Want coverage? Set up the CEO as an industry spokesperson

mPortal wasn’t gaining any traction with the press, until a shift in strategy brought in dozens of placements

When the media won’t cover your CEO and his or her company, does it make sense to pitch the CEO as a commentator about other companies? That was the approach taken by New York’s Abelson Group, which has spent the past few years representing mPortal, a company in the wireless industry.

Background: Keith Pillow, an Abelson vice president who is based in southern California, explains that the “industry spokesperson” approach made sense because mPortal was not able to garner typical company coverage. For one thing, it’s not easy to explain what the company does and why it’s important—even to trade media.

“mPortal develops software that wireless carriers can use to sell other applications to their subscribers,” Pillow explains. “It was very difficult to tell the story about where they are in the wireless chain.”