Meet the Team: David’s Journey into B2B Tech PR
In the world of Public Relations, diving into a niche like B2B technology PR isn’t just about having the right skills—it’s about having a true passion for the tech scene and the clients that you represent. Recently, I caught up with David Mieny, an Account Director at Neo PR, to chat about his experiences, insights, and what fuels his passion in the industry. From his early days wrangling celebrity events at shopping centres to envisioning April O’Neil from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as his PR sidekick (cowabunga!), David has plenty of interesting stories and advice to share. Read more from David himself below…
What sparked your interest in B2B technology PR, and what drew you to this specific niche within the industry?
“I started my career at a retail consumer PR agency years ago. As part of a team we promoted many shopping centres and factory outlet shopping centres. This included organising small events to drive footfall traffic with celebrities; running radio and TV competitions; arranging fashion features and launching several shopping centres. It was a fun time and place to cut my teeth in PR. I learnt a lot about working with regional publications and running promotions. But, I eventually got to a point where I wanted more from a career in PR. While I was grateful for my first job, and enjoyed that period of my life, I wanted to tackle more “meaty” or interesting topics. So, one of my colleagues at the time suggested I explore tech PR as an option. And once I did, I knew I had found my niche. I love working in tech PR. It’s been interesting to build brand awareness for many types of technologies, and it’s fascinating and inspiring to see how our clients are shaping their industries and solving business problems.”
Can you share some insights into how you build and nurture strong relationships with clients in the tech PR industry?
“I’ve worked with many wonderful people and personalities over the years. We all have our own unique style or an approach that works for us based on who we are – our strengths and weaknesses and so on. Extroverts, introverts and ambiverts can all achieve client success in their own way – and over the years I’ve managed to observe and appreciate all of their strengths and weaknesses. I’ve learned to appreciate how I am different and where I think I fall short; but what I’ve tried to do is integrate the best of everyone I’ve worked with into how I operate, striving to model how I do things or communicate based on other strong PRs I’ve worked with. So, I’ve tried to bring that with me throughout my career and share some of that mindset and appreciation of other people’s styles and temperaments with some of my colleagues where it is appropriate – while still holding onto core basic principles that should be implemented to ensure that campaigns run smoothly.
“However, there is one golden rule for me: do what you are supposed to do on the account, work the “PR process” to create the opportunities and deliver the results. For me, this is how I earn a strong relationship with my clients. This is what matters and what I believe contributes towards building lasting client relationships – alongside that, it’s important to celebrate joint success with our clients. So, we also try our best to meet with our clients in person over lunch and just appreciate each other in that way too.”
What do you find most rewarding about your role as an Account Director?
“I love many parts of our campaigns and life at Neo PR…
“I take great pride in seeing that a portfolio of accounts is hitting its targets – and that they are contributing towards brand awareness and lead generation. So, I love when our “big picture” looks good and is solid in terms of account delivery. Additionally, I love seeing my colleagues succeed. Be it with winning new business opportunities; developing their writing; creating great media opportunities; or just growing with maturity and taking on more responsibility; and running accounts successfully. I’ve also found involvement in new business outreach rewarding, especially when something lands and adds value to the business.
“Increasingly I love learning about how we at Neo PR can improve and grow – something I feel committed to and passionate about. While I’ve written a lot of copy in my life, I still get a kick out of when I help articulate a client’s message or position on a topic well in a way that they appreciate, which generates awareness and which brings forward leads. Equally, I love seeing our team “work” and achieve media opportunities in important publications for our clients. But, in some respects, I’m happy to sit behind others these days and guide towards success. I’ve written a lot of copy, managed countless ops and achieved more coverage than I can imagine. Giving attention to nurturing others and giving them a hand up by sharing my experiences has given me renewed drive in my role as an Account Director – this is even more rewarding when your co-workers have a great attitude, are talented and work incredibly hard. Something to appreciate and praise!
“Culturally at Neo PR, I love that we all respect each other and are willing to learn from each other, and appreciate that we are all equally strong in different ways. There are tasks that some colleagues do way better than I ever could – I stand amazed and wish I could be better in many ways on some activities. We’re also a “cracking” and funny bunch of really decent human beings. In many ways none of this client success, team development, or culture would be possible without the people that currently work at Neo PR, nor would it be possible without strong, sophisticated and mature leadership and direction from our founders – Ash and Jo. They’ve created an environment where we can all muck in; have fun; work hard and achieve results and celebrate together.”
Outside of your professional life, what are some of your hobbies or interests that you believe contribute to your success in the world of B2B tech PR?
“I’m recently married, so I am just loving spending time with my wife searching out the best coffee in different parts of the UK. Otherwise, I love watching international rugby; getting ‘hands on’ myself in grappling matches (e.g. jiu-jitsu, wrestling, judo); and attending my local church and mucking in there where appropriate. I think there is a lot that we can learn from all these sorts of activities that help shape us, both personally and professionally.”
On a more lighthearted note… If you could choose a fictional character to be your PR assistant, who would it be and why?
“April O’Neil from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). She could help us develop stories for our clients – plus we’d get to meet the heroes in the half shell; eat New York Pizza slices; and say words like “cowabunga!”. Or, on a more serious note: Jane – the fictional character in Orson Scott Card’s Ender series. She is an energy based artificial sentient creature called an Aiúa that was placed within the ansible network (basically an internet) by which spaceships and planets communicate instantly across galactic distances…. that being said, Jane is somewhat similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Gemini or Microsoft Copilot. Otherwise, I’d happily settle for my colleagues, we are all growing and working well together, achieving strong results for our clients, and having fun along the way too.”
What’s the most unexpected skill or talent you’ve discovered about yourself while working in PR?
“Before I started in PR, I never thought I’d be able to write. So I’ve learnt that skill for our clients. That being said, my colleagues are far more talented than me at this! So I continue to grow.”
Share a memorable team bonding moment or office prank that still brings a smile to your face
“Neo PR has a wonderful way of helping us to create shared experiences around good food together. We’ve been spoiled with Chef’s-table Christmas lunches from Michelin star chefs, trips to Dubai; or training weeks away where we all came together to share great ideas and have a lot of fun! Aside from that, we just have a laugh in the office when we meet fortnightly. That’s pretty cool too!”
Describe your perfect PR pitch in three emojis
📊 📖 ⏰
“My perfect pitch would involve a timely, data-driven story. By ticking those boxes, you can improve your chances of securing good coverage, and offer something of genuine interest to the journalists you’re targeting”.
Keep an eye out on the Neo PR blog over the coming months for more insights, stories and laughs from the rest of our team! To learn more about what a dedicated B2B Tech PR agency can do for you and your business, get in touch on prworks@neopr.co.uk
