How To Get Media Coverage For Products Without A Wow Factor

Getting media attention for a product that doesn’t turn heads might seem impossible in a world obsessed with the next big thing. But the truth is, most successful products aren’t revolutionary—they’re practical solutions to real problems, positioned in ways that journalists can’t ignore. The secret lies not in manufacturing excitement where none exists, but in reframing your product through utility PR, strategic storytelling, and market context that makes your offering relevant to current conversations. When you shift from promoting features to addressing genuine market gaps, consumer pain points, and industry trends, you create angles that journalists actually want to cover because they serve their audience’s needs.

Understanding What Makes a Product Newsworthy Without Innovation

The fundamental mistake most product marketers make is assuming that newsworthiness requires novelty. Journalists aren’t looking for the most exciting product—they’re looking for stories that matter to their readers. Your product becomes newsworthy when it represents something larger than itself: a market shift, a consumer behavior change, or a solution to a problem that affects thousands of people.

Start by identifying the real problem your product solves and quantifying its impact. Instead of saying your productivity tool “helps teams work better,” demonstrate that professionals waste an average of 8 hours per week on administrative tasks and your solution cuts that in half. This reframing transforms your pitch from a product announcement into a story about workplace efficiency and time management—topics that business journalists cover regularly.

Market context serves as your strongest ally here. Position your product within a trend that journalists are already writing about. If you’re selling affordable skincare, you’re not just selling products—you’re part of a larger story about consumers rejecting luxury pricing and demanding transparency. The Ordinary mastered this approach by positioning itself against celebrity endorsements at a time when consumers were becoming skeptical of influencer marketing. By highlighting that celebrity endorsements raise product prices by 30-100%, the brand created a story about shifting consumer values that journalists found compelling enough to cover extensively.

The checklist for identifying newsworthy angles should guide your thinking. Ask whether your product addresses a trending problem, whether you can quantify the consumer pain point, whether your product aligns with industry shifts, and whether you’re making something previously expensive more accessible. Red flags include problems that are too niche, pain points that affect only a small segment, or products that contradict industry trends. Your goal is to find the intersection between what your product does and what journalists are already interested in covering.

Framing Tactics That Position Ordinary Products as Essential

Framing determines whether journalists see your product as just another option or as evidence of something meaningful happening in the market. The most effective framing tactics connect your product to larger narratives about how industries operate, how consumers behave, or how markets are shifting.

Market context framing positions your product as a response to specific trends. As remote work becomes permanent for millions of professionals, productivity tools that reduce context-switching aren’t just convenient—they’re essential infrastructure for distributed teams. This framing transforms a simple software tool into a story about the future of work. The key is connecting your product to trends that journalists are already covering, making your pitch relevant to their existing editorial interests.

Consumer pain point framing requires specificity and data. Small business owners don’t just “struggle with administrative work”—they spend an average of 8 hours per week on tasks that don’t generate revenue, costing them thousands of dollars annually in lost productivity. When you quantify the problem this precisely, your product becomes the solution to a measurable, significant issue that affects a large audience. Journalists can build stories around these numbers, using your product as an example of how companies are addressing this documented problem.

Democratization framing works particularly well for products that make expensive or exclusive solutions accessible to broader audiences. Professional-grade tools that once cost $500 are now available for $50, opening up capabilities to small businesses and individual professionals who couldn’t afford them before. This isn’t just a pricing story—it’s a story about market access, economic opportunity, and how technology is leveling playing fields. The Ordinary used this framing brilliantly by offering high-quality skincare products under $10, creating a narrative about how effective skincare doesn’t require luxury pricing.

Transparency framing has become increasingly powerful as consumers grow skeptical of marketing claims and industry practices. When you make transparency itself the story—showing exactly how your product is made, what it costs to produce, or why industry standards inflate prices—you create a narrative about honesty and consumer empowerment. The Ordinary’s billboard campaign celebrating scientists over celebrities and emphasizing ingredient transparency gave journalists a story about a brand that prioritizes substance over superficiality, generating coverage that went far beyond typical product announcements.

To apply these framing tactics to your own product, start by identifying your market context. What trends, shifts, or changes are happening in your industry right now? How does your product fit into these trends? Next, quantify the problem your product solves with specific data about how many people experience this problem and what it costs them in time, money, or frustration. Define your unique angle—whether it’s price, accessibility, transparency, or efficiency—and articulate this difference in one clear sentence. Then craft your pitch leading with the market trend or problem, not your product, explaining why this trend matters right now and positioning your product as the solution or response.

Utility PR: Creating Value That Journalists Want to Cover

Utility PR shifts the focus from promoting your product to providing genuine value to consumers through educational content, research, tools, or resources. Journalists cover utility PR because it serves their audience, not because it promotes your company. This approach builds credibility and positions your brand as a helpful resource rather than just another vendor seeking attention.

The Ordinary’s free digital archive that debunks skincare myths exemplifies utility PR at its best. The brand created a publicly accessible resource that educates consumers about ingredients and exposes common misconceptions in the skincare industry. Journalists covered this initiative because it provided real value to their readers interested in skincare science, not because The Ordinary was launching a new product. The coverage positioned the brand as an educational authority while generating awareness without traditional advertising.

Creating utility-driven PR assets requires thinking about what your audience genuinely needs beyond your product. Original research and surveys provide data that journalists can cite and build stories around. Partner with a research firm to survey at least 500 respondents, focusing on surprising or actionable findings that reveal something meaningful about your industry or consumer behavior. The success metric here is the number of media mentions citing your research, which extends your reach far beyond your own channels.

Free tools and calculators give consumers something practical they can use immediately. Make these tools simple, mobile-friendly, and shareable, then promote them to journalists as resources for their audience. Educational guides and playbooks teach your audience how to solve problems or achieve goals. Make these comprehensive, actionable, and well-designed, offering them for free on your website. The downloads, email signups, and media coverage these assets generate build your audience while establishing your expertise.

Industry reports and whitepapers provide insights into trends, challenges, or opportunities based on original research or data. Make these visually appealing and easy to digest, positioning your company as a thought leader who understands the market deeply. Myth-busting content debunks common misconceptions in your industry using data and expert interviews to back up your claims. Make this content shareable and quotable, generating social shares, media coverage, and industry discussion that raises your profile.

When pitching utility PR to journalists, lead with the value to their audience, not your company. Make it easy for journalists to use your asset by providing high-resolution images, key statistics, expert quotes, and summaries they can use immediately. Pitch to reporters who cover your industry or the specific topic your utility asset addresses. Offer exclusivity by giving one journalist or publication first access to your research or content before releasing it publicly. Provide context and story angles that help journalists understand why this asset matters and how they can use it in their coverage.

Storytelling Techniques That Make Products Compelling

Journalists want stories, not product descriptions. The most effective way to secure media coverage is telling a compelling story that happens to involve your product. This requires shifting from feature lists to narratives that reveal something meaningful about your market, customers, or industry.

Customer success stories focus on how real customers used your product to solve problems or achieve goals. The emphasis should be on the customer’s journey, challenges, and results rather than on your product’s features. Problem-solution narratives start with a specific, relatable problem affecting your audience, then show how your product solves it. Make the problem concrete and the solution clear, using specific examples and measurable outcomes.

Industry insight stories share perspectives on how your industry is changing, what customers need, or what trends are emerging. Position your product as evidence of this insight rather than as the main subject. The Ordinary’s brand philosophy story demonstrates this approach perfectly. The narrative centers on founder Brandon Truaxe recognizing a gap between ingredient costs and product prices—not a story about skincare, but about disrupting an industry and challenging the status quo. Journalists covered this because it featured all the elements they love: a clear problem, a protagonist with a vision, a challenge to conventional wisdom, and evidence of success.

Data-driven stories use original research or statistics to illuminate industry trends, customer needs, or market dynamics. Make the data human and relatable by connecting numbers to real experiences and outcomes. Contrarian stories challenge conventional wisdom in your industry, telling a story about why the industry does something wrong and why your approach differs. Behind-the-scenes stories show how your product is made, how your team works, or what goes into creating your offering. Transparency and authenticity make these stories compelling.

To craft a compelling product story, start by identifying the core conflict or problem your product addresses. Why does this problem matter? Who is affected? What’s at stake if it isn’t solved? Introduce your protagonist—you, your founder, or your customer—explaining who discovered this problem, what motivated them to solve it, and what challenges they faced. Show the journey or process of developing your solution, including what you learned, what obstacles you overcame, and what surprised you along the way.

Reveal the results or impact by showing what changed because of your solution. Quantify results wherever possible—time saved, money saved, problems solved—and include what customers say and what this means for the industry. Connect your story to a larger trend or insight, explaining what your story reveals about the market, industry, or consumer behavior. Make your story quotable by identifying key statements from your founder, team, or customers that capture the essence of your narrative.

Leveraging Market Context to Create Timely Relevance

Market context provides the “why now” angle that makes your product relevant to journalists and their audiences. It transforms a product story into a market trend story, which journalists are far more likely to cover because it speaks to broader issues their readers care about.

Economic trends create powerful context for positioning products. As consumers cut discretionary spending during economic uncertainty, affordable alternatives to luxury products gain market share. If your product addresses this shift, you’re not just selling an alternative—you’re part of a story about changing consumer behavior and market dynamics. The Ordinary leveraged this context by offering high-quality skincare at prices under $10, positioning itself as a response to consumers seeking value and affordability. Journalists covered this as a story about how economic pressures change consumer behavior and industry dynamics.

Workplace and lifestyle shifts provide context for products addressing changes in how people work, live, or spend their time. Remote work is permanent for millions of professionals, creating sustained demand for home office productivity tools, collaboration software, and work-life balance solutions. Products addressing these needs aren’t just convenient—they’re infrastructure for a fundamental shift in how work happens.

Industry consolidation or disruption offers context for products that are part of larger shifts in how industries operate. Direct-to-consumer brands disrupting traditional retail by cutting out middlemen and lowering prices represent a broader story about market transformation and power shifts. Consumer behavior changes create context for products addressing how preferences or behaviors are evolving. The Ordinary’s response to consumer skepticism about celebrity endorsements demonstrates this perfectly. By positioning itself against influencer marketing at a time when consumers were becoming increasingly skeptical, the brand created a story about shifting consumer values that journalists found newsworthy.

The brand’s egg campaign during a period of rising egg prices shows how to leverage timely market events. By selling eggs when consumers were concerned about egg prices, The Ordinary created a story about brand awareness and responsiveness to consumer concerns. The campaign generated massive social media buzz and media coverage because it tied to a real, current market issue that consumers cared about.

To apply market context to your product, start by identifying current market trends and shifts. What’s changing in your industry? What economic, demographic, or behavioral trends are relevant to your product? What are journalists writing about? What are consumers discussing on social media? Connect your product to these trends by articulating how your product responds to or addresses them. Research and validate the trend by finding data, statistics, or expert commentary that supports it, looking for recent news coverage and identifying other companies responding similarly.

Develop your “why now” angle by explaining why your product matters at this specific moment. What would happen if this trend continues? What does your product reveal about the market or consumer behavior? Pitch to journalists who cover this trend, leading with the trend rather than your product. Create supporting content that helps journalists and consumers understand the trend, positioning your company as a thought leader on this topic.

Conclusion: Turning Ordinary Products Into Newsworthy Stories

Securing media coverage for products without a wow factor requires shifting from product promotion to strategic storytelling. The most successful approaches focus on utility PR that provides genuine value, framing tactics that position products within larger market narratives, and market context that makes products relevant to current conversations journalists are already covering.

Start by identifying the real problem your product solves and quantifying its impact with specific data. Position your product within trends that journalists are already writing about, making your pitch relevant to their existing editorial interests. Create utility-driven assets like original research, free tools, educational guides, or myth-busting content that journalists want to cover because it serves their audience. Craft compelling stories that feature clear conflicts, relatable protagonists, meaningful journeys, and measurable results connected to larger insights about your market or industry.

Your next steps should include developing a checklist of newsworthy angles for your product, identifying the framing tactics that best position your offering, creating at least one utility PR asset that provides genuine value to your audience, crafting a compelling story about your product that connects to larger market trends, and researching journalists who cover the trends and topics relevant to your product. The goal isn’t to make your product seem more exciting than it is—it’s to reveal the meaningful story your product tells about your market, your customers, and the problems you’re solving.