One of the most common misalignments I encounter when taking on a new client is the assumption that PR is PR, regardless of the organisation’s stage, size, or market position. A founding team of eight will often expect the same media strategy as a company with 2,000 employees and 20 years of brand equity. A legacy brand will frequently try to apply the agile, founder-voice approach that works brilliantly for an early-stage disruptor. Both are making the same mistake: applying the wrong playbook.
Startup PR is fundamentally about narrative establishment. You are building a story from scratch in a market that doesn’t yet know you exist or why it should care. The tools are different — founder storytelling is paramount, niche media relationships are often more valuable than national coverage, and earned media about the problem you are solving matters more than coverage about the solution you are selling. The job is to make journalists, investors, and early customers believe in a future that doesn’t yet fully exist.
Legacy brand PR is about narrative management and evolution. You have existing perceptions to contend with — some accurate and positive, some outdated and limiting. The challenge is rarely about awareness; it is about relevance, differentiation, and the ability to shift perception without alienating the audience that already trusts you. Moving too fast looks desperate. Moving too slowly looks complacent. The calibration required is sophisticated in a way that startup PR rarely is.
The tactical differences are equally significant. A startup can take reputational risks that a 30-year-old brand cannot. A founder’s authentic roughness in an interview is endearing from a startup and potentially alarming from an institution. Conversely, a legacy brand’s deep media relationships and institutional credibility can open doors that a startup would spend years trying to access.
The worst outcomes I have seen in PR come from applying the wrong framework to the wrong organisation. The startup trying to behave like an established player comes across as inauthentic and over-polished. The legacy brand trying to behave like a scrappy disruptor looks exactly what it is: a large organisation that has hired a social media agency.
Know what stage you are at. Build the strategy that serves that stage. The playbook will change as you grow — and recognising when to change it is one of the most valuable things a senior communications adviser can offer.
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