When most founders think about getting press, they assume you need big news. You think you need funding, partnerships, or new research. And sure, those stories can help. But what do you do when you don’t have any of that and you still want coverage?
In a recent episode of The Press Playbook, BAM Senior Account Director, Courtney Joslin, shared how BAM secured a Fast Company feature for a new health tech product launch by leaning into an unexpected hook: design.
When Product News Isn’t Enough
Product announcements are tough to place unless you have something big backing them up. Courtney put it simply:
“Product placements aren’t easy to get unless you have new research, unless you have a partnership or funding, and we didn’t have any of that.”
So the team asked a different question: what about this launch actually mattered? The answer wasn’t the product itself; It was how the product was built and the thinking behind it.
Design as the Story
Instead of talking about the launch as an event, BAM flipped the script and talked about how the product was made and why those design decisions mattered.
As Courtney said:
“We decided to take the design hook, where we knew there was interesting information about how this was all designed, and combined with the research made for a good story.”
So design wasn’t just how it looked. It became the why of the story: Why this product matters, why it’s different, and why it’s worth covering.
Matching the Angle to the Right Journalist
Once the angle was clear, the next step was simple: find the reporter who would care.
The team didn’t blast every design outlet they could find. They targeted the reporter whose beat matched the angle perfectly.
“He’s the global design editor, so really emphasizing the design behind it all: what does he like to write about, what’s cool, quirky, unheard of in the design world.”
That meant the story didn’t feel forced. It felt like something the reporter already wanted to cover.
Why Design Hooks Work for Early-Stage Companies
For startups without big news, design can be a great hook for coverage because it:
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shows real thinking instead of just visuals
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gives journalists something concrete to write about
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lets products be evaluated on substance instead of hype
In this case, the Fast Company feature became the product’s first piece of coverage, which helped give the company a foothold in the press before any headlines or big announcements.
“It’s their first piece of coverage for the device… it just gives them a lot of credibility.”
What Founders Can Take Away
If you’re launching a product and you don’t have big news to share yet:
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talk about how the product was made
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explain why design choices matter
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connect design back to research or real user insights
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pick reporters whose beats actually care about the angle you’re pitching
Design isn’t just something nice to talk about. It can be a real hook for press when it shows purpose and reasoning.
Final Thought
Not every startup has a big news moment at launch. Yet, most have something worth telling the press, and you just have to frame it right.
This episode of Press Playbook shows that design, when used smartly, can be one of the strongest, simplest ways to get coverage as an early-stage startup, even without flashy headlines or big announcements.
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