PUBLIC RELATIONS
Creating a Narrative & Making News
Building Brand Narratives That Resonate
From Product Features to National Features
Why This Matters
The most successful startups don’t just sell products — they tell stories. A strong narrative makes your brand memorable and compelling to both media and customers.
Founder's Point of View
Features and roadmaps won’t stick in people’s minds. Stories will. Your brand narrative connects product, mission, and market in a way that helps reporters, investors, and customers understand why you exist and why you matter now. When your team is aligned around clear messaging pillars, you not only land better coverage — you also ensure your story resonates consistently across every touchpoint.
Overview
Narratives transform your product from “a set of features” into “a movement people want to join.” To build one that resonates:
- Define 2–4 core messaging pillars that tie directly to your mission and customer needs
- Craft your “why now” and “why us” positioning: what urgency or shift makes your company relevant today?
- Translate this narrative into pitches, blogs, interviews, and fundraising decks so your audience hears the same story everywhere
- Make it simple—if a journalist or your own employee can’t repeat your story in one line, it needs sharpening
When narratives are clear and consistent, reporters are more likely to include your voice in broader stories, customers are more likely to remember you, and investors are more likely to believe in your potential.
Key Actions to Take
- Define 2–4 core messaging pillars aligned with your mission and audience needs
- Craft your “why now” and “why us” positioning
- Create a master narrative doc for internal use
- Embed your story in everything: pitches, bios, blog posts, and interviews
Metrics
Consistency of messaging across coverage and owned channels
Inclusion of narrative themes in press mentions
Recall of narrative in investor or customer conversations
Examples
A fintech startup anchors its narrative in financial accessibility, earning coverage in both tech press and consumer advocacy outlets
A B2B SaaS company builds its narrative around “empowering remote teams,” turning it into a throughline across media coverage, sales pitches, and customer success stories
Tools
Narrative development: Internal brand messaging docs, Notion, Airtable (free/paid)
Message testing: Wynter, SurveyMonkey (paid) + Google Forms (free)
Consistency monitoring: Meltwater, Cision (paid) + manual coverage audits in Sheets (free)
Optional Assets
- Internal Brand Narrative Playbook
- Messaging Pillars Cheat Sheet for Spokespeople
- “How to Tell Our Story” deck for employees and PR partners
Pro Tips
Data-Driven PR Idea: Survey your customers or target market about the biggest pain point they face (e.g., “65% of freelancers say they lose time managing invoices”). Use the insight to frame your product narrative around solving that problem—giving journalists both a story and a statistic.
Simplicity wins: if your team or a journalist can’t summarize your story in a sentence, it needs work.
Don't Make These Mistakes
Talking only about product features instead of the larger mission
Forgetting to tailor narrative by audience (investor vs. customer vs. media)