Frank Strong

5 takes on Gartner’s new optimism for PR and earned media in the age of AI - Sword and the Script Analyst firm sees generative AI replacing traditional search, believes PR is the best function to help businesses navigate LLMs; predicts earned media budgets will double

Analyst firm sees generative AI replacing traditional search, believes PR is the best function to help businesses navigate LLMs; predicts earned media budgets will double www.swordandthescript.com/2026/03/gart...

The top PR priorities, challenges and opportunities in 2026 [survey] - Sword and the Script Building awareness is the top PR priority, the changing media landscape is the biggest challenge and using AI productively represents the best opportunity

The top PR priorities, challenges and opportunities in 2026 [survey]
www.swordandthescript.com/2026/02/top-...

AI might get you on the short list, but it still takes people to move forward - Sword and the Script Survey of B2B buyers, especially those using gen AI to short list software and tech, suggests that as long as people are buying software, it’s also going to take people to sell it

AI might get you on the short list, but it still takes people to move forward www.swordandthescript.com/2026/01/ai-s...

Engagement and media coverage are the top objectives for B2B events, survey says - Sword and the Script B2B marketing is looking to PR to drive media coverage at trade shows, conferences and events; here are some practical ideas to help communicators succeed

Engagement and media coverage are the top objectives for B2B events, survey says;

Here are some practical ideas to help communicators succeed

www.swordandthescript.com/2026/01/medi...

7 non-negotiable digital trust signals PR must use in this era of distrust - Sword and the Script If you want anyone’s attention these days, let alone a reporter, you've got to look, act and be beleivable – online and off

7 non-negotiable digital trust signals PR must use in this era of distrust www.swordandthescript.com/2026/01/trus...

The top B2B marketing blog posts that sum up trends from 2025 www.swordandthescript.com/2025/12/top-...

10 PR blog posts that summarize the state of comms in 2025 - Sword and the Script Generative AI went from novelty to mainstream, making PR a business priority and bringing new trends, yet the fundamentals of communications remain the same

Generative AI went from novelty to mainstream, making PR a business priority and bringing new trends, yet the fundamentals of communications remain the same

10 PR blog posts that summarize the state of comms in 2025
www.swordandthescript.com/2025/12/pr-b...

An easy-to-read review of 17 B2B marketing studies summarizing 2025 - Sword and the Script Insights from 2025 studies on trust, budgets, brand, leadgen, buyer behavior, marketing measurement, CMOs and the marketing team

An easy-to-read review of 17 B2B marketing studies summarizing 2025 www.swordandthescript.com/2025/12/b2b-...

Generative AI makes PR a key business priority in 2026: 35 PR and marketing predictions - Sword and the Script Thirty of these PR and marketing predictions are from real humans; the five short ones at the bottom are from various LLMs and it’s interesting to see the similarities and differences between what the...

Generative AI makes PR a key business priority in 2026:

35 PR and marketing predictions
www.swordandthescript.com/2025/12/pred...

Summary findings: 5 surveys hint at where B2B marketing plans to spend money in 2026 - Sword and the Script Most marketers believe the marketing budget will grow modestly next year; key spending themes center on AI, CX, and improved targeting

Most marketers believe the marketing budget will grow modestly next year;

marketing spend for next year themes center on AI, CX, and improved targeting

www.swordandthescript.com/2025/12/b2b-...

How PR and marketing pros are monitoring AI visibility for clients and brands - Sword and the Script Most of the work is a manual effort coupled with a mishmash of ideas, concepts, metrics, and nascent tools; there’s no Radian6 for AI visibility yet

How PR and marketing pros are monitoring AI visibility for clients and brands

Most of the work is a manual effort coupled with a mishmash of ideas, concepts, metrics, and nascent tools; there’s no Radian6 for AI visibility yet

www.swordandthescript.com/2025/11/moni...

The next PR measurement conundrum: How do you measure AI visibility? - Sword and the Script If we’re having trouble with PR measurement and proving the value of PR today, it’s only going to get harder with something as ghostly as AI visibility metrics

The next PR measurement conundrum: How do you measure AI visibility? www.swordandthescript.com/2025/11/pr-m...

Editorial integrity demands PR due diligence with AI-generated copy - Sword and the Script The temptation to rely on generative AI for PR pitches is enticing, but using it without human intervention stands out to reporters and will likely have the opposite effect

Editorial integrity demands PR due diligence with AI-generated copy

The temptation to rely on generative AI for PR pitches is enticing, but using it without human intervention stands out to reporters and will likely have the opposite effect

www.swordandthescript.com/2025/10/edit...

PR and high quality blogs are well positioned to boost AI visibility, study by Semrush suggests - Sword and the Script Third-party validation is proving to be an influential factor in AI visibility; PR and blogging excel at this task.

Third-party validation is proving to be an influential factor in AI visibility.

@frankstrong1.bsky.social shares insights a recent Semrush study suggesting PR and blogging excel at this task www.swordandthescript.com/2025/10/pr-b...

cheers, Grace!

Purposeful browsing: Does long form content still have a place in the era of generative AI? - Sword and the Script Early indications are generative AI tends to surface long form in-depth content; visitors from AI results browse with purpose and are more likely to convert

Purposeful browsing: Does long form content still have a place in the era of generative AI?

Data, anecdotes suggest it does.

www.swordandthescript.com/2025/10/purp...

The deluge of ‘output only’ marketing has made customers apathetic about feedback and surveys customerthink.com/the-deluge-o...

Media pitching: Adding perspective to Michael Smart’s FAQs for Muck Rack - Sword and the Script Brass tack answers from an experienced professional, who still pitches every week, to common questions about pitching the media

Media pitching: Adding perspective to Michael Smart’s FAQs for Muck Rack

By @frankstrong1.bsky.social, Sword and the Script www.swordandthescript.com/2025/09/medi...

U.S. Exclusive: Venture-backed PR software startups Propel, Signal AI announce “strategic partnership” - Sword and the Script The partnership between Propel and Signal AI, two specialized PR technologies, promises to provide comprehensive comms tools on a modern platform built for the era of AI.

U.S. Exclusive: Venture-backed PR software startups Propel, Signal AI announce “strategic partnership” www.swordandthescript.com/2025/10/prop...

U.S. Exclusive: Venture-backed PR software startups Propel, Signal AI announce “strategic partnership” - Sword and the Script The partnership between Propel and Signal AI, two specialized PR technologies, promises to provide comprehensive comms tools on a modern platform built for the era of AI.

U.S. Exclusive: Venture-backed PR software startups Propel, Signal AI announce “strategic partnership” www.swordandthescript.com/2025/10/prop...

PR and high quality blogs are well positioned to boost AI visibility, study by Semrush suggests - Sword and the Script Third-party validation is proving to be an influential factor in AI visibility; PR and blogging excel at this task.

PR and high quality blogs are well positioned to boost AI visibility, study by Semrush suggests www.swordandthescript.com/2025/10/pr-b...

Media pitching: Adding perspective to Michael Smart’s FAQs for Muck Rack - Sword and the Script Brass tack answers from an experienced professional, who still pitches every week, to common questions about pitching the media

Media pitching: Adding perspective to Michael Smart's FAQs for @muckrack.com

- How do you break through the volume of pitches reporters receive daily?

- Should you follow up on pitches with reporters?

- What’s the best email subject line for a PR pitch?

www.swordandthescript.com/2025/09/medi...

PR status check: 68% of B2B respondents say public relations drives revenue but struggle to prove it - Sword and the Script A new survey of 300 B2B marketing and PR professionals provides a glimpse of PR goals, tactics, effectiveness, challenges, frustrations and areas for improvement

PR status check: 68% of B2B respondents say public relations drives revenue but struggle to prove it
www.swordandthescript.com/2025/09/b2b-...

People are not taking government economic surveys; businesses have the same problem - Sword and the Script Businesses need to take a more considered, deliberate and comprehensive approach to feedback; don’t allow a machine to get between your business and the customer

People are not taking government economic surveys; businesses have the same problem
www.swordandthescript.com/2025/09/peop...

How many touches or interactions does it take to attract and close B2B prospects? - Sword and the Script Surveys say from start to finish, B2B prospects require a dozen touches or more, but behavioral data finds it may require hundreds of interactions

How many touches or interactions does it take to attract and close B2B prospects? www.swordandthescript.com/2025/09/touc...

Thanks, Grace!

Fixing a B2B marketing’s addiction to MQLs [Monthly Marcom] “Stop viewing buyers as MQLs to be harvested, and start seeing them as humans seeking solutions.”

Fixing a B2B marketing’s addiction to MQLs [Monthly Marcom] monthlymarcom.substack.com/p/fixing-a-b...

This is an uncomfortable, yet reasonable, question for PR professionals:

Is the influence of traditional media – and by extension media relations – waning?

I have *an* answer in this piece.

www.swordandthescript.com/2025/08/infl...

Essential generative AI customizations PR should make to their tools - Sword and the Script Sychophancy is a genuine risk to generative AI; as PR increasingly relies on these tools, it’s imperative to modify their customizations to prevent generative AI from merely telling you what it thinks...

Essential generative AI customizations PR should make to their tools
www.swordandthescript.com/2025/08/gene...

Analysts say B2B prospects form preferences earlier and avoid sales conversations later - Sword and the Script Forrester survey finds 92% of B2B prospects start evaluation solutions with one vendor in mind; 41% have a single preference; Gartner says 61% B2B buyers want to avoid talking to sales

6 in 10 B2B prospects never want to talk to a salesperson

And

“92% of buyers start with at least one vendor in mind, and 41% already have a single preferred vendor selected before formal evaluation begins.”

www.swordandthescript.com/2025/08/b2b-...