A compelling story can outweigh even the absence of a working product, as Theranos showed. But it must be grounded in reality and facts. ICT&health Global curated the session “Featured in... Why Some Health Startups Get Media Coverage, and Others Don’t” at Frontiers Health in Berlin. In the attention economy, creative storytelling can determine a startup’s ability to attract funding, build market value and capture customers’ interest.
Even the unicorns with top innovations go beyond pitching the product
“I get around 20 pitches a day,” said Artur Olesch, editor at ICT&health Global and moderator of the session. “So if you're sending a press release that says, ‘We have developed an innovative, AI-powered solution that will transform healthcare’, you can be sure that message gets lost in the crowd. Many startups describe their technology, list features and add impressive market figures, but forget to explain why anyone should care.”
The problem is that journalists are not a startup’s marketing department. “They need stories that are fresh, surprising, relevant, timely and exciting. We say ‘juicy’. Media are there to draw attention. That is their business model,” Olesch explained.
For Chiara Baroni, Communications Director Germany at Doctolib, the starting point should be understanding the audience and identifying stories that already exist within the company. “I would first analyze what the main target group is; look at the stories that are already in the company – it could be a story behind the founder.”
A product announcement is rarely enough to sustain interest. Inga Bergen, co-founder and host of the Visionaries of Health podcast, said she is more interested in a broader topic than a company presenting its single product. “A company that has one single product is sometimes a little bit boring. Such a story can be told in ten minutes. But if there is something else, some bigger trend, some research – more than just ‘I want to pitch my product’, then it becomes exciting.”
Bergen also described storytelling as a way to build business relationships. “I always had the strategy that I want to do business development and sales by just communicating what we do and then having inbound calls. The magic is really telling a story. I like to dig into different topics and position myself as an expert.”
Olesch believes the good news for startups is that media attention isn't reserved for the biggest names in healthcare. “You don't need to be Tesla, Apple, Doctolib or Siemens to get media attention. But you do need to understand what makes your story relevant to someone outside your company. The technology is your starting point, not necessarily the story itself.”
Top media get hundreds of pitches every day. What to do to get read?
Sending a press release to hundreds of journalists is rarely an effective media strategy. The panel agreed that startups need to understand who covers their sector, what interests those journalists, and why a particular story might matter to their readers.
Eloise McLennan, Deep Dive Editor at Pharmaphorum, highlighted the importance of doing basic research before making contact. “Journalists are not part of your media group. They are there to discern what is newsworthy for their audience. We're almost a bit of a go-between. We're not a mouthpiece for whatever product or innovation that people are trying to market.”
She also described what makes a pitch stand out. “A big green flag is when you come with an exclusive story: an interview, a potential news hook that could work. It must be timely, and give me the context so that you're not adding more work for me to do just to understand if there is even a story there.”
Baroni recommended building a small network of strong media contacts rather than relying on mass distribution. “I love to pre-pitch. Usually, depending on the importance of the story, if it's a big one, then I would pick a media title for an exclusive piece. Afterward, I would do a big send-out, but we rarely just send a press release to everyone on the entire mailing list without getting in contact personally with at least the strongest contacts.”
“Hey, we are entering your market.” It’s more complicated than that
For startups entering a new country, the challenge is even greater. Nataliya Bogdanova-Dochev, Senior Operations Manager at LemonMint, stressed that communication needs to be grounded in a clear understanding of the market and the company's business objectives. “There is a golden rule: knowledge is global, but healthcare is pretty local. Something that would work in one country might not perform as well in another market. You have to get to know the founder, the idea, and the need that the market has.”
She warned against sending generic messages to broad media lists. “There is no point in sending out press releases to a bunch of people out there and hoping that somebody will pick up on your story. You need to reach out to the people who will impact the story. One story could be for clinicians, another for patients, and another for a different professional group. Think of the right content and tell it to the right audience.”
Olesch also questioned the assumption that a startup must secure coverage in a globally recognized publication to establish credibility. “I know many of the medtech companies are aiming to be featured in top magazines such as Wired, perhaps even The New York Times or Time. Is it possible? Yes, but it requires hard work. Most of these titles allow you to pitch a story, but the chances of being featured are very, very low.”
Pursuing prestigious media coverage can become an expensive exercise. “You may need to employ a former journalist, invest a lot of money, and perhaps start with paid content. But ask yourself why you are doing it. Is it for a logo displayed on your website that gives you credibility? For your own ego? Because you can, or because you have the budget? Does this media give you access to your target group, or what’s the value?”
Big news sells itself, but they come rarely. How to find a hook for the media?
A startup cannot expect to have a major product announcement every month. Healthcare moves differently from sectors where new products and features are launched constantly. The panel suggested looking beyond announcements and finding stories in research, everyday product use, market developments and wider healthcare debates.
Baroni explained that communication teams need to create their own opportunities. “Never rely on what's coming from within the company. You need to have creativity. You need to come up with stories yourself. Sometimes we came up with incredible stories, and just one day before someone else had the same idea.”
She recommended planning ahead while staying alert to current developments. “I would say prepare a roadmap every quarter and never stop being creative. You can identify seasonal topics, look at what is relevant at that moment, and jump on it. You can also use corporate communication to position the impact of the company on society and politics.” It’s necessary because big news like the one from October, when Doctolib launched a cooperation with NVIDIA, is rare.
Bergen argued that podcasts and other owned channels can serve a different purpose from traditional media coverage. Their value should not be measured only by audience size. “If you have five people who listen to your podcast and contribute something to your success, your podcast makes sense. You don't need lots of media attention for a podcast. If it's a 15-minute podcast that you can send to five or ten people who should know about your offering, that can already be valuable.”
CEOs are over-interviewed. Give the spotlight to an in-house expert
For Olesch, however, relying entirely on owned channels can be another strategic mistake. “There are startups that think they don't need classical media. They can build their own channels on LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok or Instagram, start podcasting and do it more cheaply. But reach and credibility are not the same thing. Your own channels can help you communicate directly with an audience, while independent media coverage can give your story a different kind of visibility.”
McLennan also cautioned against treating every development as a major news story. Smaller innovations may not justify a full article, but can still help journalists understand a company over time. “We would be less likely to cover very minor innovations because it's not enough of a step change to warrant a full story. But we might include them in a roundup of new developments worth noting. When you work with B2B industry, not everything is going to be a front-page news story.”
She also emphasized that the most interesting spokesperson is not necessarily the company's chief executive. “The biggest storytelling asset you have is you. You know your product better than anybody. The CEO of your company may not always be the most interesting person to talk about it, so identify the people who are engaging and the good storytellers within your company. Every company has a good storyteller. It just might not be the most senior.”
Bogdanova-Dochev returned to the importance of connecting a product with the issues people care about. “Whenever you think of a good way to communicate, try to build bridges between your product and the story that matters. Bring impact to the stories and don't try to be everywhere. Focus on the people who have some meaning for you and your further development.”
There are no shortcuts: strong media coverage starts with giving journalists a compelling reason to tell the story. That means connecting innovation to issues that matter to people, offering a fresh perspective, and building relationships long before the next big announcement.
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