![]() ![]() Think desktop PCs, big a million years ago yeah, still incredibly important – but does anyone really think about them or care much today? Especially media, they don’t necessarily want to cover older stuff AKA “legacy tech.” Let’s play spin the clock with some examples. Where does your tech and company fit in the category story arc? And what can you do with this understanding? The savvy tech marketer adjusts tactics accordingly. This presents challenges and opportunities for those in the mix. ![]() Media appetite and coverage of vendor news and stories vary significantly depending on the stage of the space. Here’s a link to their Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2021. Gartner Group famously maps the trajectories of enterprise tech segments in their Hype Cycle reports, charting them along a curve like the one below. Geoffrey Moore wrote about the dynamics of technology adoption in his classic text, Crossing the Chasm (the “chasm” refers to the gap separating innovation and mass adoption). How long it takes for a category to emerge and go big relates to many factors: is there a real market for this new kind of thing, is it affordable, does it work as promised? All these questions dictate the likelihood that the tech will jump from development, get used by early adopters and eventually reach a mainstream market. It has its innovators, leaders and followers. Each category has a narrative, a story arc that starts with invention and ends with obsolescence. These segments are important because they help the media and their audiences understand what kind of tech you have, and where it fits in the scheme of things. Here, the clock turns not for an individual company – but for categories (true, one company might be the driving force in a new “bucket,” but there will inevitably be competitors). This one too, is about promise, expectations, triumph and sometimes flameouts. It is the one that follows the inexorable march of technology evolution and disruption. The idea being, if you are in PR, you should heed this timetable and try to beat the clock in your storytelling and execution.īut the focus here is on another schedule that impacts media coverage. He describes the expectations set when a company is founded (“12:00 SVT Birth – No one really cares”) and circles the clock on to Shiny New Toy, Up and Comer, and Industry Disrupter (3 SVT) and beyond. ![]() His subtitle said it all: The tech press moves like clockwork, fitting company narratives into a predictable arc. Aaron Zamost’s Medium post rang eerily true for those in the tech marketing, journalism and PR worlds. The story, about the tyranny of “Silicon Valley Time,” was widely read and shared. So what do you do, if you are in enterprise tech or some gorpy B2B space? How do you track where things are, where they are going, and leverage this insight for PR?Īn article I saw a while back inspired this topic. ![]() Users and decision-makers aren’t generally surfing TikTok or watching Kylie’s Instagram to see what the next big thing will be. There too, you have influencers, like industry analysts. Those who want to stay ahead of trends pay close attention. They indicate what is hot and what is not, with words and actions. How to Surf the Tech Trends without Going UnderĮveryone is familiar with tastemakers in fashion, music, and popular culture. ![]()
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