Two Engines, One System: The Framework Behind Every Great PR Program
Most founders only run one PR engine. The ones who get consistent coverage know how to run both — and they know which one to start with given where their business is right now.
PR runs on two engines. This is not a metaphor — it is a practical description of how media coverage actually gets generated. Understanding both engines, and knowing when to use each, is the single biggest unlock for founders who want consistent coverage rather than a single hit.
Proactive PR
You have a story — a launch, a funding round, research, a hire — and you take it to market. You write a release or a pitch, build a list, contact journalists, follow up. This is the engine most founders think of when they think of PR.
Reactive PR
Something happens in the news and you attach your expertise to it. You offer a journalist a spokesperson comment on a topic they're already writing about. You're not asking them to cover you — you're helping them cover something they're already working on.
Why reactive PR is often the better starting point
Proactive PR works when you have news that is genuinely interesting to a journalist's audience. The challenge is that most companies don't have top-tier news every month. There might be two or three genuinely strong proactive stories per year, with smaller stories in between.
Reactive PR has no such constraint. News happens every day. Data is released. Regulations shift. Markets move. Competitors make announcements. Each of these events creates a window where a journalist is actively looking for expert voices — and you can be one of them without having a product launch, a funding round, or a press release.
For a time-strapped founder, reactive PR often delivers more results per hour than proactive. One well-timed comment, drafted in 20 minutes and emailed to five journalists, can land you in a major publication. A full press release and pitch campaign takes days. The return on time is dramatically different.
What reactive PR actually involves
A reactive comment is a specific content type. It's not a press release. It's not a pitch. It's 2–3 short paragraphs of attributed commentary — your name, your title, and your interpretation of a news event. That's it. It gets pasted into the body of a short email and sent to a handful of journalists who are covering the story.
The format is: acknowledge and interpret the news (paragraph 1), name a specific consequence for your audience (paragraph 2), offer a forward-looking view (paragraph 3, optional). Then a two-line email. Subject line: "[topic] — spokesperson comment." Body: "Following [event], [your name] at [your company] says: [paste comment]." Availability. Phone number.
That's the entire email. No company background. No preamble. No "hope this finds you well."
The secret the pros use
You can do this too. If you know a data release or a significant event is coming up in the next week — check your sector's news calendar, or look at when your central bank meets, when major industry reports are released, when regulatory reviews are expected — draft your comment the day before. Leave a blank for the specific number or outcome. On the day, fill in the blank, adjust the framing based on whether the result was higher or lower than expected, and send it before lunch.
Why you need both engines
Proactive PR builds your narrative. It lets you control the story and the timing. It positions your company the way you want it positioned. Without proactive PR, journalists never learn your company's story — they only hear from you in response to events.
Reactive PR builds your presence. It gets your name in front of journalists regularly. It positions you as an expert, not just a company. And critically, it builds relationships — a journalist who has quoted you three times as a source is far more likely to pay attention when you pitch your own story.
The best PR programs run both simultaneously. One proactive story per quarter. Reactive commentary whenever a strong opportunity arises. Over time, they feed each other: proactive stories give you something to reference in reactive pitches, and reactive relationships make your proactive pitches land more easily.
Spot your first reactive opportunity
Go to the homepage of one publication you'd like to be covered in. Read today's headlines. Ask yourself:
- Is there a story here that my business has a perspective on?
- Could I say something about this topic that a journalist couldn't get from a Google search?
- If I emailed a 3-sentence comment to the journalist who wrote this, would it add something?
If you answered yes, you just found a reactive opportunity. Don't act on it yet — first build your media list (next article) so you know who to send it to. But notice how many of these opportunities exist on any given day.