Checking In with Nairi Hourdajian and the Malpractice of PR

Just Checking In

Despite what many may think, the field of public relations isn’t always straightforward.. Rather it’s an art that demands strategic thinking, a deep sense of empathy, and good relationships built over time. And when it comes to PR in the tech industry, things get even more complicated–and some professionals today, anxious to secure coverage in an increasingly crowded and competitive market, are making blunders that are hurting their companies’ reputations. In this episode, our guest Nairi Hourdajian, VP Communications, Content and Community Marketing at Figma shares insights on what it takes for a company to build an effective strategy in the PR world, delving into the best and the worst practices she’s seeing and the current state of media covering tech startups. Don’t miss this episode if you’re curious about public (and human) relationships in this new era of information!

Join technology comms pros Becky Buckman and Keyana Corliss as they cut to the heart of today’s tech-news cycle and the general craziness that is high-tech corporate communications right now. With a short, not-too-serious take on the industry - with plenty of humor and irony thrown in - they’ll bring you the best in the biz, across comms and media together, for one-of-a-kind insights and perspectives you won’t hear anywhere else!

Jump straight into:

(01:42) - Introducing Nairi Hourdajian - “We have a great interview today with Nairi Hourdajian, who is a longtime friend of mine. She’s now running comms at Figma, which is a super hot design startup.”

(04:02) - Elizabeth Holmes news - “One other thing we have to talk about before we jump into it is Elizabeth Holmes fake it till you make it culture.”

(06:27) - Becky’s tech comms branding predictions for 2022 - “ I do think storytelling is going to become more important.”

(10:42) - PR malpractices: Why should communications professionals care about them? - “People don't realize there's actually expertise, real nuance, and detail to doing this work well.”

(13:03) - Understanding PR as human relations: Best and worst practices when building trust with executives and reporters. - “If you think about almost any other practice or field, you would never go in cold to make strategic asks like ‘Hey Amazon, I'm ready to sell my company, are you interested?’ Would you ever do that cold?”.

(19:06) - Discussing the value of earned media and backlash against big tech companies - “There is a credibility that earned media brings that owned content never will. But owned content also is important. Yes. It's important to tell your own story.”

(24:28) - What does it mean to do a good job and have a smart strategy in the PR world? - “Forming these relationships, and educating executives and investors is key, because I think they especially understand that this market is pretty special and probably won't last forever.”

(25:55) - Nairi’s collaboration with All Raise to improve the number of female founders and leaders - “A group of women got together and started formulating an operational plan to launch initiatives that could help move the ball forward for female founders and funders and through a stroke of luck that included the GP at my firm.”

Episode resources:

Find Nairi Houdajian’s on Twitter and Linkedin

Figma

All Raise

Thank you for listening to Just Checking In by Battery Ventures. Go follow Becky and Keyana on social media to know more about them. If you enjoyed this show leave a review and help us find new audiences!

This show is produced by StudioPod Media in SanFrancisco. Nicole Genova is the Show Coordinator. Editing and music provided by Teresa Buchanan.