Tunes for Tech PRTunes for Tech PR
How Your Morning Music Choices Can Fire You Up For A Busy Day Of PR
Commuting to work can be a drag, especially if there aren’t any good songs on the radio. Psychologically, music is much more than just entertainment. Music can promote relaxation, boost energy, and even improve memory. Listening to upbeat music can increase task speed while both downbeats and upbeats can strengthen memory and improve cognition.
Working in PR, no two days are ever the same. Here at Caster, the day might start with research, writing, pitching to journalists, client calls and meetings, or a product launch. Rather than leaving my morning mood and mental performance to chance, I’ve decided to curate a strategic set of Spotify playlists. Like any good PR pro, I founded my project on research.
I interviewed the Caster Crew about what they listen to on the way to work and the effect it has on them depending on their main task that morning. Our team has a very diverse taste, so I was intrigued to discover their go-to Tunes for Tech PR.
We do a lot of content creation on behalf of our clients, including drafting social, writing articles and case studies, creating presentations and more. All this writing requires the right mindset, a good deal of energy, and little distraction. The Caster team opts for upbeat classics to get their creative juices flowing. While Megan listens to Led Zeppelin while drafting social media posts, Alex Gil loves an ‘80s playlist. Payton mixes it up between country music and a Happy Days playlist, while Lexie goes a little harder with the Red-Hot Chili Peppers. Across the team, it was a sampling of upbeat tunes that get us excited to tell our clients’ stories.
Research requires a different flow. We all dedicate time each day to staying abreast of industry trends. Digesting the day’s news requires a focused, analytical mindset. Megan approaches research with a calm and relaxed vibe provided by Tame Impala, while Hanna gets her day going with Taylor Swift—specifically, a playlist titled “Taylor Swift Bridges That Are God-Tier”. While these choices couldn’t be more different, they both bring a tranquil energy to research with purpose.
We also spend a significant portion of every day on media relations: pitching stories, sharing tips, orchestrating reviews, setting up briefings, and helping connect journalists to the people and information they need to cover their beats. Media relations is, at least in part, a networking activity: it requires energy, empathy, respect, and determination. Rachel gets in the “media resource” mindset with Harry Styles (specifically Treat People with Kindness), and Alex Crabb uses the Hamilton soundtrack to get herself feeling articulate and resolved on a heavy pitching day. Regardless of music taste, these tracks are sure to pump up the positive energy.
We research, write, and pitch every day, but launch days are special. We put so much passion and sweat into getting client news into the right hands; we can’t help but feel anxious as we watch coverage roll in throughout the day, respond to press inquiries, and update the launch report. The team gets into some with good bass and positive vibes to level out our press release nerves. From Alex Gil’s synthwave fave, The Midnight, to Payton’s favorite ‘80s rock hits, to Olivia’s early 2000’s Hip Hop, Caster is always looking for bold, up-tempo choices on launch day.
At Caster, our musical taste is as varied as the job we do. My research revealed that the Caster Crew uses some very different stimuli to access the same psychological effect. I’m going to have to engage in some trial and error create my perfect PR playlist. Putting some thought into the day have ahead can help make the dreaded decision of what to listen to.
As a takeaway, I am going to start thinking hard about how I feel about and react to stimuli throughout the day, and how I might be able to use music to better engineer my mental state. By setting a positive and constructive tone for the workday before I get there, I’ll able to get more done, stay on task, and make fewer little mistakes. Who knew a little bit of music could make that much of an impact?