The anatomy of a perfect PR play
How Calm got the press so excited.
👋, I’m Kimberly. I’ve been creating obsession-worthy brands for the past fifteen years. And now, I’m giving away my secrets every week in this newsletter.
Don’t get me started on how hard it is to get PR.
Or do.
I’ll start now.
Two years ago, when I was cofounding a men’s personal care brand, we were on a mission to get good PR—ideally timed to come out alongside our launch. Our first product was a dry shampoo made for men, and our big PR pipe dream would have been a splashy feature in GQ.
As is the case for any bootstrapped startup, we didn’t have a budget to hire a fancy PR agency (or even cool-seeming freelancer with connections). So, responsibility for the press reach outs fell to me.
People like to think of PR as free advertising. But in reality, it is anything but.
It takes a LOT of hours, a LOT of work, and a LOT of the time….
nothing will come of it.
Especially if you’re trying to find this elusive press on your own.
So, for the week or two, I’m going to deep dive into how to get more press for your brand—whether you have $0 to spend, or you’re working with an agency.
First, let’s talk about the headline news that inspired me to write about PR right now.
Here it is.
The second I saw this headline, I thought, “Wow, WHAT AN UTTERLY BRILLIANT MOVE by the folks at Calm.”
For those of you who may be unfamiliar, Calm is the #1 app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation. Since its 2012 launch, Calm has expanded both its offerings and its mission—to make the world happier and healthier.
And it has amassed a following of 100 million or so users, including celebrity superfans like Matthew McConaughey, LeBron James, and Harry Styles—all of whom now voice content on the app and came to Calm asking to work with them (rather than the other way around).
If you’re interested in how to attract authentic celebrity endorsers like this to your brand, read my newsletter about it here.
On May 30, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka made big news around the world when she withdrew from the French Open—after being fined $15,000 for not attending her post-match news conference, citing the need to care for her mental health rather than fulfill her press obligations.
This was her announcement:
Many of Osaka’s sponsors issued statements of support for their star:
Nike: “Our thoughts are with Naomi. We support her and recognize her courage in sharing her own mental health experience.”
Mastercard: “Naomi Osaka’s decision reminds us all how important it is to prioritize personal health and well-being. We support her and admire her courage to address important issues, both on and off the court.”
Nissin Foods: “We pray for Ms. Naomi Osaka’s earliest recovery, and wish her continue success.”
But mental health app Calm, which had no previous relationship with Osaka, received all of the headlines when it took the lead and made the boldest move—donating $15,000 USD to Laureus, a French organization that aims to support the mental health of young people and children through sport.
They also pledged to match any other similar fines issued to other players.
The result? Calm got TONS of glowing free press, around the globe.
All for the low low price of $15,000.
5 Reasons Why This Play Worked So Incredibly Well
There are multiple reasons why taking this action worked so brilliantly for Calm.
Let’s breakdown the reasons—any of which you can think about next time you’re trying to get PR for your brand or do something press-worthy.
1. It was perfectly timed.
Oksana’s announcement was already a hot topic—with tens of thousands of stories and tens of millions of hits. If something is already getting press attention, the most simple way to also get eyeballs is to piggyback onto the existing coverage.
Being timely (and doing it well!!!) isn’t as easy as it may seem. You need to be prepared to act quickly and decisively as a brand (jump on that fire!).
And you can’t seem like you’re being too opportunistic about it…
2. It aligned with the brand.
One of the reason’s Calm’s action didn’t seem too opportunistic is because it made no-brainer sense for the brand.
Supporting mental health ties very directly back to Calm’s mission. Discussing how the Calm app has helped with the de-stigmatisation of mental health in The Independent, Calm co-founder Alex Tew said:
The stiff upper lip used to be the norm. Bottling it up. You didn’t talk about it. Now people have opened up about their mental health. You go to the gym to look after your body. This is all about mental fitness, looking after our minds. We’ve changed the narrative.
Having a press-worthy action be closely aligned to your brand’s purpose in this kind of way makes the action look and feel authentic.
3. It had customer appeal.
Calm knows its customer base very well—and understands the type of person the brand is looking to attract.
I’ll bet you $15,000 that Calm has data points on its target customers that shows supporting mental health is a cause they value… AND that mental health has risen in the rankings during the pandemic.
Taking big bold action to support a cause like mental health is 100% relevant to the brand’s current customers (guaranteed to earn them extra feel-good points) and to potential customers (guaranteed to get their attention).
4. It was well balanced.
Size matters. And sometimes, a big bold action can be too big.
If the answer to the problem dwarfs the size of the original problem, it can easily come across as a calculated PR move.
But in the case of Calm, their action (pay the $15,000 forward to a charity) perfectly matched the issue at hand (the $15,000 fine being imposed on players).
In Oksana’s statement, she teed up this exact response:
I’ve watched many clips of athletes breaking down after a loss in the press room and I know you have as well. I believe that whole situation is kicking a person while they’re down, and I don’t understand the reasoning behind it… I hope the considerable amount that I get fined for this will go towards a mental health charity.
Thus, the action Calm took is big—but just big enough.
5. It was bite sized.
“Hey, did you hear about Calm? They paid Oksana’s fine to a mental health charity.”
The story of what Calm did here is super clear and share-worthy.
It’s easy to remember.
It’s simple to understand.
It’s a miniature portion—that can inspire a big conversation.
Calm’s $15K payout makes for a quick and compelling headline (the press wins!) and a quick and compelling share (everyone wins!).
Calm Did It—And So Can You
If you want to try and replicate the success of Calm for your own brand, here’s what you need to do:
Be a Newsie
What’s happening right now? What topics are people talking about? Set up some Google New Alerts about topics that are relevant for your brand.Be Nimble (Jack)
You need to be prepared to act quickly and make yourself part of the story once something relevant happens. Have a set game plan—how do you get the word out quickly? Make a list to have on hand (press release, twitter, instagram, etc.). And have a set decision tree (who need to approve a fast, press-worthy action?).Be Self Aware
Brands with a clear purpose and narrowly defined values that are known across all levels of an organization will always be best set up to take actions that come across as authentic—because they are.
Try these three shots, and your next PR play could end with “Game. Set. Match goes to your brand.”
🔥 Send Me Your Burning PR Questions
I’ll be chatting with some experts the next few weeks—what do you want to know about how to best get press?
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About Me
I help early stage founders create the kind of brands that get customers so obsessed, they’ll do your advertising for you.
Based on my experience founding my own consumer brand, I developed The Branding Sprint—a uniquely collaborative, streamlined, and agile approach to brand creation.
Click here to learn more about The Branding Sprint, or schedule a call with me.
This is really helpful!!
This was such a smart move.