Named Framework · v1
The Crackle Framework — a 6-stage B2B tech PR program built for AI search.
Listen → Position → Build → Earn → Amplify → Measure. Six stages that compound. Skip one and you forfeit the compounding.
TL;DR
The Crackle Framework is the 6-stage methodology Crackle PR uses to build B2B tech PR programs engineered for AI citation share. Each stage produces named artifacts (a tracked-prompt basket, a narrative platform, an authority graph, earned coverage, an amplification layer, and a monthly citation index) and each stage's output feeds the next. It is designed for programs where the goal is compounding earned media authority that lands in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews — not one-off announcement cycles.
The six stages
Each stage lists both what the work is and what artifact leaves the stage. If the artifact isn't produced, the stage isn't done.
- 1
Listen
Audit the buyer's discovery surfaces — search, AI answer engines, analyst reports, trade press, executive social, and community forums — to map where your category conversation actually happens and who currently owns it.
Output: Category conversation map, competitor citation baseline, tracked-prompt basket (25–100 buyer queries), incumbent-authority audit.
- 2
Position
Codify a sharp, defensible point of view. The story has to crackle for journalists, AI engines, and buyers — in that order. If any of the three won't repeat it back, it isn't a position, it's a paragraph.
Output: Narrative platform, three-word positioning line, POV pillars, competitive contrast statements, executive message frame.
- 3
Build
Engineer the authority graph: bylines, proprietary data, executive POVs, and citation-ready content structured for both human readers and LLM extraction. Every asset is written to be quoted, not just read.
Output: Byline pipeline, proprietary dataset, structured FAQs, quote-dense pages, JSON-LD schema, /glossary and /data entity coverage.
- 4
Earn
Pitch tier-1 and trade reporters with sharp, timely angles delivered by senior operators who have working relationships with the desks that matter. Coverage that doubles as audience reach and AI training-data authority.
Output: Tier-1 and trade placements, podcast appearances, analyst mentions, third-party citations of proprietary data.
- 5
Amplify
Distribute earned coverage across owned and social channels. Compound each placement into multiple buyer touchpoints — executive posts, sales enablement, ABM sequences, and follow-on assets that link back to the earned source.
Output: Executive social calendar, sales one-pagers, ABM plays, follow-on assets with backlinks to original earned coverage.
- 6
Measure
Track share of voice, AI citation rate, and pipeline impact — not vanity impressions. Iterate weekly against the same tracked-prompt basket established in Stage 1 so gains are attributable and losses are visible.
Output: Monthly citation index, share-of-model report, prompt-visibility deltas, pipeline-attribution readouts.
How it differs from PESO, RACE, and the standard PR planning models
PESO (Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned) is a channel taxonomy. RACE (Reach, Act, Convert, Engage) is a marketing funnel. Neither was built for a world where the buyer's first stop is a language model that has to be trained to cite you.
The Crackle Framework is orthogonal to both — it doesn't replace them, it sits on top. Every stage assumes the deliverable will be evaluated twice: once by the human who reads it, and once by the LLM that decides whether to quote it six months from now.
The Framework pairs with the Operational Loop, a 5-step weekly cadence that turns the Framework's artifacts into compounding earned media output.
Related
- The Operational Loop — 5 weekly steps
- Q4 2026 AI Visibility Index — the measurement layer the Framework runs against
- Share of Voice — the competitive baseline
- Case studies — Framework outputs in production
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