Blog | Public Relations for Technology Companies

Feb 02

Why Performance Marketing Converts Better After PR Does Its Job

By Proper Propaganda AI & Search (GEO), Influencer & Performance PR, PR Strategy

Performance marketing and PR are often treated as competing priorities. In reality, one only works well after the other has done its job. PR creates familiarity. It builds memory and establishes demand. Performance marketing converts what already exists. When that sequence is reversed, performance does not suddenly become smarter. It…

Feb 02

Love0

Trust Is the Gatekeeper of US Consumer Conversion

By Proper Propaganda AI & Search (GEO), Influencer & Performance PR, PR Strategy

In the United States, trust must exist before a transaction happens. American consumers make trust a prerequisite for purchase, not a by-product of conversion. PR is the fastest way to establish credibility at scale. Without it, brands are structurally locked into discounts, promotions, and rising acquisition costs. Trust Determines Whether…

Feb 02

Love0

How Edward Bernays Might Attack a Foe in the LLM Era

By Jackson Wightman AI & Search (GEO), Industry Commentary, PR Strategy

I just finished the Edward Bernays episode of the Founders podcast. If you don’t know Founders, go check it out, and thank me later. Bernays, who is often cited alongside Ivy Lee as the Founder of the PR profession, was a complicated person. He did some ethically questionable things and…

Jan 29

Love0

Why Brand Matters More in the US Than in Most Markets

By Proper Propaganda AI & Search (GEO), Industry Commentary, PR Strategy

In the US, buying decisions are shaped less by price and specs and more by brand, trust, and familiarity. This is a structural feature of how the US-consumer market works, and it is why market entry here punishes brands that underinvest in PR and brand building. Recognition Dramatically Increases Purchase…

Jan 29

Love0

PR Is Not “Soft”: The Quantified Impact of Top-of-Funnel Investment on Sales Performance

By Proper Propaganda AI & Search (GEO), PR Strategy

Contrary to the belief of some performance marketing gurus, PR is not an indulgence. Extensive data, show that it is a demand-creation system that measurably improves conversion efficiency, lowers acquisition costs, and increases revenue durability. Brands that underfund PR do not just lose awareness. They pay more for every sale…

Jan 28

Love0

Measuring Narrative Drift Index (NDI): A Practical GEO Framework / Part Two

By Jackson Wightman AI & Search (GEO), Industry Commentary, PR Strategy No Comments

Part 2 of a two-part series. Part 1 can be found here Editor’s note:This is part two of a two-part series on narrative drift. Part one established why narrative drift is a GEO-presence problem and how it forms. Now we are into quant-ville This piece focuses on how to detect…

Jan 27

Love0

Narrative Drift: A GEO-Presence Problem / Part One

By Jackson Wightman AI & Search (GEO), PR Strategy

This piece is Part 1 of a two-part series on narrative drift and the problem of AI-mediated brand meaning. It is possible both parts of the series are complete shit. I can't quite decide, but I am certain the bigger problem I'm addressing is real. Part one explains what narrative…

Jan 19

Love0

You Can’t Optimize What You Never Created: PR, Demand, and the 2026 Growth Gap

By Jackson Wightman Industry Commentary, Influencer & Performance PR, PR Strategy

“Our marketing spend has to focus on tactics that drive sales.” Well, sure. I get it. Unfortunately, it’s usually a synonym for, “We focus on bottom-of-funnel performance marketing tactics where attribution is easy.” For a few reasons, many consumer tech CMOs continue to define marketing effectiveness almost exclusively by activities…

Jan 16

Love0

Share of Explanation: Influence belongs to the brands that shape LLM understanding

By Jackson Wightman Uncategorized

For most of my 25 years in PR, many brands and folks in the biz have assumed visibility equals influence. If a brand appeared frequently enough, in the right outlets, influence would follow. That logic was always spurious, but it breaks down badly in the AI-search era. As search, research,…

Jan 15

Love0

What Consumer AI Search Adoption Means for Discovery, Research, and Decision-Making

By Proper Propaganda AI & Search (GEO)

How consumers already use AI search today, based on documented behavior, not performance hype At this point, saying “consumers are using AI search” is table stakes. The more useful conversation is what they are actually using it for. Not what brands hope it will do. Not what vendors promise it…