When early-stage startups think about press, they often default to the same assumption: you need funding news, a major partnership, or new research to get coverage. But for many companies—especially those launching a new product—that kind of news simply doesn’t exist yet.
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.
Product launches are notoriously difficult to place in the media without traditional news triggers. As Courtney explained during the episode, this is one of the biggest hurdles early-stage founders face.
“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.”
In this case, the client was launching a new device without funding news, partnerships, or proprietary research to anchor the story. Rather than forcing a traditional announcement, BAM had to rethink what would actually make the launch editorially interesting.
Instead of positioning the product as a standard launch, BAM reframed the story around how the product was built and the thinking behind it.
“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.”
Design wasn’t treated as visual polish or branding. It became the connective tissue between neuroscience research, usability, and real-world application. The pitch focused on how scientific insights informed the creation of the device, and why that process itself was worth exploring.
By framing design as part of the innovation, the story shifted from promotional to editorial.
Once the design-forward angle was clear, the next step was finding the journalist whose beat aligned with that story. Rather than pitching broadly, BAM targeted Fast Company’s global design editor.
“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.”
This alignment mattered. The pitch didn’t ask the reporter to stretch beyond his interests; It met him exactly where his curiosity already was. That made the story feel relevant, timely, and worth covering.
For startups without major announcements, design can be a powerful media hook because it:
Signals intention and thoughtfulness
Gives journalists something tangible to analyze
Allows early products to be evaluated on substance, not hype
In this case, the Fast Company feature became the product’s first piece of coverage, setting a foundation for future visibility.
“It’s their first piece of coverage for the device… it just gives them a lot of credibility.”
Rather than chasing volume, the focus was on landing one story that mattered.
Design stories work best when they’re framed as process, not aesthetics.
For founders launching new products, this means:
Talking about how decisions were made and not just what was built
Connecting design choices back to research or user behavior
Treating design as part of the story, not an afterthought
When done well, design becomes more than a visual; It becomes the narrative.
Not every startup will have funding or partnerships to announce at launch. But many have something just as compelling: a unique way of building.
As this episode of The Press Playbook shows, design, when rooted in purpose and process, can be one of the strongest media hooks an early-stage company has.
Want BAM to tell your story? Reach out here: