. The total media value of this coverage exceeded 200,000 CZK (≈ €8,000) — the amount the client would have paid for paid advertising in the same outlets. The actual cost of the campaign, meanwhile, was roughly a fifth of that figure.
From an SEO perspective, the client gained 8 quality backlinks from high-authority domains (Domain Rating 50+). These links had a direct impact on organic search rankings — within two months of publication we recorded an average climb of five positions for keywords in the client's field. In Google's eyes, a link from a respected media outlet carries far more weight than dozens of links from directories or comments.
Beyond the measurable metrics, the campaign also delivered qualitative benefits: stronger brand awareness, building the client's position as an expert in the field, and increased brand credibility. When a potential customer sees a brand in media they know and trust, the likelihood of conversion rises dramatically.
A quality link from a respected media outlet has a value no PPC campaign can replace.
Digital PR isn't a replacement for traditional marketing channels — it's a complement to them, one with a synergistic effect. It improves SEO, builds credibility, raises brand awareness and generates content you can reuse across other channels (social media, newsletters). If you're wondering how to get your brand into the media without a six-figure budget, digital PR is a path worth exploring.
The key to success is quality, not quantity. One article in a relevant outlet is worth more than ten mentions on insignificant websites. And a personalised approach to journalists — even though it's more time-consuming — delivers results that mass press-release distribution will never achieve.