How Data-Driven Storytelling Landed Red’s in Entrepreneur

Premium frozen foods brand Red’s does so many things well—from innovative product development to building a fiercely loyal customer base—all of which make it a great candidate for media outlets looking to share success stories. As part of our ongoing work with Red’s, our Director of PR Carly Kuikman is always pursuing opportunities to keep Red’s in the spotlight (see our previous blog post about landing Red’s in Forbes). Our most recent success: a feature in Entrepreneur. 

When working to secure placement in high-profile media outlets, Carly says her secret boils down to three must-haves: authenticity, brand-based storytelling, and data.

The Value of Authenticity

We believe authenticity in marketing is essential for any brand, and PR is no exception. Red’s CEO Mike Adair never set out to build an empire—and becoming a nationwide brand hasn’t changed the company’s, or Mike’s, core values. He’s simply obsessed with making the best burritos and breakfast sandwiches in the world. 

That’s why when working on Red’s PR, Mike and Carly are careful to make sure that articles, press releases, and quotes sound the way he speaks and align with Red’s brand voice. Through practice and partnership, he’s gotten more and more comfortable telling Red’s story over time in a way that feels authentic to himself and the company.

Having a Strong Brand Foundation

Authenticity flows more easily when you have a solid understanding of the foundation of your brand: 

• Why do you exist? 
• What are your values and what need does your company exist to serve? 
• In short: what’s your Why?

Red’s Why – a relentless pursuit of quality, a hunger to learn and innovate – and their founder-led story made it easy for Mike and Carly to stay on brand when building the pitch. They were able to talk about how Red’s was built, step by step, atop those foun

Data is King

Ready for a hot tip from a PR pro? 

“In pitching, especially in business pitching, data is king.”

Orso and Red’s were targeting top-tier press as part of their brand-awareness media strategy. With her experience and journalist contacts in that space, Carly knew Red’s needed to be willing to share some verifiable numbers to back up their content. 

This can be tricky: even when companies collect and track quality data, there are a variety of reasons why they may need to protect it. Red’s had no shortage of strong metrics but needed to determine what felt safe to publicize. 

Once we landed on the right data-points tied to their authentic, founder-led story of innovation, we were able to turn the Entrepreneur pitch into a highly visible article.

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So… authenticity + a strong brand foundation + quality data = placement in a top tier publication? Of course not. In Red’s case, they also have a great story involving family, career pivots, and rescue dogs, a likeable main character, and expert guidance. Carly, meanwhile, has built rich relationships with editors and journalists and has a deep understanding of the elements necessary for a great feature.

To see how all of this comes together, check out Red’s piece in Entrepreneur. 🔥🔥🔥. Then, reach out to us to chat about how we can help your organization achieve your PR goals.