What Makes a Good Prediction?

By Jodi Maroney , Senior Vice President

'Tis the season - for pitching tech and business media on top trends for the coming year. Below, Access SVP Jodi Maroney offers insights on best practices that can help make the expertise of your executives stand out.

Predicting the future is a yearly tradition in tech and business media. Well-crafted predictions position clients as thought leaders, generate media coverage for products and provide valuable content for journalists looking for trends and insights. Here are some best practices for crafting an effective pitch that resonates with reporters and editors.

Be Relevant: The key to a successful prediction pitch is relevance to both the times and the reporter. Predictions should offer something new or surprising, showing a fresh perspective on the future. This year, in particular, the media are looking for predictions that consider the new administration. How will regulatory changes impact an industry? ?

Lead with Data: Predictions are more persuasive when backed by data or case studies. Share relevant statistics, trends, or research that demonstrate why the predictions are likely to come true. For example, predicting growth in a specific sector requires backup market reports, survey results, and/or historical data to show how the trend is unfolding.

Be the Expert: Journalists often prefer having direct access to an expert who can provide deeper insights or clarification. Expertise is crucial for lending credibility to any predictions. Make sure the pitch highlights exclusive authority in the industry—whether as a seasoned executive, a subject-matter expert, or a thought leader. Don’t Waste Time: Journalists are busy. Be concise and credible. Organize predictions in an easily scannable format. Be bold. Lean into unique and even contrarian predictions. The goal is to make it easy for journalists to pick up the key points and understand why the predictions will make for a good story.

Prediction pieces not only create an opportunity to secure coverage, but also offer an ideal foundation for connecting with your teams and executives to review (and influence) content and media strategies in support of and beyond the predictions.

• How will you handle the predictions coming true?
• What if they don’t?
• What kind of supporting content needs to be produced?
• Where can you do deeper research?
• What comes next?

Predictions are the perfect jumping-off point for an annual brand communications strategy and schedule. Finding the sweet spot between the trends, the times, and your specific focus will be successful for the pitch and provide the platform for the entire year to come.