Having been an executive coach and leadership expert for over 30 years, Stephen Bruyant-Langer is no stranger to different marketing strategies. When he launched his most recent book The Existential Playbook – How to Survive, Live and Thrive, he knew PR would play a significant part in the promotional strategy. What he hadn’t expected was the value that Panpathic Communications would deliver.
PR was always going to be an integral part of promoting my latest book. For me, speaking to journalists is a natural way to go. You get the clarity of your message out when you are taking part in interviews. You can also give perspectives on your work, ensure you increase the relevance and clarity of your message, and isolate different messages, so you can get your idea out there.
I published the book in the UK, so the UK and US were the natural places to promote it. My publisher, The Right Book Press, recommended Panpathic Communications. The very reasonable pricing of Panpathic meant that the financial risk was limited and that made it a no-brainer for me!
On starting out, the key to success as far as I was concerned was an article in the Financial Times. When speaking to Chantal at Panpathic, I said I would be satisfied if all we got was the FT. They managed to secure it. But that was by no means all they got!
Most of the rest of the PR campaign was to promote my book to executives by targeting publications that they read. Panpathic’s success in this area was very satisfying and they also achieved coverage in consumer press, on the radio and in several well-placed podcasts. In total, over the course of just a few months, they secured over 70 pieces of coverage and even got me into Hound and Dogs!
Not only was I totally satisfied, but I was also very pleasantly surprised. When you approach a new business associate, you don’t know the level of fulfilment you will get in your contract. There is bound to be doubt.
In my dealings with Panpathic, I had positive surprises on three levels: Chantal in terms of the contract, Dorothea’s work securing and sending coverage and their writer Chris’s content.
The contract was legal in the style of UK and US contracts and initially felt quite constraining. The implication was that, after four months, when the contract ended, there would be no further collaboration and I was concerned things might be stopped in the middle of a process and let go, although I had verbal reassurance to the contrary. My experience has been that Dorothea, in her role at Panpathic, has continued to follow up, secure and send coverage generated during the course of us working together, even though contractually there was no obligation.
In my business, I offer a form of concierge service, and I go way beyond my contractual obligations. What I have is experienced is that others don’t. I could foresee limiting factors which, as I have said, caused some doubt, but this was not the case.
Another element that I found exceptionally valuable was the article writing. Working with Chris was an extraordinary experience. Even though he was writing about elements contained within my book, he produced articles which were much better written than I could have done myself. He managed to build on what we already had and make it even better. I was amazed that from three interviews Chris made three articles, adding a value superior to anything I had expected. He could build on my ideas and add elements, angles and perspectives over and above the content of my book.
Of course, most importantly, the articles and coverage really resonated with the audience.
All in all, my experience of working with Panpathic Communications was an interesting and smooth process, where the end results were really good. They overdelivered on my biggest expectations, with very satisfying coverage. They listened to what I wanted and that is where they put their focus and achieved results. I wanted FT, plus an international audience, and publications with kudos that I could leverage in my wider marketing. They achieved all that at an extremely reasonable cost.
I would absolutely recommend Panpathic Communications to anyone promoting a book, or indeed, any other service. In fact, I have already recommended them to a person I know who is publishing a book in the US and told her the same as I would say to anyone: Even if the results they get for someone else are not as impressive as they have been for me, the financial risk is so limited it’s a no-brainer.
ABOUT STEPHEN BRUYANT-LANGER
Stephen Bruyant-Langer has over 30 years’ experience as a top executive coach and leadership expert, guiding top executives and leaders worldwide to reach their full potential. He is founder of The Personal Business Plan, the new standard in executive coaching, and through his Executive Coaching Programme, he has transformed the lives of thousands of high-level executives using his unique 10-step system for personal and professional development.
Stephen blends corporate, academic, entrepreneurial and consulting skills, having held senior positions with industry leaders like The Coca-Cola Company, L’Oréal and Korn Ferry.
He has authored two bestselling books (‘Your Next Career – A headhunter’s guide to lifelong success’ and ‘The Personal Business Plan — A blueprint for running your life’) and over 400 articles on leadership. In parallel he has served as an Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School as well as an Associate at the Møller Institute, Churchill College, University of Cambridge. His third book, ‘The Existential Playbook – How to Survive, Live and Thrive’ was published September 2024.
Web: theExistentialPlaybook.com
thepersonalbusinessplan.com/books
LinkedIn: @stephenbruyantlanger
X/Twitter: @SBruyantLanger
Facebook: @stephen.bruyantlanger.7
Instagram: @stephen_bruyantlanger
