PANBlast (formerly BLASTmedia)

NEW HARDWARE ALERT 🏆 We're pumped to announce that our work with PolyAI has won the Technology & Information Services Campaign of the Year in the 2025 PRDaily Awards! Thanks to Ragan Communications and PR Daily for the honor. Here's why our campaign stood out: "The program sustained a 42.1 percent share‑of‑voice lead and generated marquee coverage that embedded demonstrable customer value, turning headlines into tangible proof points for buyers and for search engines. Coverage also converted into discovery and demand as backlinked assets and AI‑visible signals raised organic presence, referral traffic and contextual links that prime both algorithmic answers and human exploration." Congrats to our agency and client teams for making the magic happen! #PRDaily #saasmarketing #pragency See all 2025 winners: https://lnkd.in/g-4h8fH8

Our team at PANBlast (formerly BLASTmedia) published our annual comms industry predictions piece, and we deliberately split it into two parts. Part one? Zero mention of large language models. 🤯 Why? Because plenty is shifting in B2B communications that has nothing to do with ChatGPT. Here's what our agency leaders are watching: → Crisis response is getting weird (in the best way). Think less templated apology, more creative boldness. Astronomer's recent approach is the blueprint. → PR teams are moving to the front lines. With volatile news cycles and heightened scrutiny, issues monitoring and rapid response can't be an afterthought anymore. → PR pros are becoming the story. Audiences want to know who's crafting the voice behind brands. The days of staying behind the curtain are ending. → The newsletter reckoning is coming. Inboxes are maxed out. If you're launching a newsletter in 2026, you'd better differentiate or get buried. → Companies are becoming media empires. We're shifting from one-off blog posts to full content franchises that build audiences and drive revenue. → Customer proof points are the new gold standard. In a sea of sameness and AI-slop, authentic customer validation is the ultimate differentiator (and it's getting harder to secure.) Which of these resonates most with where you're seeing the industry headed? Or what are we missing? Read the full breakdown here: https://lnkd.in/gm8xsEhH And stay tuned for Part 2, where we'll tackle what AI actually means for comms in 2026.

Is B2B SaaS entrepreneurship becoming a commodity? One investor says it should never. But, founders are feeling a little, well, boxed in. 📦 On the latest episode of SaaS Half Full, we sit down with Michelle Erikson from Straylight Capital to talk about why emerging growth founders are feeling pressure to fit into an “investable box”… and why that mindset is killing differentiation. A few 🔥 takeaways: 💥 Marketing becomes the tie-breaker when two SaaS companies have similar KPIs 💥 Investors vibe-check founders in the first 5 minutes (yes, it’s a thing) 💥 Brand maturity matters way earlier than most founders think 💥 Durability is the new growth 💥 And yes, investors want to hear from your marketing leader in diligence If you're a SaaS marketer or founder, this episode will help you break the box in a slower deal market. 🎧 Listen now https://lnkd.in/gK5qFQ-Y #pragency #SaaSMarketing #VC #podcast

With the help of PAN's C-Suite Signals report, we're dissecting what sources LLMs are surfacing for specific personas. Today, we tackle what's on the minds of CTOs and CIOs, as well as the sources (trade media, analysts, social channels) referenced most often in AI search. Check out the findings here: https://lnkd.in/gnMJTc4g #PRagency #SaaSmarketing #AIsearch

🎙 How Zuora Turned Its Platform Data Into a Thought Leadership Engine Before marketing leader Amy Konary launched Zuora’s Subscribed Institute, a formal megaphone for data-led insights, she started small by finding an advocate and partner within the data science team. In her chat with Lindsey (Peck) Groepper on SaaS Half Full, Amy breaks down how B2B SaaS brands can leverage platform data to create powerful thought leadership that engages executives and influences pipeline. 🔥 Highlights: - Use your product data as your storytelling BFF - Build community through small, purposeful executive events - Measure impact by influence, not only attribution 💡 “Every SaaS company has data. The question is: how are you using it to connect with your audience?” — Amy Konary, Zuora Catch the full episode - https://lnkd.in/gF2UDhhX

🚨 The latest edition of What’s Working is now live. 🚨 This quarter’s issue covers: 🔮 2026 PR predictions — what’s ahead for B2B storytelling 📈 How Legit Security's research landed in The Register 📰 The persistence play that got Plus One Robotics into Bloomberg 👀 New shows, newsletters and trends we’re watching If you’re serious about breaking through the noise in tech PR, this one’s worth a read.

Raise your hand if you love trade media 🤚🏻 Grace Williams, SVP, dropped her POV today on a LinkedIn live panel about the continued importance of earning trade media as part of a B2B PR strategy. While Tier 1 media has its own value (builds trust, investor-facing, etc.), trade media is where your ICP lives and where coverage can influence pipeline. Watch it here: https://lnkd.in/gr3iPqaz

AI is quietly deciding what executives learn. Wonder how? The data powerhouses at PAN mapped it. The new C-Suite Signals report analyzed roughly 10,000 AI-cited links across 250 domains and identified six C-Suite personas to show how AI defines credibility and influence today. Next, custom GPTs were built for each persona, enabling marketers to explore how AI curates and ranks information tailored to every executive role. See the most-cited sources that influence B2B CXOs: https://bit.ly/4qaJ1v8 

🎉 Big congrats to our client, Locus, on its recent acquisition by IKEA's Ingka Investments! According to IKEA, integrating Locus's technology will help the Ingka Group strengthen efficiency across its supply chain, from capacity management and optimization to last-mile delivery. Locus will continue to operate independently and will keep expanding its services for clients beyond Ingka Group, contributing to IKEA's ongoing digital transformation. #acquisition #saasmarketing #supplychain https://lnkd.in/g_8r_pBk

Big news: Our client PolyAI is a finalist for Technology & Information Services Campaign in the 2025 PRDaily Awards 🏆 This PR program wouldn't have been a success without the incredible leadership team at PolyAI, who are always willing to share their insights, trust our guidance, and be an all-around great partner. Winners drop on Dec. 2 at the awards event at City Winery, NYC. Full finalist list: https://lnkd.in/e2f_g_i8 #PRDailyAwards #SaaSmarketing #pragency