Originally published July 2020. A snapshot of the global tech PR landscape from agency leaders working through the early months of the pandemic.
With Global Alliance (WGA), a global network of tech PR and marketing agencies, launched in January 2020 with five founding members. By June, membership had doubled to ten firms servicing 26 countries — each with deep tech expertise and senior leadership on every account.
Operating internationally during a global pandemic carried distinct challenges. Each market had its own pressure points, media dynamics, and opportunities. EPR asked the leaders of WGA to share what they were seeing in their respective markets — both the entry challenges international companies face, and what the local media was focused on beyond COVID-19.
What is the biggest challenge international companies face when entering your market for PR?
Brazil — Luis Claudio Allan, Founder, FirstCom
Brazil is a large country with diverse media outlets, and the PR market is formed by hundreds of agencies — from one-person shops to multinationals. Journalists receive enormous volumes of content daily from brands with established awareness, so it's hard to win editorial space in top-tier outlets without hard news or a strong agency relationship. Brazilian journalists also prefer exclusives, and exclusives take weeks to land. Announcement plans need to account for that runway.
China — Sarah Li, Managing Director, WEdge
When a company first approaches PR in China, the initial challenges are substantial. It's critical to understand the government's development agenda, the business environment, and cultural differences. Companies need guidance to introduce expertise and highlight value in the local market. Strategic positioning and local-angle storytelling are key to engaging Chinese media. Understanding how to communicate with local journalists is just as important as having a story to tell.
Germany — Andrea Buzzi, Founder & CEO, Frau Wenk
Many companies, especially from the US, enter Germany with a one-size-fits-all approach. After months of hard work and painful rejections, most realize the largest economy in Europe differs significantly from others and requires a specific approach. Germany's reputation for manufacturing and engineering excellence sets the standard: we need solid proof a technology works before we adopt it. Companies need to spend time building trust and proving systems can deliver. Most German journalists and decision-makers speak English, but presenting complex technologies in the local language is a strong advantage — as is demonstrating clear commitment to the market through a local contact with a real network.
India — Minal Drozario, Co-Founder, Ideosphere
The main challenge is understanding and localizing the story to the Indian context. India contains multiple cultures within one country, so international brands benefit from a customizable approach with talking points specific to each region. Beyond that, the basics — timeliness and relevance — apply universally.
Netherlands — Sabine Steen-Lakerveld, Founder, DOK30
The Netherlands is a small country with big ambitions. Our economy is highly globalized, and so is our media. Companies entering the market must combine global-level innovation with local presence and contribution to the Dutch economy — they will be judged on both. Stories must be backed by objective facts. Dutch media is skeptical of marketing language. We start every partnership with a storybook of the best angles and the proof behind them. Hit-and-run strategies fail here; the Dutch reward lasting relationships.
Russia — Alexander Izryadnov, Co-founder, Vinci Agency
Large companies still try to apply unified global guidelines, topics, and channels regardless of market differences. American companies often insist on a Twitter presence, but no one uses Twitter in Russia — local platforms dominate. Startups, focused on product, rarely modify their PR approach for new markets. The fix is detailed market study — cultural mores, popular topics, dominant channels, key opinion leaders. The work has to come before the campaign.
Singapore — Oliver Budgen, Managing Director, Bud Communications
International companies setting up in Southeast Asia often treat the region as a single market. The reality is far more fragmented. Sustainable growth requires local insight and partners who understand how to penetrate the highly competitive tech space. Many sectors are more nascent than in North America or Europe, so comms strategies should emphasize education over product push. Singapore is increasingly the stable regional hub — businesses are redistributing teams here as Hong Kong's uncertainty grows.
South Africa — Samantha Hogg, Owner & MD, GinjaNinja PR
South Africa is a small but important market — a springboard into Africa. Budgets don't always justify attention, but South Africa is needed if a network wants a true global footprint. Other African countries operate differently, often charging in US dollars at near-prohibitive rates. The common solution is to invest in South Africa, generate strategies and content here, and use the network to disseminate across the continent through media relations partners.
United Kingdom — Debbie Zaman, CEO & Founder, With PR
With works across Europe. Companies often see the continent as one entity, but with many languages and varying levels of economic development and tech infrastructure, it couldn't be more diverse. Many companies focus on the UK as their European hub. The UK tech market is highly competitive, highly sophisticated, and uniquely British. Storytelling here differs from Asia or the US. The press will want a British angle, and opening an office won't be enough on its own.
United States — Sandra Fathi, Founder & President, Affect
The US is the land of opportunity — and the land of competition. Many companies see the American market as the critical step in scaling their customer base. Some assume home-market success will automatically translate. To stand out in PR, companies need a unique and compelling story, proven success with US customers, and a real understanding of local culture. Even tech press and tier-one business media expect things international firms may not be prepared for — financial information, US customer references, a senior spokesperson in market, and third-party endorsements through certifications, awards, and analyst relations.
Brazil — FirstCom
The venture capital scene is hot in Brazil despite the pandemic. Fintech is the hottest startup market, but healthtech, edtech, foodtech, agtech, and delivery apps are all growing. AI, SaaS, streaming, and ecommerce solutions are also in focus.
China — WEdge
Post-pandemic, China has prioritized new infrastructure — 5G, AI, the industrial Internet — to drive growth. Media focus has widened to biopharma, fintech, ecommerce, and hardware/software, where rebound is expected after the pause earlier in the year.
Germany — Frau Wenk
The media is focused on the digitalization of traditional industries and new technologies — AI, blockchain. Corona is widely seen as a catalyst for accelerating digital transformation. The role and power of big platforms — Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple — is also a sustained discussion.
India — Ideosphere
Two themes dominate. First, work-from-home and its impact on company culture. Second, technology adoption — the gap between consumers with deep tech exposure and those forced into it by necessity. The country is gradually reopening, but uncertainty remains.
Netherlands — DOK30
Topics range from office vs remote work, new management styles, smart workspaces, and the shift toward a sustainable economy. Ecommerce surged during lockdown and hasn't subsided. Pre-pandemic interest in sustainability and smart healthcare has only intensified — tech is now seen as the delivery mechanism for that change.
Russia — Vinci Agency
COVID-19 dominates, with a notable amount of personal-impact coverage. B2C and B2B are collapsing into P2P — person-to-person. Audiences want to see inside companies: how products are built, who builds them, what makes the company tick.
Singapore — Bud Communications
Singapore's July general election is drawing scrutiny as COVID-19 brings economic uncertainty. In tech, digital transformation has shifted from "important" to "survival." Bud's work is helping clients build genuine thought leadership through education and insight.
South Africa — GinjaNinja PR
Digital transformation continues to dominate — driven by coronavirus and by market pressure for cloud-native customer experience. AI and IoT are core to the journey. South Africa's cloud adoption lags global peers, but progress is real.
United Kingdom — With PR
International trade relations are getting heavy coverage, especially as they touch tech infrastructure like 5G. Politics and the government dominate. Brits also obsessively report on the weather. Opportunities are real for IoT, cyber, edtech, and gaming — all post-COVID success stories. Environmental angles are highly topical.
United States — Affect
The US is one nation, but the pandemic experience varies widely by geography, industry, and economic status. Coverage of the pandemic, economy, employment, and politics is center stage, but beats continue. Tech outlets are seeking stories on supply chain, healthtech, medtech, infrastructure, cloud, and cybersecurity — anything that helps get the country back to work. Issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion are also surging into mainstream business coverage.
Takeaways
The agencies converged on a few themes. Localization is non-negotiable. Trust takes time, and the markets that reward patience also penalize hit-and-run campaigns. Tech storytelling is shifting from product to purpose, and from B2C/B2B to person-to-person. Digital transformation is no longer a strategic priority — it's a survival instinct. And in every market, the agencies closest to the work are reading shifts the global headlines miss.
