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Startups often agonize over the wording in their press releases for weeks, yet give almost no thought to the accompanying visuals—big mistake.
Don't send a pitch without *at least* one of these images:
Hero Shot
Office Logo
Logo in the "Wild"
"Illustrated" Logo
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Don't send a pitch without *at least* one of these images:
Hero Shot Office Logo Logo in the "Wild" "Illustrated" Logo/1
The Hero ShotIdeally, you have a product that looks cool.
Minimally, you'll have a clean image that explains your product's value proposition.
Pictures *are* worth a thousand words – Invest in them!
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/24/faceboo-launches-drop-in-video-chat-rooms-to-rival-houseparty/
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Note: Don't send a busy reporter a folder of screencaps. Do the work to assemble an image that helps put the product in context. Minimally, put the screencaps on device templates and use graphic elements to help explain how your product works.
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The Office LogoUnfortunately, many B2B products can be kind of dull looking. A reasonable alternative to the "hero shot" is a photo of the founders against the backdrop of a semi-artful logo in your startup's well-lit lobby.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/22/collaborative-meeting-notes-platform-hugo-nabs-seed-funding-from-google-slack/
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Logo in the "Wild"A photo of your logo out in the world is a powerful asset. The context clues help explain to potential readers what your startup does, and it demonstrates you've actually built something.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/24/instacart-third-party-apps-bots-priority-access-batches-orders/
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"Illustrated" LogosStartup logos, even nicely drawn examples, don't usually make for compelling art. The "Swoosh" is shorthand for a venerable brand. Your logo is a null set that should be spiced up if at all possible.
Here are a few approaches:
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Logo on a screen
A shot of your logo in an app store, or even an iPhone, is a decent fallback option. It's particularly helpful if your logo is presented alongside other hot companies. Don't underestimate the power of subliminal positioning!
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/22/spotify-launches-its-promised-fundraising-feature-for-artists/
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A shot of your logo in an app store, or even an iPhone, is a decent fallback option. It's particularly helpful if your logo is presented alongside other hot companies. Don't underestimate the power of subliminal positioning!
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/22/spotify-launches-its-promised-fundraising-feature-for-artists/
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Logo on a stage
Your logo presented on a large screen at a conference is a decent option for businesses with ephemeral offerings. Like the logo in the wild, it suggests someone thinks you are important enough to put on stage. https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/22/softbank-backed-oyo-cuts-salaries-furloughs-employees/
Your logo presented on a large screen at a conference is a decent option for businesses with ephemeral offerings. Like the logo in the wild, it suggests someone thinks you are important enough to put on stage. https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/22/softbank-backed-oyo-cuts-salaries-furloughs-employees/
The Lonely logo
If you don't have the time/budget to make visual assets, at least make sure you prep a hi-res logo. Have a .png of your logo isolated on a blank background, but also create 4:3 and 16:9 versions of it on a color field, 1200px wide.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/23/digits-launches-a-free-expense-monitoring-dashboard-for-small-businesses-closes-on-22m-series-b/
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If you don't have the time/budget to make visual assets, at least make sure you prep a hi-res logo. Have a .png of your logo isolated on a blank background, but also create 4:3 and 16:9 versions of it on a color field, 1200px wide.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/23/digits-launches-a-free-expense-monitoring-dashboard-for-small-businesses-closes-on-22m-series-b/
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There are a couple of out-of-the-box alternatives to consider if you've got a creative spirit and a willingness to invest a bit. These are harder to pull off, but when they work, they're quite powerful:
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Mascots
Mascots are usually associated with sports teams and breakfast cereals, but there is a long history of their use in open source software communities. If your product is dull, but you've got a playful spirit, it's an underutilized approach.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/21/pulumi-brings-support-for-more-languages-to-its-infrastructure-as-code-platform/
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Mascots are usually associated with sports teams and breakfast cereals, but there is a long history of their use in open source software communities. If your product is dull, but you've got a playful spirit, it's an underutilized approach.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/21/pulumi-brings-support-for-more-languages-to-its-infrastructure-as-code-platform/
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GIFs
GIFs have become the lingua franca of online communication, but many PR firms have been slow to add them to their playbooks. Don't miss this opportunity to present a 3-5s commercial for your product!
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/27/mit-muscle-control-system-for-drones-lets-a-pilot-use-gestures-for-accurate-and-specific-navigation/
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GIFs have become the lingua franca of online communication, but many PR firms have been slow to add them to their playbooks. Don't miss this opportunity to present a 3-5s commercial for your product!
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/27/mit-muscle-control-system-for-drones-lets-a-pilot-use-gestures-for-accurate-and-specific-navigation/
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Avoid stock art sterility at all costs
If you don't prepare good visuals, you will be at the mercy of an overworked photo editor who will stick a cheap, generic piece of stock art next to your story. For instance:
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/22/comet-ai-nabs-4-5m-for-more-efficient-machine-learning-model-management/
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If you don't prepare good visuals, you will be at the mercy of an overworked photo editor who will stick a cheap, generic piece of stock art next to your story. For instance:
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/22/comet-ai-nabs-4-5m-for-more-efficient-machine-learning-model-management/
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If you want PR, invest in design
Unless you have outrageous traction, or have raised eye-popping amounts of VC, you will likely have to fight for every bit of earned media.
You'll be shocked how a little bit of visual dynamism can help you stand out in a crowded field.
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Unless you have outrageous traction, or have raised eye-popping amounts of VC, you will likely have to fight for every bit of earned media.
You'll be shocked how a little bit of visual dynamism can help you stand out in a crowded field.
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In closing, if you're going to spend thousands of dollars and dozens of hours working with a PR firm to hone a pitch and reach out to reporters, have a designer spend half a day developing some eye-catching visuals.
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