Why Everyone Thinks They Don't Need PR (And Why They're Wrong)

TL;DR When a product goes from “What’s that?” to “Everyone loves this.” “Everyone’s talking about this.” “Everyone has this.” It is not an accident; it looks effortless, but it took time, teams, and effort. Great PR should be invisible by design because when it works, it feels organic, makes sense, and feels like cultural consensus.

If you think you don’t need PR because you can post on social media or cold call some journalists, you are confused. Just because people see you doesn’t mean they are paying attention, and sharing with thousands of followers does not mean you are moving the needle. The people and brands who seem to come out of nowhere did not; they had someone building their stories.

That’s the power of PR, and that’s why it matters.

When a product goes from "What's that?" to "Everyone has this" — that's not an accident. It looks effortless, but it took time, teams, and strategy. Great PR is invisible by design. When it works, it feels organic, like cultural consensus. The people and brands who seem to come out of nowhere didn't. Someone was building their story.

The posting trap

We live in an era where everyone thinks they're their own publicist. You can work the algorithm, build an audience, and reach people directly — so why would you need PR? Here's the difference: posting is visibility. PR is positioning. People can see your posts and keep scrolling. With the right strategy, people believe in you, trust you, evangelize you, and act on that belief. Those are not the same thing.

What PR actually does — a real case study

Nanit makes a smart baby monitor. When they launched, it was expensive — really expensive — in a market full of $40 options from Target. On paper, it was hard to justify.

What changed wasn't the product. It was the story.

The narrative shifted from "buy this expensive monitor" to "what if you could invest in your baby's safety and your own sanity?" Nanit stopped being a tech purchase and became a wellness purchase. Sleep deprivation isn't just exhausting — it's dangerous. Suddenly the price point made sense.

From there: pediatricians and sleep consultants started recommending it. It landed in the Times, Parents Magazine, What to Expect, and Elle. Meghan Trainor was an early partner, followed by Cardi B, Paris Hilton, Kelly Osbourne — not paid posts, but genuine fans. It got tied to news cycles: AAP safe sleep guidelines, SIDS prevention, back-to-work anxiety. It showed up in holiday gift guides and registry roundups. One placement led to another. One post led to ten. And it started to feel like every nursery in America had one above the crib.

That's not luck. That's what a sustained PR strategy actually looks like.

What you're missing when you go it alone

When you pitch yourself, it's a sales pitch — because of course you think your product is great, it's yours. When the Times writes about it, it's journalism. That distinction still matters, and it still moves people.

Beyond that: relationships built over years mean a text to an editor instead of a cold email that may never get opened. It means knowing which journalist just covered baby products last month and won't touch another for six months. It means understanding the landscape well enough to know where your story fits and when to pitch it.

That's the work. And that's why it matters.