Digital health PR too often consists of one press release per funding round followed by silence, while a market that has seen plenty of health tech promises collapse remains skeptical of anyone without a sustained public record. We create a public relations program that keeps your company visible between milestones, equips your executives to speak credibly with press, and makes every placement part of a broader narrative rather than a one-off hit.
The Challenge
Your press coverage is one spike around your latest funding round, followed by nothing for a year
Most digital health companies get one wave of coverage when a raise closes, then go quiet until the next round, which means the market only hears from you when you need something from investors, not when you have something worth saying to customers. Reporters who covered the raise move on and have no relationship to call on when there is real news between rounds. That gap reads as a company running out of momentum, even when the underlying business is fine.
Health tech faces a credibility problem, and generic press releases make it worse, not better
Buyers, clinicians, and reporters in this category have all watched digital health companies overstate what their product does, and that history means a press release with vague claims about outcomes or clinical impact gets read with more suspicion here than in most other industries. A generic announcement written like every other startup's raise memo does nothing to separate you from the companies that made the market skeptical in the first place. Specific, substantiated claims are the only kind that build trust in this category.
Your executives are technical and clinical experts, not trained spokespeople, and that comes through in interviews
A founder who can explain your clinical evidence in a board meeting can still freeze or ramble in front of a reporter, and an unprepared answer to a hard question about data, regulatory status, or a competitor's claim becomes the headline instead of a footnote. Most digital health leadership teams have never been media trained, so the first time they face a real interview is often the worst possible time to be learning. A single bad quote lives on Google indefinitely.
PR is only activated by funding news, leaving product launches, partnerships, and clinical milestones unannounced
A new payer contract, a clinical validation study, an FDA clearance, or a meaningful product launch are each newsworthy on their own, but companies without a standing PR program let these pass without a press push because nobody owns the decision to pitch them. Every one of those milestones is proof the company works, and skipping the announcement means the market never hears the evidence that would build confidence between funding rounds.
How We Support You
We begin by auditing your current press footprint and narrative: what has been written about you, who wrote it, which claims you have made publicly, and where the story stops making sense to an outside reader.
Next, we create the positioning and message architecture that guides every PR activity: what you are claiming, which evidence supports each claim, and how your story differs from the two or three competitors reporters will inevitably compare you against.
We then establish the ongoing media relations program: a target list of reporters and outlets that genuinely cover this category, a pitch calendar connected to real news rather than a fixed monthly quota, and the relationship-building required for a reporter to take your call between announcements rather than only when a press release is ready. This closes the gap between the funding-round spike and everything else that goes unreported.
We train your executives to act as spokespeople, not merely experts. That includes message training around your core narrative, practice answering the difficult questions a skeptical reporter will actually ask about data, regulatory status, and competitors, and a clear understanding of which executive should speak for each type of story.
For execution, we establish a standing process that identifies newsworthy milestones as they occur – a partnership, a clearance, a launch, a validation study – and converts each one into a pitch rather than an internal announcement nobody beyond the company hears about.
For measurement, we monitor placements in outlets that truly reach your buyers and the market you need to influence, the consistency of your narrative across coverage over time, and whether your executives are quoted as category authorities rather than simply referenced as a funding data point.
What we deliver
- Press footprint and narrative audit – what has been written, what claims exist publicly, and where the story breaks down
- Positioning and message architecture built to hold up under a skeptical reporter's questions, not just read well in a release
- Ongoing media relations program with a real target list and a pitch calendar tied to news, not a fixed quota
- Executive media training and spokesperson assignment by story type
- Milestone-tracking process that turns clearances, partnerships, and launches into pitches instead of internal-only announcements
A digital health company does not have a PR problem because its announcement is not big enough – it has one because every announcement it makes vanishes as soon as the news cycle moves on, with nothing in place to connect it to the next.
Our Methodology
We operate digital health PR as a 90-day sprint to establish the media relations program, followed by ongoing execution. During the first 30 days, we audit your existing coverage and public claims, create the positioning and message architecture, and identify the reporters and outlets that truly reach your buyers and your category's decision-makers. Days 30 through 60 develop the pitch calendar around real milestones already on your roadmap, conduct the first round of executive media training, and begin outreach to priority reporters so the relationship starts before you need a favor. Days 60 through 90 deliver the first wave of pitches and placements, refine the message architecture based on what actually resonates with reporters, and establish the standing process for identifying future milestones before they pass unannounced.
Unlike a PR retainer centered on a fixed number of monthly placements, we work toward a defined narrative and a focused set of relationships that compound throughout the engagement. One well-placed story by a reporter who trusts you has more value than five generic hits in an outlet no buyer reads, and that discipline prevents the program from becoming activity for activity's sake. The first 90 days create the infrastructure; most engagements extend well beyond that as the company's ongoing media relations function.
Our Working Process
The first 30 days review your existing press footprint, public claims, and current media relationships, then create the message architecture that guides the entire program. You receive an honest assessment of which parts of your current narrative stand up and which must change before we put you in front of a reporter.
Days 30 through 60 map the pitch calendar to real milestones on your roadmap, begin relationship-building outreach with reporters and outlets that genuinely cover this category, and conduct the first executive media training session. From your team, we need access to your product and clinical roadmap, plus time with the executives who will act as spokespeople.
Days 60 through 90 deliver the first wave of pitches, monitor what lands and what does not, and establish the standing process for surfacing upcoming milestones – product launches, partnerships, clearances, validation studies – so they are pitched rather than overlooked.
The ongoing cadence includes a monthly pitch review aligned with your roadmap and a quarterly assessment of whether coverage is creating a consistent narrative or dispersing across unrelated stories. Most engagements last three to six months to establish the program, followed by continued monthly media relations work as the standing function.
- Placements in outlets that actually reach your buyers and category decision-makers
- A press narrative that holds together across multiple stories instead of resetting with each announcement
- Executives quoted as category authorities, not just cited as a funding data point
- Milestones between funding rounds turned into coverage instead of going unannounced
If your digital health company needs public relations leadership, we should talk.
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Frequently asked questions
What does a public relations engagement cost for a digital health company?
Cost is driven mainly by the scope of the media relations program – the number of reporters and outlets we are actively developing relationships with, the amount of executive media training included, and the frequency with which milestones are pitched. A focused program centered on a handful of priority outlets costs less than a complete ongoing media relations function spanning multiple beats.
How soon will we see press coverage from a public relations engagement?
Message architecture and reporter targeting are generally completed within the first 30 to 60 days, with the first pitches sent soon afterward. The timing of actual coverage depends on the news cycle and how newsworthy a particular pitch is, but most engagements secure initial placements within the first 90 days and build momentum from that point.
Do our executives require media training before speaking with press?
If they have not participated in regular press interviews before, yes. We provide message training on the core narrative and practice answering the tough questions a skeptical reporter will likely ask about data, regulatory status, and competitors. We also determine which executive handles each type of story, so a clinical question does not go to someone unprepared to answer it.
How is Winston Francois different from a standard PR agency retainer?
A typical retainer often defines success by a fixed number of monthly placements, regardless of whether those placements build anything. We work toward a clear narrative and a defined set of reporter relationships linked to your actual roadmap, treating milestone-based pitching between funding rounds as central to the program rather than an afterthought.
How is ROI measured for a public relations engagement?
We monitor placements in outlets that reach your real buyers and category decision-makers, whether your narrative remains consistent across coverage over time, and whether your executives are quoted as authorities instead of merely appearing in funding round recaps. Placement volume from outlets nobody in your market reads does not qualify as a result.
Which type of digital health company is best suited to this service?
This service suits digital health companies roughly within the 5M to 100M ARR range that have meaningful product, clinical, or partnership milestones to discuss and want a public narrative that remains strong between funding announcements. It is not a good fit for a company with nothing newsworthy planned for the next two quarters, because PR requires real news to work with.
