The Death of the Press Release (And What Actually Works in 2025)

Based on the Forbes article "2025 Media Relations Strategy From Muck Rack's Journalism Study" by Lilian Raji

Your PR strategy is probably broken. While brands celebrate their "direct-to-consumer" liberation from traditional media, the smartest players are quietly mastering a very different game.

This episode dissects Muck Rack's latest journalism study revealing the brutal reality of modern media relations. 86% of journalists immediately delete irrelevant pitches, only 22% regularly respond to PR outreach, and yet 84% admit some of their best stories still come from those pitches.

It's not that PR is dead—you're just doing it spectacularly wrong.

Discover the shocking wake-up calls:

• Why Elon Musk's "fire the PR team" strategy tanked Tesla's stock
• How one executive's meltdown became a LinkedIn viral public shaming
• Why 35% of journalists abandoned X entirely (and where they went instead)
• The rise of independent journalism and why it's your secret weapon
• Why 47% of journalists describe their work as "exhausting"—and how to actually help

From the "editorial Hunger Games" of modern pitching to the platform migrations reshaping media engagement, this episode reveals why empathy and precision beat spray-and-pray tactics every time.

Essential listening for CMOs, PR professionals, and anyone who still thinks a mass-blast press release will save their brand.

Warning: You might discover your "media strategy" is actually media sabotage.

Why Beyoncé's Media Playbook is Breaking Fashion (And What Happens Next)

Based on the Forbes article "How The Beyoncé Strategy Is Redefining Media Relationships" by Lilian Raji

Remember when getting into Vogue meant you'd made it? Yeah, well, Beyoncé didn't get that memo. Neither did Oscar de la Renta's CEO, who basically told the fashion press "thanks, but no thanks" in favor of talking directly to customers.

Welcome to the media revolution nobody saw coming: brands are ghosting traditional press faster than you can say "exclusive interview." But here's the plot twist—it's working.

This episode dives into the seismic shift reshaping how luxury brands communicate. While everyone's busy playing TikTok CEO, the dirty secret is that one PR crisis can send them crawling back to the journalists they just snubbed.

You'll discover:

• Why a People magazine feature once sold $200K worth of merchandise—and now moves just 15 pieces
• How celebrity stylists became the new Vogue editors (sorry, Anna Wintour)
• The L'Oreal Singles Day disaster that proves why you still need traditional PR
• Why Oscar de la Renta's CEO thinks fashion editors are irrelevant to his customers
• The "360-degree storytelling" approach that's actually driving luxury sales

But here's the kicker: while brands celebrate their "authentic" direct connections, they're one viral scandal away from desperately needing those "irrelevant" journalists to save their reputation.

Essential listening for anyone in marketing, PR, luxury, or just fascinated by how power shifts in the digital age.

How a Scrappy British Watch Brand is Schooling Rolex (And Everyone Else)

The most disruptive force in luxury watches isn't Swiss. It's British, internet-only, and run by a CEO who gives out his personal email address.

Meet Christopher Ward—the watch brand that went from $17 million to £50 million in three years by doing everything the "luxury" playbook says you shouldn't do. No fancy boutiques. No celebrity ambassadors. No 34x markups that make your accountant weep.

Instead, they let their customers literally design their watches through an online forum with 16,600+ members who roast and praise the brand with equal passion.

While Rolex creates artificial scarcity, Christopher Ward creates radical transparency. While others chase heritage, they chase honest conversations. And their strategy is working, as I discuss in the article for which this episdoe is based, How To Succeed In Watches Without Being Rolex: Christopher Ward Edition.

80% growth last year and a bespoke business that's grown 10x, creating custom watches for everyone from Google's watch club to Netflix.

In this episode, discover:

• Why giving customers your CEO's email is brilliant business strategy
• How one influential review quadrupled their sales overnight
• The "British Art of Bespoke" that's generating $5M annually
• Why their 3x markup rule is crushing 34x luxury competitors
• How treating watch newbies like future CEOs built unstoppable loyalty

From forum-powered product development to turning customers into co-creators, Christopher Ward proves you don't need centuries of heritage to build something timeless.

Warning: After listening, you might question everything you thought you knew about luxury marketing.

Essential listening for entrepreneurs, brand builders, and anyone who loves David-beats-Goliath stories.

The Luxury Plot Twist Nobody Saw Coming

Remember when Bernard Arnault tried to hostile-takeover Hermès in 2010? Well, karma just served revenge ice-cold on a silver Tiffany platter.

While LVMH—the supposed "luxury empire"—posts its first revenue decline in years (down 3%, ouch), Hermès is literally galloping ahead with 7.2% growth. Plot twist: the company Arnault couldn't buy is now eating his lunch.

This is why bigger isn't always better. While LVMH was busy playing acquisition Monopoly, Hermès doubled down on something revolutionary: actually caring about craft over cash flow.

In this episode going into my Forbes article, The Luxury Market’s New Normal: What LVMH Could Learn From Hermès, we dissect the luxury market's brutal new reality where growth projections have face-planted from 5% to barely 1-3%. Consumers are fed up with "luxury" that feels mass-produced, and they're voting with their wallets.

You'll discover:

• Why Hermès' "no more than 250 employees per workshop" rule is genius
• The 5-voice marketing strategy that's crushing traditional celebrity endorsements
• How jewelry's 34% growth surge is powered by scrappy smaller brands, not the big players
• Why treating your janitor like a brand ambassador might be your smartest move

Whether you're fascinated by business strategy, luxury obsessed, or just love a good David-beats-Goliath story, this episode reveals why authenticity just became luxury's most expensive commodity.

Spoiler alert: The future belongs to brands that make you feel something, not just own something.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Pursuit of Luxury, where we decode the most fascinating luxury marketing story of our time: how Formula 1 transformed from a niche motorsport into a $1.5 billion playground for the world's most sophisticated brands.

We explore how F1's 800 million annual viewers—40% of whom are women—represent a pre-programmed luxury audience that already values precision, innovation, and excellence. From Aston Martin's collaborations with The Rolling Stones to Glenfiddich's rare 1959 cask commemorating their F1 debut, brands are discovering that racing culture now permeates music, fashion, and nightlife territories.

Key insights include how Formula 1 functions as luxury's most recession-proof investment, why emotional connection remains the ultimate marketing currency, and how strategic partnerships can amplify brand values when aligned with entities that share your commitment to excellence.

Whether you're a marketing professional, luxury enthusiast, or business leader fascinated by billion-dollar brand strategies, this episode reveals the sophisticated psychology and cultural expansion tactics that make F1 partnerships so valuable.

Based on Lilian Raji’s Forbes column analysis and insider luxury marketing insights developed over her two decades of advising the world's leading luxury brands. Read the full article.