When you think New York Times coverage, you probably think Amazon, Walmart or one of the other billion-dollar behemoths. You don’t expect to see a startup quoted — especially in a piece about big economic shifts.
But that’s exactly what happened with our client, Fast Simon.
Fast Simon is an e-commerce optimization company, powered by AI, and it ended up in a New York Times feature on dynamic pricing, right alongside the big names.
Why? Because we’re always on the lookout for moments like this. We don’t wait for opportunities to knock — we build a runway, flash the landing lights and make sure reporters know exactly where to go when they’re looking for experts.
Here’s how we made it happen and how the right PR partner can help clients punch above their weight.
The Opportunity: Capitalizing on the Building Blocks
This story didn’t start with a pitch. It started with a blog post. Months earlier, Fast Simon published an optimized blog about pricing strategies in e-commerce. Smart SEO. Smart timing. Smart angle.
So when a New York Times reporter started researching dynamic pricing, guess what popped up? That blog. Right there in the search results. Right when she needed it.
That’s not luck. That’s long-game thinking.
The Game Plan: Move Like a Newsroom
The second we caught wind of what the reporter was working on, we moved. Fast.
We flagged the opportunity to Fast Simon’s CEO, gave him a tight backgrounder on the reporter and the story, and got him ready to go.
We didn’t just throw him into the deep end — we prepped him. He’s a sharp, media-savvy exec, but even the pros need a tune-up before a big interview. He likes a one-pager first and then a call to sharpen his POV. We delivered exactly that. No fluff. No wasted time.
Interview? Happened the next day.
Two weeks later? Quote secured in an online and print New York Times article.
Done and done.
Why It Worked
We built the system before the story broke. This wasn’t a scramble — it was a snap-into-action moment. We had our eyes on the trends, our content in the wild and our client ready to go. We played the long game to set ourselves up for quick, momentous wins. That blog post? It wasn’t a one-off; it was part of a larger strategy to make Fast Simon visible before anyone came knocking. When the moment arrived, we didn’t have to create relevance — we already had it.
We also had access to the CEO. No bottlenecks. No red tape. Just direct contact and a shared sense of urgency. And just as importantly, the CEO trusted the process. He didn’t ask, “Is this about us?” He asked, “Is this valuable?” And when the answer was yes (did we mention the reach of more than 650 million readers in print alone?), he leaned in.
We knew how to prep him, too. Not all spokespeople are the same. We know our clients — how they think, how they prep, how they shine — and we tailor the game plan accordingly. And finally, we didn’t chase relevance. We built it. The New York Times article was about dynamic pricing at Wendy’s. That wasn’t our story — Fast Simon sells to e-commerce brands — but we knew how to plug our client into it in a meaningful, insightful way. That’s what great media relationships are built on: offering real value, right when it matters.
The Big Takeaway
Here’s a huge myth: You need a massive budget, a full-time comms team and a press release machine to get into top-tier media. Here’s the truth: You need speed, strategy and a partner who lives and breathes your business goals.
We’re that partner. We don’t just pitch — we anticipate, prep, package and deliver. We make sure our clients are ready before the spotlight hits. Because at the end of the day, good PR isn’t about shouting louder. It’s about showing up smarter.
Want to learn more? Reach out.
