Jonathon Narvey

Familiar scenario: business owners coming to me wanting media coverage, but skipping over the foundational steps that make PR actually 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. A few things I have seen repeatedly in my career: • They pitch before they’ve clarified their audience or message. • Their website or social profiles don’t speak to their relevant expertise. • They haven’t identified who will actually speak on behalf of their business. • They’re not prepared with basic media assets like bios or headshots. These gaps don’t just slow down the PR process — they can also cost business owners credibility with reporters and even opportunities down the road. Don’t be that person who is so anxious for the coverage that you skip the fundamentals. 🙏 If you want the glory, you need to get your story, your positioning, and your brand all working together BEFORE you pitch. So...if you are a small, solo, or startup business owner and you’re wondering how ready you are for PR, I created a helpful PR Readiness Checklist so you don’t have to wing it (or churn out half-baked PR pitches! 🦃)  A gentle reminder: thought leadership and visibility aren’t built on “random acts of public relations.” If you’re thinking of investing in PR in 2026, please feel free to download my handy dandy checklist (link in comments👇 ) and let me know what you think!  — By the way, I’m Kathy. 👋 I help small and solo businesses and startups get started with PR. Feel free to connect with me or hit the 🔔 for my PR rants!

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We’re in the golden age of earned media. Last week, one of our clients had a qualified lead come in...from a ChatGPT recommendation. Not an ad. Not a Google search. An AI-generated suggestion. Here’s why this matters: ➔ More people are using AI tools instead of Google to find answers and recommendations ➔ Those tools pull from trusted, authoritative sources (the kind you can’t buy your way into!) This shift is called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and earned media is the fuel. As Richard Edelman, CEO of the biggest PR firm in the world, recently put it: “Earned media—stories people choose to talk about, share, or search for—has always conveyed more credibility than paid placements or polished brand content. But now, it’s becoming the primary filter.” For brands that want to stand out in AI search, here’s the playbook: 📰 Earn coverage in reputable outlets 🎙️ Build a trusted voice Because in this new era, the stories you put into the world today become the recommendations AI delivers tomorrow. #earnedmedia #prstrategy #generativeAI #publicrelations #GEO #pragency

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There’s a particular kind of pain in comms. Over the past 10 years, I’ve felt it almost monthly. It’s when someone from the marketing department reaches out (usually overly excited) and says: 🤸‍♂️ “Hej, could you whip up a quick press release? The campaign’s going out tomorrow.” You smile. And inside, your soul is dying. Because this isn’t integration. It’s an afterthought. 🧟‍♂️ This happens way too often. Two smart teams. Same brand. Completely different timelines, goals, and definitions of success. Marketing wants reach. Comms guards reputation. 🐥 But the audience doesn’t hear two departments. They hear one brand. And when the message isn’t aligned, you don’t sound bold, you sound confused. Here’s what you’ll need to do: ❤️ One shared narrative: simple, strategic, repeatable ❤️ Role clarity: marketing scales, comms sharpens, you work as one team ❤️ Joint planning: clear routines, aligned KPIs All anchored in one question: 👉 What job are we actually hired to do in our customers’ lives?

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It’s Red Flag Friday again! This week’s public relations 🚩: when a client says, “We just need you to get us into X (outlet) by X (date).” If you’re in PR or comms, you’ve probably heard this one before. 😉 It usually sounds something like this: “We just need you to get us in 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘦𝘴 next month.” “We need to secure coverage of our website relaunch next week.” “We just need you to get our product on Oprah’s Favorite Things.” Now, there's nothing wrong with setting goals (you should!) and identifying some dream outlets or a desired timing. But when a company, CEO, or senior leader starts the conversation with a high-reach outlet, a specific type of placement, or a rushed timeline, it often signals they view PR as transactional or don’t understand how the media actually works. (And they may blame PR when reality doesn’t match expectations.) As I said earlier this week, PR should be less like speed dating and more like long-term relationship-building. The idea is to build trust with media and audiences 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. You may need to work within the other party’s timelines (in this case, the media)…not yours. You should absolutely expand your media targets. And get clear on the strategy behind the outlets you are chasing. Do they make sense? Are they realistic? Will they move the needle?      If your growing business is thinking about diving into PR, try to shift from: 👉 “Get me this exact placement or opportunity.” To: 👉 “Help us build visibility, credibility and momentum…how can we do that and what are the best outlets and approaches to help us do that?” **Quick recap: my friend and colleague Jennifer Wilbur and I decided to dig into some common PR and comms red flags each Friday. Go check out her page too, and see you next week!  — By the way, I’m Kathy. 👋 I help small and solo businesses and startups get started with PR. Feel free to connect with me or hit the 🔔 for my PR rants!

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Affiliate marketing is gaining serious traction in Canada, and creators are leading the charge. In 2024, over 75% of Canadian companies had a dedicated creator marketing budget, with affiliate partnerships becoming a key talking point (Made in CA, 2024). Why? Because, when done correctly, affiliate combines performance with authenticity. 💡 Trend to watch: Canadian micro and mid-tier creators are delivering 2–3x higher engagement and conversion rates than traditional ads - especially in beauty, lifestyle, and fintech categories (Pomp & Circumstance, 2024). 📹 With the rise of shoppable video, social commerce integrations, and homegrown affiliate platforms, affiliate can be a smart, scalable strategy - not just a test channel. Want to know more about creator affiliate programs? Drop me a line! #AffiliateMarketing #InfluencerMarketing #CanadaMarketing #CreatorEconomy #CreatorMarketing #Trends2025 (image created using AI)

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Most businesses think influence is about being everywhere. It’s not. In the AI era, reach without relevance is noise. And noise gets filtered out. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been laying out the Four Pillars of Resilient Influence. We’re living in a world where SEO is declining, social reach is throttled, and AI is deciding what we see. Most people are still chasing likes. The ones who win in this new era will be the ones who build resilient influence; the kind that compounds over time. Pillar 3 of Resilient Influence is Purpose Alignment. When your purpose is clear, consistent, and aligned with what your audience actually cares about… You cut through the noise. That means: • Define your mission in words your audience actually uses. • Show it in action, not just in slogans. • Let it guide every post, pitch, and conversation. Because in a world where algorithms decide who sees what… You can’t afford to be forgettable. The winners in the AI era will be the ones who build influence that lasts. Not just this week. Not just this quarter. But for years. What’s your purpose? And does your audience feel it every time they see you? #pr #publicrelations #publicaffairs

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Most companies aren’t looking for PR/Comms professionals who can build anything AI related. If that was the case, we would 100% all be replaceable (which is a fear I hear a lot). From my vantage point, companies are looking for people who can: – Think critically about where AI fits (and where it doesn’t) – Use it responsibly and strategically – Manage workflows that blend human judgment with AI tools We just re-launched RemotePRJobs with that in mind as well -- a blend of human judgement with AI tools. And it's 100000x better - better filtering, more supply, cleaner UX, more personalized....and honestly, just a better product. AI fluency isn’t just about prompts. It’s about judgment. Aside from using AI to rebuild the Jobs platform, I use AI in my consulting work as an idea starter, to clean up grammar, pressure-test messaging, spot what might be missing from a draft, and to work faster in my executives’ voices when I need quotes or variations. It’s a support system, not a replacement. Being able to use AI to create space for higher-order thinking, better decisions, and more meaningful work is what will set you apart. Curious how others are using it in their day-to-day?

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So you want to work in account management in 2026? Account roles are becoming more popular, but few people understand what actually makes someone good at it. You search account roles and only find sales jobs lol 📞 
In PR and advertising, account management is something else entirely. You’re the connective tissue between clients, creatives, strategy, production, media, and finance. When something breaks, you feel it first. Here’s the through line I’ve learned: Account management transcends project management. 1️⃣ Practice translation. Turn big ideas into clear next steps and explain why they matter. Asking clarifying questions isn’t a weakness; it’s the job. 2️⃣ Learn to work across personalities. Creatives, strategists, and decision-makers don’t think the same. Adapting how you communicate is how you become the bridge. 3️⃣ Think in outcomes, not tasks. Finishing the work isn’t the win. Moving the goal forward is. The best accounts are managed by people who understand the business, the culture, and what “winning” looks like for everyone in the room. 💯 #advertising #publicrelations #earlycareer #accountmanagement

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"Let's hop on a quick call" Possible hot take incoming. It's true that in many cases, scheduling a call is a faster and more efficient way to get answers and direction (vs exchanging a bunch of emails). BUT. When your default, knee-jerk response to everything is "let's hop on a call" - your calendar quickly fills to the brim with chit chats, connects and virtual coffees. And that's a hugely ineffective way to spend your work week. You'll find yourself trying to cram your REAL work and key deliverables into little pockets of time where you can find them. Or, worse yet - you'll end up logging in after the kids go to bed so you can finally "catch up." And forget about deep work. Long-form writing, creative development, building robust strategies and thinking big picture require real space, time and solitude. A single call = great. A calendar full of calls = terrible. Your time is the most precious resource you'll ever have. Be judicious and firm about how you spend it.

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For those going to the RSA Conference, some thoughts on PR meetings for the show with press or analysts. Pros have been pitching meetings for close to 6-8 weeks now. There are meetings on your calendar. Oh, we can ask to change that meeting at the last minute because a hot customer meeting came up, but it's going to be not-easy-to-impossible; press and analysts have full schedules too. What's your Plan B? Book time to get to a meeting in a different location than your booth, where seating might be limited and the environment very noisy. Talking with a freelancer? Good, because there are lots of great press people who freelance. Buy breakfast or lunch, and you'll get quality time with them (and they are likely on their own dime). Remember, you might be meeting physically for the first time, but there will be many calls and emails and Zoom meetings to come after the show. And please try not to be late for your meeting and to wrap it up on time so the analyst/reporter/editor/content creator can get to their next meeting. Remember, any meeting missed can be done after the show. If you don't want to see it in print, don't say it. And just because the notebook is closed doesn't mean the Interview is over. See you at RSAC2025! #TechPR #CybersecurityPR #TradeShowPR

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When did advisors become so scared of their clients? It is your job as an advisor to any management team or board to point out the risks that you see as likely to impact their organization. It doesn't matter whether you're a comms professional, an accountant, a lawyer or an IT consultant. It's part of the job, period, full stop. Yet far too often, I hear and see advisors remain completely silent in a client meeting, only to pull me aside afterward to say they're seriously worried about the path the company is contemplating or something that an executive client has demanded. Why don't you pipe up? Maybe you'd say say that you don't want to rock the boat, push back too hard and potentially lose the mandate and the associated revenue. I've got news for you, then: if you're staying silent when you shouldn't, you're losing the mandate in real time because you're failing your client. And the revenue will go away anyway when the risk you failed to highlight suddenly materializes and broadsides the client's organization, and everyone will be looking in your direction. Advisory work can be a tough business. You're hired on to opine on the present circumstance and ideally to see around a corner so you can forecast an outcome or the best path to the desired end. But it's also a huge privilege. You're being paid for your career's worth of expertise in a given subject area and you're failing both yourself and your client when you don't exercise that expertise in a fulsome fashion. There's a world of difference between trying to be the smartest person in the room and offering solid, data-backed and risk-adjusted advice in a difficult or complex situation. For example, even if the risk you're highlighting is remote, your client will value your conviction or the quality of the evidence you used in forming your POV. Every advisory mandate is an opportunity to shine and deliver. We should take it more often.

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Marketers: It's that time of year. When the sales team asks for your help with the holiday gifts (It's SWAG SEASON) and the messages. Do yourself and them a favour: Do. Not. Use. AI. For. Personalization. Not because AI isn't useful, but because everyone, and especially clients and prospects, are so inundated with AI messages that most people bristle at them when they see it, because the radar is UP and detection is HIGH. Write genuine messages. They don't have to be long. But take the time. Make your sales people take the time. Use AI for some holiday greeting variety inspiration, or even to check tone, but the message itself should be human. It could cost you more than you think. #B2BMarketing #MarketingLeadership #BrandStrategy #CustomerExperience #SalesEnablement #MarketingTips #MarketingStrategy #B2BContent #HumanConnection #CustomerEngagement s #HolidayMarketing #SalesStrategy #SWAG #MarketingCommunications #AuthenticMarketing

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If a product made by your PR client gets cut from a coverage opportunity you worked hard on, you get to ask the editor why it wasn't included. And if the editor doesn't answer, you get to ask the editor again. But when you make that first inquiry, it needs to be done in a way that gives the editor 100% benefit of the doubt. In some media, things simply get cut for space and time. In digital media where there's a longer scroll, things may get cut for other reasons. Maybe there was a design feature the reviewer didn't like, and would make the time spent by everyone involved worth it to know. When you make that second inquiry, this is the one that scares people. It can mess up a relationship if you're not careful. Not only should you continue giving that editor the benefit of the doubt, but it might also help to preface it with a reassurance that the outcome isn't going to be contested. That's one of the reasons plenty of editors don't like giving feedback. They don't want to start a pointless fight nobody has time for. Tell them you're hoping to close the loop with an honest piece of feedback from their reviewer about the product. After that, you need to drop it. But ask twice and ask kindly, because that information is always worth getting.

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