Playbook for PR in the Martech Era
- Dorothy Crenshaw, Founder Crenshaw Communications, a Mod Op company
- AI and Automation, Content Strategy and Marketing, Managing Your Career, Other Martech, Strategy and Trends
How do you stand out in public relations when everyone has access to the same channels, dashboards, and AI tools? To explore how PR professionals can break through and get ahead in today’s digital landscape, we sat down with industry veteran Dorothy Crenshaw, founder of Crenshaw Communications, which Mod Op acquired 14 years after its launch. Dorothy has worked with clients such as Yahoo, Crunchbase, the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA), DoubleVerify, Ericsson, and many others.
“Sometimes it's about raising your hand. What propelled my career later was my willingness to take a chance after I had essentially topped out at a mega-agency.”
Dorothy Crenshaw, Founder Crenshaw Communications, a Mod Op company
Breaking through in PR
What does it take to build a lasting communications career today? Dorothy starts with the fundamentals: Write well, understand the business, and cultivate media literacy. Beneath those basics is a modern mindset, one that blends versatility, curiosity, and a pragmatic embrace of new tools. “Anyone looking to break into PR should build basic skills in writing/content creation, media literacy, and communications strategy as a business function,” she says. “It also helps to understand the business world. You can stand out by learning how to read a balance sheet and following business news and trends. A shocking number of people don’t.”
For martech professionals, her advice lands like a permission slip to be both creative and commercial, crafting stories while staying fluent in the numbers that drive growth. It is a reminder that PR’s scope has expanded as marketers rely more on data-rich channels every day.
“The beauty of PR is its versatility,” Dorothy notes. “Different service offerings—from red-carpet media wrangling, high-stakes crisis management, or high-growth tech startup comms—demand distinct skills and personality types. Sector knowledge is important, especially if you aspire to a media relations role.” The most reliable on-ramp, in her view, is practical experience. “The best way to break in as an entry-level candidate is through a paid internship. But you can also distinguish yourself by how you create content on social platforms or opine on issues of the day. How we communicate publicly influences how employers perceive us.” And for career-changers, she offers a specific avenue: “I also want to plug the American Marketing Association New York, where I’ve served on the board for several years. We have an active volunteer pipeline that has been an extraordinary benefit to our chapter while offering career-changers a chance to build their skills and portfolio.”
For martech professionals, her advice lands like a permission slip to be both creative and commercial, crafting stories while staying fluent in the numbers that drive growth. It is a reminder that PR’s scope has expanded as marketers rely more on data-rich channels every day.
“The beauty of PR is its versatility,” Dorothy notes. “Different service offerings—from red-carpet media wrangling, high-stakes crisis management, or high-growth tech startup comms—demand distinct skills and personality types. Sector knowledge is important, especially if you aspire to a media relations role.” The most reliable on-ramp, in her view, is practical experience. “The best way to break in as an entry-level candidate is through a paid internship. But you can also distinguish yourself by how you create content on social platforms or opine on issues of the day. How we communicate publicly influences how employers perceive us.” And for career-changers, she offers a specific avenue: “I also want to plug the American Marketing Association New York, where I’ve served on the board for several years. We have an active volunteer pipeline that has been an extraordinary benefit to our chapter while offering career-changers a chance to build their skills and portfolio.”
How she did it: The secrets behind Dorothy’s business success
Dorothy’s own path underscores the value of initiative and momentum. “I wish I could say it was my brilliant intellect or dazzling charisma, but I was a workhorse who also happened to be a very fast and good writer,” she recalls. Early on, she used an administrative role as a chance to develop and prove her creative abilities. “As a publicity assistant (a clerical job), I was underconfident and overwhelmed, but I saw that my group churned out a lot of content and was shorthanded. I volunteered to write a piece of press copy on my own time, and my boss loved it. I was instantly elevated to an unofficial role as his corporate speechwriter. Sometimes it’s about raising your hand.”
That willingness to lean into uncertainty later catalyzed a major pivot. “What drove my career later was my willingness to take a chance after I had essentially topped out at a mega-agency,” she says. “I’m naturally risk-averse, and I never thought of myself as entrepreneurial, but I decided to leave my fancy-titled ad agency job and throw in my lot with a former colleague to start our own PR firm. That propelled things in a new direction that lasted for 13 years.” In an era when martech roles can look hyper-specialized, her journey is a reminder that career compounding often comes from stretching into adjacent skills and stakes.
Yet amid the talk of skills, portfolios, and platforms, Dorothy elevates a trait that rarely headlines job descriptions. “Being easy to work with is an undersung attribute,” she says, without sugarcoating the alternative. “If you’re going to be difficult, you’d better be in the top .001% in talent. Most people aren’t.” For cross-functional marketing teams, where PR, content, analytics, and product marketing intersect, collaboration is table stakes. Her point is both practical and strategic: In a discipline built on influence and persuasion, being the person others want to partner with is itself a force multiplier.
That willingness to lean into uncertainty later catalyzed a major pivot. “What drove my career later was my willingness to take a chance after I had essentially topped out at a mega-agency,” she says. “I’m naturally risk-averse, and I never thought of myself as entrepreneurial, but I decided to leave my fancy-titled ad agency job and throw in my lot with a former colleague to start our own PR firm. That propelled things in a new direction that lasted for 13 years.” In an era when martech roles can look hyper-specialized, her journey is a reminder that career compounding often comes from stretching into adjacent skills and stakes.
Yet amid the talk of skills, portfolios, and platforms, Dorothy elevates a trait that rarely headlines job descriptions. “Being easy to work with is an undersung attribute,” she says, without sugarcoating the alternative. “If you’re going to be difficult, you’d better be in the top .001% in talent. Most people aren’t.” For cross-functional marketing teams, where PR, content, analytics, and product marketing intersect, collaboration is table stakes. Her point is both practical and strategic: In a discipline built on influence and persuasion, being the person others want to partner with is itself a force multiplier.
Martech tools for PR
Of course, the tools matter, especially as AI moves from novelty to necessity across martech stacks. Dorothy’s recent go-tos reflect a pragmatic approach to experimentation. “There’s one AI tool in particular that’s unique—Corpora.ai, which is actually a research platform (and a former client.) I don’t work with pharma, biotech, or complex financial clients at the moment, but I sure wish I’d had Corpora when I did.” Research agility is increasingly central to modern communications, from due diligence in crisis moments to synthesizing technical topics for broader audiences. She has also embraced a productivity assistant she once resisted. “I’ve also been won over by Microsoft Copilot after some initial resistance due to being used to Googledocs. Sometimes change is hard.”
A philosophy rooted in people, process, and purposeful technology
For marketers eyeing a pivot into PR or communications and for PR pros seeking to stay relevant within martech-heavy organizations, Dorothy’s playbook is refreshingly actionable:
— Build bedrock skills and a public body of work. Strong writing, media literacy, and content creation are non-negotiable. Use your social presence and thought pieces to show how you think.
— Learn the language of the business. Understanding financial basics and market context helps you craft narratives that resonate with C-suites and align to revenue.
— Seek sector fluency. If media relations is the goal, immerse yourself in the verticals you want to serve; beat reporters reward relevance.
— Volunteer for high-value work. Raising your hand, especially when teams are stretched, can accelerate your trajectory faster than titles alone.
— Be the collaborator that people enjoy working with. Reliability, clarity, and respect compound over time, especially across cross-functional, data-driven teams.
— Pilot AI where it advances the craft. Research platforms like Corpora.ai and assistants like Microsoft Copilot can compress time-to-insight; the differentiator is judgment.
Dorothy’s throughline is simple but powerful: Careers are built at the intersection of capability and character, then amplified by the tools you choose and the chances you take. In a marketing world obsessed with what’s next, her counsel brings the focus back to what endures: craft, curiosity, and collaboration, while leaving plenty of room to explore the technologies that make great communicators even better.
— Build bedrock skills and a public body of work. Strong writing, media literacy, and content creation are non-negotiable. Use your social presence and thought pieces to show how you think.
— Learn the language of the business. Understanding financial basics and market context helps you craft narratives that resonate with C-suites and align to revenue.
— Seek sector fluency. If media relations is the goal, immerse yourself in the verticals you want to serve; beat reporters reward relevance.
— Volunteer for high-value work. Raising your hand, especially when teams are stretched, can accelerate your trajectory faster than titles alone.
— Be the collaborator that people enjoy working with. Reliability, clarity, and respect compound over time, especially across cross-functional, data-driven teams.
— Pilot AI where it advances the craft. Research platforms like Corpora.ai and assistants like Microsoft Copilot can compress time-to-insight; the differentiator is judgment.
Dorothy’s throughline is simple but powerful: Careers are built at the intersection of capability and character, then amplified by the tools you choose and the chances you take. In a marketing world obsessed with what’s next, her counsel brings the focus back to what endures: craft, curiosity, and collaboration, while leaving plenty of room to explore the technologies that make great communicators even better.
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