The state of tech PR in Europe

Wednesday, 26 October 2011

Regular readers will know that I leave serious reporting to the likes of Tim Bradshaw at the FT and the inimitable Mike Butcher. Love those guys. But frankly, for me, slavishly reporting on funding rounds and acquisitions and paying obeisance to the cult of UKTI is just too fucking tedious.

So I like to write about what’s going on around the edges of the technology scene in Europe: the people, places, events and ideas that are behind the dry reportage and which silently shape the headlines.

Who’s hot? Who’s not? Who’s in? Who’s out? Who should you keep an eye out for and who’s a hapless wannabe? And what’s going on at all these swanky dos?

I also like to call people out when they’re talking crap or up to no good. To my mind, European tech coverage needs a bit more rigour, bite and bubble-popping and a bit less press release recycling and illiterate blogging. That can sometimes make me unpopular, and occasionally means I get uninvited from the best parties, but I think it’s important to say what you really think – even if you get it wrong sometimes – in an industry swamped with worthless churnalism. For such an over-reported on sector, the quality of writing and analysis in emerging technology is atrocious.

I also, from time to time, like to shine a light on the unsung heroes, and that’s the point of this post. Service companies, and in particular public relations firms, are central to the start-up ecosystem, but no one ever covers them. Why? Sure, they’re not as – sigh – “sexy” as the latest geolocated crowd-sourced social food-spotting app, but they’re a crucial part of the social and business landscape, connecting start-ups to journalists, throwing parties and generally supporting what entrepreneurs are doing.

That’s why I’m putting together a comprehensive guide to the best PR firms in Europe for start-ups and high-growth tech companies. It will be ranked, and it will be based on interviews with clients past and present, account managers and journalists. I’ll also include some top tips – for PRs, for journalists and for start-ups – about how to deal with each other, based on the most commonly cited irritants.

Yes, I am looking for your dirty laundry.

It will be ruthless. It may be ugly. But it will be fair. And I will disclose any and all conflicts of interest.

So if you have something to contribute – or even if you just want to make sure your firm is up for consideration – drop me a line.

Update: I probably should have included a deadline above. So here it is. 5 p.m. on Friday 11 November 2011.

Update 2: This will now be published as a Special Report when I launch my new project.

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