What separates a forgettable digital PR campaign from one that actually gets coverage, links, and results?

In this episode, Vince sits down with Katy Powell — PR director and co-founder of Bottled Imagination — to talk about what it really takes to build creative campaigns that stand out.

They get into everything: how to stress-test ideas before you pitch them, why you should be thinking more like an ad agency, how to mitigate risk when going big, and what "So What Reporting" actually means for your clients. Plus, Katy shares the stories behind two standout campaigns — a fake footballer designed to raise gambling awareness, and a very unusual protein shake flavor event involving pickles and chocolate.

If you're in digital PR and feel like you've been stuck doing the same thing over and over, this one's for you.

⏰ Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction

02:26 – What makes Bottled Imagination so creative?

06:02 – How to stress-test a campaign idea

08:27 – What actually makes an idea press-worthy?

13:38 – The ProteinWorks pickle & chocolate campaign

18:04 – Overcoming data and execution challenges

21:43 – Getting the data you need (and the AI trap to avoid)

29:11 – The Jordan Rees fake footballer campaign

33:03 – How to measure creative campaigns beyond just links

35:54 – "So What Reporting" explained

🔗 Links and resources

• Full post: https://www.buzzstream.com/blog/creative-digital-pr-podcast/
• Bottled Imagination: https://bottledimagination.com
• Connect with Katie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katy-powell-333717127/
• Try ListIQ (media list building tool): https://www.buzzstream.com/listiq/
• BuzzStream: https://buzzstream.com

---💬 Have a question about creative digital PR? Drop it in the comments!

👍 If you found this useful, like and subscribe for more episodes on digital PR, link building, and content strategy.

Getting your brand mentioned in AI answers isn't luck — it's a strategy.

In this episode, Vince sits down with Bernard Huang, founder of ClearScope, to break down exactly how AI models like ChatGPT and Gemini decide what brands to recommend, and what you can do about it.

They cover the three layers of how AI generates a response, why links are becoming less important than co-mentions, how digital PR fits into the AEO playbook, and what "topical authority" actually means in a world where AI answers questions before anyone clicks through.

If you're in SEO, digital PR, or content marketing, this one's worth a watch.

---

⏱ Timestamps

00:00 — Intro

03:07 — Training data vs. real-time grounding: what's the difference?

03:45 — The 3 layers of how AI generates a response

09:08 — Do you need on-site content, or can off-page do the job?

12:13 — Is informational content still worth making?

17:10 — Chunking, character budgets, and content depth

20:00 — Two schools of thought: cosine similarity vs. information gain

23:35 — How digital PR and entity mentions work for AEO

28:31 — Real-world example: reactive PR and the halo effect

33:01 — How to track digital PR success for AI visibility

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🔗 Links

- ClearScope: https://www.clearscope.io/

- BuzzStream List IQ: https://www.buzzstream.com/listiq

- Full post: https://www.buzzstream.com/blog/ai-brand-playbook-podcast/

- Bernard Huang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardjhuang/

Subscribe for more episodes on digital PR, SEO, and content strategy.

Reddit has quietly become one of the most powerful platforms for brand visibility — and most marketers are doing it wrong.

In this episode, Ross Simmonds (founder of Foundation Marketing and author of Create Once, Distribute Forever) breaks down exactly how brands should be showing up on Reddit in 2026 — from reputation management to influencing AI-generated search results.

We cover:

✅ Why Reddit is now critical for LLM visibility (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews)

✅ How to audit and monitor the subreddits that actually matter for your brand

✅ The right way to build karma and credibility before posting

✅ Why comments matter more than upvotes when it comes to AI citations

✅ The black hat tactics that will get your brand permanently banned

✅ How to measure Reddit's impact on pipeline and revenue

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro

2:35 – How Reddit is different from other social platforms

6:21 – The 3 types of marketers approaching Reddit right now

9:31 – Reputation management: how to handle negative Reddit threads

16:18 – Building karma and credibility before posting

26:43 – Which subreddits Google actually associates with your category

29:42 – Black hat tactics and why they backfire

35:33 – Measuring attribution and ROI from Reddit

🔔 Subscribe for more marketing strategy, PR, and outreach tips from the BuzzStream podcast.

📖 Ross's book Create Once, Distribute Forever: https://www.amazon.com/Create-Once-Distribute-Forever-Creators/dp/1544541295

🌐 Foundation Marketing: https://foundationinc.co/

🎙️ Previous episode with Ross: https://www.buzzstream.com/blog/content-distribution-podcast/

🔗 BuzzStream: https://www.buzzstream.com/

📋 List IQ: https://www.buzzstream.com/listiq/

Is your PR strategy still living in 2015?

In this episode, Mady Lanni (PR & Communications Manager at Manychat) breaks down why social media needs to be at the center of your digital PR strategy—not just an afterthought.

Mady shares how she's building Manychat's PR function from the ground up with a social-first mindset, why the creator economy is poised to reach $200 billion by 2030, and how to turn viral social moments into legitimate PR wins.

Whether you're agency-side or in-house, this conversation will change how you think about content distribution, influencer partnerships, and the future of earned media.

🔗 Links

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/madysonlanni
• https://www.instagram.com/theprgirlie/
• Try ManyChat: https://manychat.com
• Try BuzzStream's ListIQ: https://buzzstream.com/listiq

⏰ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Intro

01:37 - Mady's background: From agency to in-house at Manychat

07:58 - How to insert your content into trending conversations

08:28 - Creating social-first content: The soundbite strategy

11:58 - Understanding your audience: Which platforms actually matter?

20:05 - How to spot trends: Metrics vs. gut instinct

22:56 - Three ways to use social: Ideas, outreach, and content creation

27:01 - How to identify and reach out to influencers

31:01 - Final hot take: The creator economy is the future of all media

---

⭐️ KEY TAKEAWAYS:

✅ Social media should be integrated into your PR strategy from day one, not added as an afterthought

✅ Train a separate social media account's algorithm to catch relevant trends for your brand

✅ Not every viral moment is right for your brand—focus on relevance over virality

✅ The future of PR is fully integrated: SEO + Social + Influencer + Email + Comms

✅ Budget for influencer partnerships—it's becoming table stakes---👍 Like this episode?

Subscribe and hit the bell for more digital PR strategy insights.

In this episode of the BuzzStream podcast, host Vince Nero interviews Metehan Yesilyurt, Chief Growth Officer at AEO Vision, about the significance of AI training data, particularly Common Crawl.

They explore how AI models use this data, the importance of metrics such as page rank and harmonic centrality, and the challenges posed by data accessibility.

The conversation emphasizes the need for relevancy in AI citations and the evolving landscape of AI and SEO.⏰ Chapters00:00 Introduction

02:17 Understanding AI Training Data

04:49 Exploring Common Crawl

07:37 The Role of Common Crawl in AI

10:12 Metrics: Page Rank and Harmonic Centrality

12:31 AI Citations and Brand Positioning

15:21 The Future of AI and Data Sources

17:35 Relevancy vs. Authority in Links

20:20 Challenges with Common Crawl

22:52 Final Thoughts and Future Predictions

🔗 Links and Resources:

Connect with Metehan:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/metehanyesilyurt/

https://aeovision.ai/

His tool and study:

https://metehan.ai/blog/cc-rank/

https://webgraph.metehan.ai/

Common Crawl's article:

https://commoncrawl.org/blog/how-seos-are-using-common-crawls-web-graph-data-for-ai-ranking-signals

BuzzStream's article:

https://www.buzzstream.com/blog/publishers-block-ai-study/

ListIQ:

https://www.buzzstream.com/listiq

What makes a great marketing idea… actually great?

In this episode of the BuzzStream Podcast, host Vince Nero sits down with Paxton Gray, CEO of 97th Floor, to break down one of the most talked-about creative B2B campaigns ever: The Rage Cage.

Paxton not only gives us the story behind the Rage Cage campaign (yes, accountants smashing printers), but we also go deep into how audience research (real conversations, not dashboards) fuels breakthrough ideas and why “best practices” rarely lead to great marketing.

This is a must-watch for agency owners, in-house marketers, SEOs, PRs, and growth marketers.

⏰ Timestamp

00:00 – Intro

02:10 – The Rage Cage campaign explained

05:55 – How the campaign drove SEO, PR, and real revenue

09:38 – Getting buy-in for big creative swings

14:23 – Why great ideas can’t be copied or scaled

21:10 – Turning audience research into breakthrough campaigns

🔗 Linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/paxtongray/

https://www.97thfloor.com/

https://www.buzzstream.com/

Data has a reputation for being boring, but it can do wonders for your marketing.

This podcast is all about getting your heads out of the spreadsheets.

In this episode, host Vince Nero sits down with Thierry Ngutegure and George Sinnott, co-founders of Six Chillies — a UK-based, data-centric agency on a mission to make data-led content feel human* creative, and actually useful.

If you’re in digital PR, content marketing, or SEO, this one’s packed with practical insights.

⏰ Timestamps

00:00 — Intro

03:47 — Why data gets labeled “boring”

09:08 — Is AI making data storytelling easier or harder?

11:33 — How to use AI the right way for ideation

16:12 — Best data sources to start with

20:54 — How to find stories *without* living in spreadsheets

24:47 — What makes a data story “cool”?

31:50 — Strategy frameworks for pitching + presenting data

40:40 — Biggest mistakes people make with data-led content🔗 Linkswww.sixchillies.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/thierryngutegure/https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-sinnott-020738133/

Even perfect pitches get buried when journalists receive 1,000+ emails per day. Here's what's replacing the traditional PR playbook.

In this episode, I sit down with Charlie Russell, CEO and Founder of Synapse, a stories marketplace that's rethinking how PR professionals connect with journalists.

Charlie brings a unique perspective from his years working at Dow Jones and Gorkana (a leading media database), and he's built a solution that moves PR pitching out of overloaded inboxes entirely.We discuss:

• Why email has become an ineffective channel for PR outreach
• The decline of traditional media databases and what's replacing them
• How to build real relationships with journalists in the AI era
• Why "spray and pray" tactics hurt everyone (even targeted pitchers)
• The quality vs. quantity debate in digital PR
• Differences between UK and US PR landscapes
• How AI is reshaping journalism and expert sourcing

Whether you're an agency PR pro, in-house consultant, or just trying to get better media coverage, this conversation will change how you think about journalist outreach.🔗 LinksCharlie Russell's LinkedIn:   / charlierussell85  Synapse: https://synapse.media⏰ Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

2:07 - What is Synapse and what problem does it solve?

4:06 - The noise problem in PR and building relationships

11:18 - How Synapse differs from journalist request platforms

14:24 - When did media databases stop being effective?

17:48 - How media databases work and journalist incentives

21:27 - Should PR pros build relationships with journalists?

31:01 - Final thoughts and UK vs. US PR differences

In this episode of the BuzzStream Podcast, host Vince Nero speaks with Ellie Hearn, a digital PR strategist at Re:signal, on how to start a successful digital PR service.

Ellie Hearn has been in the digital PR world for years, working with some of the UK’s top agencies, including Digitaloft, iProspect, Aira, and Journey Further.

We covered everything you need to know to get started: services to offer, how to hire, what to charge, and the challenges along the way.

Ellie sets a fantastic blueprint for anyone interested!

🕰️ Time stamps

00:00 Intro

02:24 Ellie's Journey in Digital PR

05:13 Understanding Traditional vs Digital PR

08:02 Core Services of Digital PR

13:37 Client Management and Expectations

16:30 Quality Over Quantity in Link Building

19:11 Determining Costs and Fees for Digital PR

22:03 Building a Digital PR Team

27:46 The Community and Support in Digital PR

🔗 Linkshttps://resignal.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellie-hearn-b18612141/

YouGov has published thousands of surveys—so what separates the ones that break through from the ones that don’t?

In this episode of the BuzzStream podcast, host Vince Nero interviews Brian Reitz, Senior Marketing Manager at YouGov, to discuss the intricacies of survey design and the factors that make surveys newsworthy.

They explore the internal processes at YouGov for determining survey topics, the importance of brainstorming, and the balance between timely and emotional content and much more.

⏰ Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction

05:10 – How YouGov chooses survey topics

10:28 – SEO vs. news value: Should search demand shape survey strategy?

18:22 – What actually drives coverage (emotion, simplicity & authority)

27:31 – Demographics, negativity & common survey PR mistakes

37:28 – Real survey example + final advice for PRs running surveys

🔗 Links and Resources

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianmreitz/
• https://yougov.com/
• https://www.buzzstream.com/blog/yougov-survey-analysis/
• https://yougov.com/en-us/business/engage/reality-checks