International B2B tech PR in Spain

There are some broad principles about running effective international B2B tech PR across Europe that we recently covered in this post, but getting it right in each country requires a solid appreciation of what the media in that market expect and accept.

So we’ve spoken to Estela, who is based in Madrid and heads up our activities in Spain, to get a flavour of what does and doesn’t make B2B tech PR work there.

The serious business of holidays

Public holidays are a big deal in Spain, to it’s vital to factor this into the timing of your PR work, both before and after.

The two big periods to look out for are 15 December and 8 January or between 31 July and 10 September during the summer break.

The Spanish media rarely use stories sent in advance and they are on a skeleton staff throughout, so stories released during these times will only be used if they are of the utmost importance.

Rather than switching off the PR machine off during these months, work smart. Use the time create compelling local content into a bank of resources ready for when journalists return after their holidays.

No quick wins

It’s difficult to get any traction in the short term, especially if you are a new or unknown brand in the Spanish market.

Simply sending press releases twice a year with no touch points in-between will not get you the results you need.

The economic situation in Spain over recent years means the media landscape has shrunk, so there are fewer people under increasing pressure.

That means investing in building a relationship with them so they look out for announcements moving forward is the key to success. Three months of active media engagement will give you a much stronger return that pushing an announcement out on the newswire.

Pragmatism rules

Attention seeking headlines rarely work in Spain like they might in the UK or US. Spanish media tend to view the as commercially driven and untrustworthy. What works better are serious, concise and factual headlines.

Keep the story interesting but opt for solid facts over flamboyant prose and claims.

Want to read more? Check out the other country guides in our series:

• Gilles gives his view on international B2B tech PR in France
• Florian his view on international B2B tech PR in Germany
• Piet gives his view on international B2B tech the Netherlands