By Jessie Peng
Expanding your brand internationally is exciting, but breaking into new markets requires more than just hitting “send” on an email pitch. International PR can accelerate growth, build credibility, and even attract investors, but only if it’s done with precision. At The Pollack Group (TPG), we’ve helped brands earn coverage across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and we know firsthand that the difference between landing the headline and being ignored comes down to strategy.
Today, media influence knows no geographical limits. A story in a respected London outlet can rank on the first page of Google searches in Los Angeles. A feature in a leading Singapore business journal can open doors with US investors. For startups and established corporations alike, international coverage doesn’t just build credibility; it can also fuel domestic awareness and strengthen SEO.
Based on our extensive work with international media, below are select pitching recommendations as well as pitfalls for brands craving international coverage to be aware of:
Best Practices
Respect Time Zones
Timing is everything in PR, so when adding time zones into the mix, the pitching challenge grows. The key to tackling time differences is to keep news cycles and media contacts’ time zones in mind. For example, schedule your pitches to distribute local morning time, remember local stock market hours, and offer flexibility for calls, even if that means you need to be camera-ready bright and early. Here’s a good example from our experience: we landed an international story for our EU-based client, YouHodler, after facilitating a Zoom interview at 4 am ET, or 10 am in Switzerland, where the reporter was based. Lots of coffee did the trick, and our client was pleased with our international earned media success.
Localize the Pitch Copy
While most media report in English, they may also publish in other languages. To help ensure accuracy and save time on translation, it’s best to provide them with media materials in their preferred language(s). At TPG, we are partners in Worldcom, the world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations firms, with 115 offices employing some 2,000 staff in 105 cities across six continents. Thanks to this important partnership, our agency is able to offer multilingual support depending on the market. Lastly, it’s important to remember that even if your pitch is in English, you may want to make some adjustments in wording to sound more like a local. For example, while the English language is the same in the United States as in the United Kingdom, the dialect and style are vastly different. While international reporters don’t expect US PR professionals to mimic the way they speak, being aware of spelling differences, punctuation, and different definitions of classic words is important.
Understand Local Trends and News Cycles
What’s Italian college students’ favorite pastime? Which skincare brands are top-of-mind for work moms in South Korea? To craft strong pitches, you must understand what local reporters and their audiences care about, rather than just feeding them whatever you assume they should know. The right local intelligence can make the difference between a story that lands and one that’s ignored. In a campaign targeting the LATAM market, our agency planned to target reporters covering capital markets. However, after consulting our local Worldcom partners, we understood the key issues each country’s audiences cared about, and thus, positioned the client as experts who could dive into these specific topics. While not all the pitches ended up as published stories, the story angles sparked genuine conversations and garnered international media connections.
Pitfalls to Avoid
DO NOT Rely on AI
AI is great for mundane chores, but it should be critically fact-checked when using for international pitching. While AI-powered integrations are available in almost every search engine and media intelligence platform, it can produce inaccuracies due to flawed LLM models. For example, users have flagged that Google’s AI-generated search summaries contain mistakes, and ChatGPT has been known to prompt users to double-check facts to avoid blunders. Therefore, in your pre-outreach research of the local media landscape, culture or market, always look for information from trustworthy sources or experts instead of just grabbing a few lines from the “AI Overview” that pops up below the search bar. In the case of researching materials in foreign languages, also don’t rely on AI translators. The best practice is to always fact-check and ideally seek a human’s input.
DO NOT Assume One Pitch Fits All
Platforms like Muck Rack and Cision have made it easy to email thousands of reporters within a few clicks. However, without proper personalization, your pitches won’t get more attention than regular spam emails. What’s worse, reporters may block your future emails after seeing too many irrelevant pitches. So, slow down. Spend time reading the reporters’ recent stories and social media posts, check out their notes on preferences, and add a personalized hook in your email copy. It can be a quick post-vacation greeting, a sincere “Congrats on your recent promotion,” or a one-line feedback on their latest work (“I just read your story about…”) followed by the “meat” of your pitch. These details do get noticed, and from there, you may start a lasting relationship.
DO NOT Ignore Local Expertise
Yes, ChatGPT and Google are very resourceful, but local PR professionals know the unspoken rules and cultural sensitivities that can make or break a story. When we help clients run international PR and marketing campaigns, we always ensure the strategies are built on a full understanding of the local media landscape. The investment in seeking local PR insights will go a long way. To sum up, the rule of thumb is never to make assumptions. Instead, think from the reporter or editor’s perspective and from there, make their job easier for them.
The Bottom Line
International media relations are about trust, just like domestic PR. But going global requires understanding audiences in context—language, culture, timing, and trends. Brands that combine a global strategy with local nuance become credible sources anywhere in the world. At The Pollack Group, we help clients build stories that resonate in every market, driving awareness, credibility, and growth across borders. If your brand is ready to expand internationally, don’t leave it to guesswork. Let’s talk about how we can make your global story connect locally and power your success worldwide.
