Insights

by Dominik Mohilo (Editor) and Christina Haslbeck (Senior Account Manager & Deputy Team Lead)

Anyone who flips through a trade magazine or surfs the web today will inevitably come across it: the same old PR drivel. Polished press releases, dry technical articles, and, increasingly, AI-generated content that all sounds exactly the same. Of course, the “standards” are necessary from time to time; that’s simply expected. However, if companies truly want to increase their reach and visibility, they need more in their communications arsenal.

The media’s big question: Why?

One reason for this is that attention spans have dropped significantly—to about 8 seconds. Some studies report that even goldfish stay focused longer than we humans do these days. This has a lot to do with the constant barrage of information from traditional media and social media. We receive notifications, emails, or messages via instant messenger virtually every minute—and top executives, in some cases, every second. Even when proactively searching for information, such as on LinkedIn or other social media channels, the timeline is full of articles and posts vying for attention. And even industry portals are now filled with banners, article streams, and an excessively rich array of content. The question companies should ask themselves before the “How?” is the “Why?” In other words, why should someone consume our content in particular?

This is also important because media logic has changed. Not only does the target audience want something different today, but journalists and content platform operators are also increasingly looking for unusual stories and formats that boost their portal’s reach and spark audience interest. Moreover, with AI, another player has entered the arena of attention that needs to be addressed effectively. GenAI bots like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, or Claude have become the number one source of information. Successful PR formats are therefore also AI-friendly, meaning they are formulated according to GEO guidelines.

The key communication question: How?

Once content and messages are defined, the explicit goal is to deliver them to the medium and thus to the audience. This is where the wheat is usually separated from the chaff, as companies all too often rely on tried-and-true formats. However, for the reasons mentioned above, it is important to surprise with new formats. Here are four examples that help companies stand out from the crowd:

The “Future Timeline” Format

Instead of writing a chronological article or social media post, we recommend presenting the stages or developments in a listicle format with specific years. So instead of writing yet another article with possible predictions, it looks something like this:

• 2030: In many companies, multi-agent systems operate as independent teams; humans now only supervise in the spirit of the “human-in-the-loop” approach.
• 2035: Most tasks performed by AI take place entirely without human intervention. Unfortunately, people are increasingly losing the ability to supervise and correct AI when necessary.

The “Key Message” Format

A very AI-friendly method is the key message format. Here, the focus is on a key message that the author links to a practical example from the everyday lives of potential customers. This helps readers immediately recognize the relevance and intuitively understand the benefits of an offer. Especially for complex products or services, this format helps reduce complicated relationships to a clear, memorable statement. It might look like this:

• Key message: “Every second of downtime costs a fortune”
• Real-world example: An e-commerce company suddenly notices that the network has gone down. Thanks to an out-of-band network, administrators can still access the network devices and resolve the issue immediately. This restores access to the store and minimizes losses.

The “Myth Debunked” Format

Here, a widespread assumption or industry cliché is first deliberately exaggerated (“Myth”) and then contextualized or debunked with facts (“Fact Check”). This format works well because it sparks curiosity while providing clarity. Readers quickly realize whether their existing knowledge is accurate or outdated—and the company positions itself as an authoritative voice that dispels misconceptions. An example:

• The myth: “We need the best solution on the market for every aspect of cybersecurity”
• The fact is: Implementing a series of siloed solutions risks creating dangerous blind spots and significantly increases operational overhead.
• A better approach: Implement a holistic platform that integrates seamlessly and can be managed centrally.

The “Worst Case” Format

While many PR articles focus exclusively on success stories, the “worst-case” format deliberately highlights a constructively exaggerated negative scenario. Instead of a classic success story, a realistic problem scenario is described: What went wrong? What were the consequences? And above all: What lessons can be learned from this? This method often comes across as more credible and provides strong, quotable insights for the media and specialist audiences.