A financial services firm wanted to earn media coverage relevant to its target audience and strengthen its trust in commercial debt collection and corporate financial risk. But they wanted to increase trust with the audience, AI search, and traditional search simultaneously.
The brand’s audience was also localized to specific markets across the US, so they needed local media coverage.
The Problem
Traditional PR approaches, pitching services or company news, would not resonate with journalists or deliver coverage that would influence traditional or AI search visibility. The brand needed a way to stand out in a crowded financial media landscape and provide real value to reporters.
Traditional link building might slightly improve search visibility, but it has a limited impact on AI search and wouldn’t increase trust with the audience.
The Solution
Instead of promoting the company directly, we created original research that answered a timely and relevant question: Which U.S. financial districts are most at risk of office foreclosures?
The research ranked major financial districts using clear risk indicators, including median days on market, vacancy rate, and vacancy rate growth. This transformed a complex commercial real estate issue into a simple, localized story.
The findings revealed that San Francisco, Seattle, and Houston were the most exposed financial districts, with Seattle ranking second. This gave journalists a strong local angle and a compelling narrative.
Axios Seattle used the study to explain why the city’s downtown office market had shifted from boom to bust. The publication cited the report, linked directly to the original study, included brand mentions, and quoted the company’s CEO as an expert source.
The Results
The campaign succeeded because it made the story easy to understand, easy to localize, and easy to trust. Instead of asking journalists to cover a financial services firm, we provided a story from evidence backed by data: a clear ranking, a local impact, and expert insight.
The company secured a feature article in Axios Seattle, including a followed editorial link, multiple brand mentions, and authoritative expert attribution.
