HOW to maximise THe VALUE of your content assets with PR

By Reka Agopcsa

B2B tech marketers are under pressure to deliver more with less. With tightening budgets and more noise to cut through than ever before, getting the right messages in front of the right audiences can feel like an uphill struggle. Add to this the growing prevalence of ‘AI slop’ and it becomes clear: high-quality, informative content is more valuable than ever before. Yet, many companies still leave their best assets gathering dust.

Content like whitepapers, research and guides can take vast resources to create, but all too often end up as gated assets on a landing page or are fed into a single campaign before they are forgotten. Squeezing every drop of value out of your existing assets is a golden opportunity – and PR is the tool that can help your content travel further, work harder and do more.  

PR as a force multiplier

Extending the shelf-life of your existing content – or ‘sweating your assets’ – via PR is a great way to raise brand awareness and reinforce your company’s messages in front of key audiences. If you are an established brand, it is likely that you already have a library of assets – blogs, white-papers, one-pagers, guides, e-books and maybe even content generated in other geographies or business units.

The power of PR is in taking your existing assets and amplifying them via the media to reach new audiences and support your lead generation and sales efforts. The best PR campaigns do not start from scratch every time – they look sideways at what already exists and reimagine it for different channels and customer personas.

Make no mistake, this is not churning out content for the sake of content. PR acts as a force multiplier by keeping your core narratives the same and applying fresh thinking on top of it – for example, by offering your proven expertise in the wake of a breaking news story. However, sweating your assets can – and should – be even more strategic than that.

PR exists to elevate your profile and, crucially, keep you in the limelight. This can only be done through a consistent pattern of communication. Every company has quieter periods – times when there is no product launch or big announcement to drive coverage. Amplifying your content can help fill these gaps and maintain a steady drumbeat of coverage. This keeps you top-of-mind for journalists and buyers, and builds your reputation over time.

It also builds consistency. Instead of jumping between campaigns, you end up with a rolling narrative that reinforces your expertise and point of view. Beyond the extra reach, you will gain credibility through showing up in the right places with the right message, over and over again.

How to extend the lifespan of your marketing content

Of course, not all content is created equal. The annual company CSR report can remain a one-off asset (although savvy PRs will be sure to weave it into award entries!) and no journalist wants to see the same product launch packaged up as a ‘momentum story’ multiple times. On the other hand, with a little work, a sales deck can become a commentary on sector trends, and a customer quote can turn into a proof point in an article addressing an industry challenge.

So, how can you identify your best assets? Look for content that educates and inspires. Here are just some ideas on how to extend the lifespan of some of your heavy lifters:

• Take a company blog and marry it up with an upcoming industry moment – think seasonal hooks (e.g., scams on Cyber Monday), policy changes (impact of the EU AI Act) or local events (be that the AI Summit or a Beyoncé tour)
• Lights, camera, action! Adapt a webinar into a punchy opinion piece for high-level decision-makers or use a product demo for a ‘How to’ style explainer for technical audiences
• With permission, turn a customer case study into an article on wider industry change – highlighting your expertise within the wider issue area and subtly driving home your business value through a customer case-in-point. Better still – if the case study has concrete metrics, consider nominating it for an award!
• Surface new angles from your recent company research – for example, if the data can be sliced by industries, that opens up countless thought leadership opportunities in vertical media.

Once your assets are dressed in PR clothes, you have a capsule wardrobe you can expand. For example, thought leadership generated in one region or language can be translated and adapted to the needs of another one. A byline article can be chopped into a reactive comment, an award entry can provide useful interview briefing material for spokespeople, and a press release can be published on your company news page to further cement your reputation as a leader.

You can read more about how to build and scale a thought leadership campaign here.

Adapt, rather than duplicate, your marketing content

Sweating your assets is not about repetition or duplication. Audiences do not reward boring content or marketing copy, and editors are even less forgiving – you cannot pass off the same content twice. Instead, it is about establishing you as a fountain of knowledge and making that insight more readily available for different personas, and in various formats.

Be cautious with the use of generative AI, too – journalists can sniff out ‘AI slop’ from a mile. Luckily, so can good PRs. Your PR agency team will have intricate knowledge of local media nuances, magazine guidelines, journalist preferences and what readers are looking for. They will know how to sharpen your content to maximise impact.

Case study: Research that earned its place in the headlines

In a year dominated by AI noise, data movement leader Fivetran needed a message that would cut through. Eleven Hundred Agency commissioned and managed a global survey with a specialist B2B tech research partner, uncovering a headline stat: businesses are losing six percent of revenue each year on AI projects because of poor data integration.

Eleven Hundred Agency then turned the survey findings into a coherent story for a multi-channel campaign. The PR team secured 13 pieces of coverage in tier-one and trade media, arranged multiple interviews, and created new thought leadership opportunities for Fivetran’s execs. The same research also fed into interviews, awards, events, and sales conversations – showing how the right asset, positioned well, can drive results far beyond its original scope.

Read more about how to turn research into media coverage here, while you can find out about our award-winning work for Fivetran here.

Get more mileage from your marketing assets

Often, the material you need to spark media interest and drive conversations is already sitting in your content library. The trick is knowing how to frame it, when to use it, and where it fits in the bigger picture. This is where PR can make a difference. A sharp eye for story angles, good timing and a clear understanding of the media landscape means your existing assets can work harder and go further.

PR can help you show up in the places your audiences trust, with messages that resonate with them. With some sharpening, an existing content piece can spark a new idea for the busy CEO reading the paper or give the time-poor IT director practical guidance on solving an issue.

If you have already done the thinking, PR can help you get the message out in the world – fast. And if you are wondering what more your content could be doing, let’s talk!