Cover Story: How to Strengthen your Brand

Ayelet Noff is the Founder and CEO of SlicedBrand, one of the world’s leading global tech PR agencies, headquartered in Berlin and led by an award -winning team with over 40 years of experience.

ou've been in the marketing and Public Relations game for some time now. Why did you get into PR and does it still get you excited? In 2006 I was introduced to the whole world of social media. I fell in love with it and quickly understood the potential for businesses to utilize these networks in order to get their messages across the world to the masses. I recognized this type of marketing could be a highly costefficient tool, especially for start-ups who are short on resources. I started educating companies in 2006 about why they should be on social media. At first folks looked at me like I was crazy, but quickly, especially start-up entrepreneurs started to realize what I was talking about. At this time, I also understood that other than social media, it was important for companies to be recognized on top tier publications. It was not enough that these businesses shouted their messages out on their own channels, but they needed to receive the credibility of top journalists in order to really be trusted and truly grow. At the time, I was living in Israel and I recognized there was so much amazing technology there but because

Ystart-ups did not have the same access as Silicon Valley start-ups to reporters or investors, they most often failed to succeed. Coming from the US and having those relationships to top influencers already in place plus knowing how to market products globally, I wanted to help these companies. I felt that I could be their diplomat to the world. That’s how I started. I connected these entrepreneurs with reporters from publications such as TechCrunch, Wall St Journal, NY Times, as well as Silicon Valley influencers and investors. I opened doors for them. This was an amazing feeling that I got addicted to – connecting amazing tech entrepreneurs with the folks and tools who could help them spread their messages to the whole world. Since then, I have made quite a reputation for myself in the industry and today I work with tech companies all over the world (including the US, Europe, Middle East, Australia, even Africa) helping them craft their stories and making sure they get the brand recognition they deserve.

Which has been your most memorable moment to date? I would say that launching ‘Yo’, the mobile app, to the world, and seeing it turn from an unknown app to a worldwide phenomenon within a few hours is one of my most memorable moments. We beat Instagram’s record and achieved one million downloads within just a few hours. Even though Amazon launched their phone that day, no one cared. The Yo news swept across the web like wild fire. Twitter was flooded with tweets about the new app. We were covered multiple times the first week on TechCrunch, Mashable, and other top tier publications. We even made it to Stephen Colbert’s show and ‘Silicon Valley’ made a parody about it with an app called ‘Bro’.

Yo was of course a most memorable moment. But honestly, every single time I get a client in a top tier publication, it’s a memorable moment for me. I love building companies up and bringing them to greatness and positive recognition through on-going and consistent PR efforts. I’ve done that with so many companies, including Viber, StoreDot, Applause, and many more.

If someone wants to get a career in Public Relations, what’s the best advice you could give them? PR is full of turbulence and unexpected turns. Always stay calm, collected, and keep your focus on the goals that you set for yourself from the beginning. It will lead you to success.

What big brands have you worked with and what are the pros and cons to working with brands of these sizes? I’ve worked with many big brands including Google, Microsoft, Intel, HP. I would say the advantage of working with big brands is obviously the name recognition aspect. You don’t need to explain who the company is or what it does. Reporters are also obviously more likely interested in writing about a big name and you don’t need to convince them. Then again, I see that as a disadvantage as well because I like the challenge of bringing new start-ups to the awareness of reporters and convincing them to write, only for them to later understand they had a part in making history. Another disadvantage about big companies is that they’re much less agile - if you need a response for a reporter asap on a story he’s writing, there’s usually an approval process which can often take days, if not weeks. If you’re working with a start-up, you can just email the CEO and get a response asap.

“At SlicedBrand we don’t see ourselves as an external PR firm, but rather as an extension of our clients’ teams. That’s one of our core values.”

You were named as one of the top 50 PR Pros in the Tech Industry in 2017 by Business Insider. How did that make you feel knowing all your hard work has paid off? https://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-prpeople-in-tech-of-2017-8

It made me feel amazing of course to be recognized for my work, especially because that year the list was compiled based on journalists’ recommendations. If you know anything about PR, you know that it’s all about the connections you hold. Therefore, the fact that I got this recognition based on journalists’ feedback, meant the world to me.

I was also just selected on November 25th as one of the top 36 PR Pros in the tech industry in 2020 by Business Insider. Guess I moved from top 50 to top 36 J This time the list was based on journalists’ recommendations, company profile, and experience.

https://www.businessinsider.com/top-publicrelations-experts-in-the-technology-industry-2020 -11?r=DE&IR=T#ayelet-noff-founder-and-ceoslicedbrand-25

And yes, of course it feels great. But what makes me feel even better, is seeing the smiles on my clients faces regarding the dedicated work that we’re doing for them. We treat our clients’ ventures as if they were our very own. At SlicedBrand we don’t see ourselves as an external PR firm, but rather as an extension of our clients’ teams. That’s one of our core values.

You were named as one of the top 50 PR Pros in the Tech Industry in 2017 by Business Insider. How did that make you feel knowing all your hard work has paid off?

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-prpeople-in-tech-of-2017-8

It made me feel amazing of course to be recognized for my work, especially because that year the list was compiled based on journalists’ recommendations. If you know anything about PR, you know that it’s all about the connections you hold. Therefore, the fact that I got this recognition based on journalists’ feedback, meant the world to me. I was also just selected on November 25th as one of the top 36 PR Pros in the tech industry in 2020 by Business Insider. Guess I moved from top 50 to top 36 J This time the list was based on journalists’ recommendations, company profile, and experience. And yes, of course it feels great. But what makes me feel even better, is seeing the smiles on my clients faces regarding the dedicated work that we’re doing for them. We treat our clients’ ventures as if they were our very own. At SlicedBrand we don’t see ourselves as an external PR firm, but rather as an extension of our clients’ teams. That’s one of our core values.

You’ve come such a long way but what’s next for Ayelet Noff?

I founded my second PR firm SlicedBrand at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. Our vision is to offer the most experienced senior team to clients, while taking on only clients with a vision that we can share - keeping quality truly high on both ends. Our team has over 40 years of experience collectively.

I lead all the accounts personally and I love it. Clients know if they come to us, they will be in the best hands and we can be selective about who we want to work with.