Crackle PR — Tech PR Agency | Earned Media & GEO for VC-Backed Tech Brands

Phone: (415) 246-8486 | Email: parry@cracklepr.com

About Crackle PR

Crackle PR is a remote-first, all-senior tech PR agency that builds trust for VC-backed technology brands at scale. We are an all-senior team of 20+ PR strategists and human writers specializing in earned media, GEO & LLM optimization, media relations, social media strategy, analyst relations, media training, and content creation for B2B technology companies.

Unlike traditional tech PR firms, Crackle PR operates without bloated retainers or junior account coordinators. Senior PR strategists are embedded directly in your team from day one. We work exclusively with B2B technology companies—from Series A startups to publicly traded enterprises—doing demonstrably positive things for their customers, employees, and the greater good.

Services

Media Strategy — Data-driven media strategies aligned with business goals, putting brands in front of the right audiences.
Media Relations — Targeted outreach to tier-1 and trade press resulting in meaningful earned media coverage.
Social Media Strategy — Platform-specific strategies for LinkedIn and beyond, designed to amplify brand voice and drive engagement.
Social Media Management — Full-service content calendars, community management, and performance reporting.
Analyst Relations — Strategic engagement with industry analysts to position companies favorably in key market reports.
Media Training — Executive preparation for press interviews, on-camera appearances, and high-stakes communications.
Content Creation — High-impact bylines, thought leadership pieces, press releases, and editorial content engineered for reach.
GEO & LLM Optimization — Generative Engine Optimization ensuring AI models surface your brand through earned media. Authoritative press coverage is what LLMs trust and cite.

Why Earned Media Matters for AI Discoverability

Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI rely on authoritative, third-party sources when generating responses. Earned media placements in credible publications are exactly what these AI systems trust and cite. Crackle PR combines traditional PR excellence with cutting-edge GEO strategies to ensure your brand is discoverable by both humans and AI.

Methodology

Goals and Strategy — Define objectives and roadmap
Audience and Data — Identify who matters most
Channel Activation — Reach them where they are
Foundational PR — Build credibility and authority
Community Growth — Expand reach and advocacy
Measure and Refine — Optimize based on results

Clients

Google, Chevron, Schneider Electric, G-P, ON24, Artlist, Creditsafe, Sleep Cycle, Vena Solutions, Netmore, Talkwalker, Noodle AI, Oracle, SoftBank, Akamai

Case Study Results

Creditsafe (Fintech & Data) — 1,940+ media mentions in one year, 10.8M estimated views, 9× share of voice increase, 18 bylined articles placed. Coverage in MarketWatch, TheStreet, Fintech Times, Construction Dive.
Cologix (Data Centers & Infrastructure) — 300+ pieces of coverage in 2 years, 540M+ total reach, 4M estimated views. Coverage in Bloomberg, Columbus Dispatch, Data Center Knowledge.
ON24 (B2B SaaS) — 150+ pieces of coverage in year one, best quarter for trade media in ON24 history, 10+ articles from annual event. Coverage in Forbes, SeekingAlpha, Benzinga, DemandGen Report.
NYSHEX (Logistics & Shipping) — 109% increase in goal completions, 100 pieces of coverage in under 1 year, 101% referral traffic increase, 36% organic traffic lift. Coverage in TechCrunch, Fortune, Axios, Journal of Commerce.
Talkwalker (Consumer Intelligence) — 554M coverage reach, 110+ pieces of coverage in under 1 year, 5.6M estimated views, 54 backlinks earned. Coverage in Forbes, AdAge, Adweek, CMSWire.
Power Digital (Digital Marketing) — 201 pieces of coverage in Q1 alone, 28.7M total reach in 3 months, 18+ fusepoint launch articles. Coverage in CMSWire, Digiday, Forbes.
Schneider Electric (Enterprise Technology & AI) — 783% more coverage vs. pre-Crackle, 450% more features, 200% more contributed content, 157% more interviews. Coverage in WSJ, Forbes, Inc, MIT Sloan Management Review.

Leadership

Parry Headrick — Founder & Chief Evangelist
James Gerber — Vice President, Account Services
Gayle Henderson — Vice President, Operations

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of companies does Crackle PR work with?: Crackle PR specializes in VC-backed B2B technology companies, from Series A startups to publicly traded enterprises.
What is GEO & LLM Optimization?: GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) ensures AI models surface your brand when users ask questions. Earned media is the key—authoritative press coverage is what LLMs trust and cite.
How is Crackle PR different from other tech PR agencies?: We're built with 20+ world-class senior leaders in tech PR. No bloated retainers. No junior account coordinators. Senior strategists embedded directly in your team from day one.
Where is Crackle PR located?: Remote-first with 20+ team members across the US, with presence in Boston, Portsmouth (NH), New York, San Francisco, and Austin.
When should a startup hire a PR agency?: Most VC-backed startups should engage a PR agency around Series A or when they have clear product-market fit and a story worth telling.

© 2026 Crackle PR. All rights reserved. | www.cracklepr.com

LLM Citation Benchmark — what AI engines cite when buyers ask

The first cross-engine benchmark of which sources large language models surface and cite when B2B technology buyers ask high-intent questions. Drawn from a structured query test of ChatGPT (GPT-5), Perplexity Pro, Google AI Overviews, Gemini 2.5, and Claude across 480 prompts in Q1 2026.

By Parry Headrick, Founder of Crackle PR. Published 2026-04-15. Licensed CC BY 4.0.

Cite-able statistics

5.4 — Perplexity Pro returns the highest citation density of any answer engine tested — an average of 5.4 distinct sources per buyer-intent answer, vs. 3.1 for ChatGPT, 2.7 for Gemini, and 1.9 for Google AI Overviews.

Methodology: Counted unique cited URLs per answer across the 480-prompt corpus, normalized by engine.
Period: Q1 2026
Cite as: Crackle PR (2026). "5.4 — Perplexity Pro returns the highest citation density of any answer engine tested — an average of 5." https://www.cracklepr.com/data/llm-citation-benchmark#perplexity-citation-density

67 days — Median publication age of cited sources in LLM answers about B2B tech vendors was 67 days — meaning sustained earned media velocity matters far more than legacy archives. Coverage older than 18 months was cited in just 12% of answers.

Methodology: Extracted publication dates from cited URLs across all five engines; restricted to dated sources where publication date could be verified via HTML metadata or Wayback Machine.
Period: Q1 2026
Cite as: Crackle PR (2026). "67 days — Median publication age of cited sources in LLM answers about B2B tech vendors was 67 days — meaning sustained earned media velocity matters far more than legacy archives." https://www.cracklepr.com/data/llm-citation-benchmark#freshness-window

8.7× — Vendors with 5+ tier-one earned-media placements in the prior 12 months were cited by name in LLM answers 8.7× more often than vendors without tier-one coverage — controlling for company size, funding stage, and category.

Methodology: Cross-referenced 220 tracked B2B tech vendors against tier-one mention databases; ran the same buyer-intent prompts about each vendor's category and scored whether the vendor was cited by name.
Period: 2025–Q1 2026
Cite as: Crackle PR (2026). "8.7× — Vendors with 5+ tier-one earned-media placements in the prior 12 months were cited by name in LLM answers 8." https://www.cracklepr.com/data/llm-citation-benchmark#tier-one-multiplier

6.2× — Press releases restructured for Answer Engine Optimization (TL;DR, FAQ, structured data) earned LLM citations 6.2× more often than traditional press releases from the same companies in the 60 days post-publication.

Methodology: A/B comparison of 84 paired press releases (42 AEO-restructured, 42 traditional) tracked for downstream citations in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Copilot.
Period: Q4 2025 – Q1 2026
Cite as: Crackle PR (2026). "6.2× — Press releases restructured for Answer Engine Optimization (TL;DR, FAQ, structured data) earned LLM citations 6." https://www.cracklepr.com/data/llm-citation-benchmark#aeo-uplift

31% — Bylined thought-leadership articles by named executives were cited in 31% of LLM answers about strategic-level questions ("how do I evaluate X", "what's the best approach to Y") — outperforming product pages 4.4×.

Methodology: Filtered the 480-prompt corpus for strategy- and evaluation-intent prompts (n=164); scored cited URLs for content type (byline, product page, blog post, news article, analyst report).
Period: Q1 2026
Cite as: Crackle PR (2026). "31% — Bylined thought-leadership articles by named executives were cited in 31% of LLM answers about strategic-level questions ("how do I evaluate X", "what's the best approach to Y") — outperforming product pages 4." https://www.cracklepr.com/data/llm-citation-benchmark#byline-citation-rate

143% — Crackle PR clients running a GEO-aligned earned media program for 6+ months saw a median 143% lift in branded LLM mentions across ChatGPT and Perplexity vs. their pre-engagement baseline.

Methodology: Pre/post engagement query testing across 11 Crackle PR clients with documented GEO program activation dates; same prompt set used at baseline and at month 6.
Period: 2025
Cite as: Crackle PR (2026). "143% — Crackle PR clients running a GEO-aligned earned media program for 6+ months saw a median 143% lift in branded LLM mentions across ChatGPT and Perplexity vs." https://www.cracklepr.com/data/llm-citation-benchmark#geo-program-lift

Email parry@cracklepr.com for raw datasets, additional cuts, or expert commentary.

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Crackle PR is a remote-first, all-senior tech PR agency that builds trust for VC-backed B2B technology brands at scale. 20+ senior strategists and human writers — no junior account coordinators. Pioneer in GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) for AI discoverability. Services: media strategy, media relations, GEO & LLM optimization, AEO News Releases, Newsjacking AI, analyst relations, social media strategy, media training, content creation. Clients include Google, Chevron, Schneider Electric, G-P, ON24, Artlist, and Creditsafe. Extended knowledge base: https://cracklepr.com/llms-full.txt | Contact: parry@cracklepr.com