Crackle PR

Crackle Communications is a public relations agency that works with good companies only. We know communications, social media, branding and creative services cold. We’re a remote-first PR agency built for now, with deep experience connecting stories to their audiences. Warning: we’re transparent, picky and fearless.

Founder 

March Communications

I ran the marketing, communications and new business functions for award-winning PR agency March Communications. With offices in Boston and Chicago, March is an integrated tech PR firm that works with innovative brands determined to change their respective industries for the better.

Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications

Matter Communications

At Matter, I was charged with telling the company's unique PR and social media story via traditional marketing and public relations channels, as well as via an array of social media platforms. I'm also a driving force in attracting new business via content marketing, and working closely with all teams and agency principals throughout the pitching process at this rapidly growing PR firm north of Boston, with offices in Providence, RI, Portland, OR, and Boulder CO.

I wholly subscribe to Matter's philosophy: "Do the right thing." That means ensuring client delight, stoking staff engagement and doing good works in the local community. This mantra has resulted in the company growing year-over-year for the past several years. Cool.

Vice President of Marketing & Communications

SHIFT Communications

I led the Agency's coast-to-coast marketing & public relations efforts to stimulate brand awareness, leverage client successes, and gain significant market share nationally.

I was also a creative force in attracting and winning new business across a broad cross section of consumer and technology accounts. My high-level public relations and social media ideas compelled prospects to choose SHIFT.

Client experience: AOL, Sony Online entertainment, Logitech, Club Med, Bing, Virgin Mobile, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, H&R Block, Akamai, Nuance, Yelp, Novell, WebTrends, Wells Fargo, Oakley Sunglasses, Quiznos, etc.

I've done it all: journalism, PR, community manager, marketing and sales. Fluent in all things social media.

Vice President Marketing

Director of Sales and Marketing

Sterling Hager

I performed account management for a number of Boston and silicon valley technology companies.

Account Manager

Waterbury Republican-American

I was a general assignment reporter covering human interest stories, politics and current events. My byline regularly appeared on page one of this Pulitzer Prize -winning newspaper.

General Assignment Reporter

Founder of Crackle. PR Agency leader. Big idea guy. Stellar writer and content creator. Media trainer & counsel to the C-Suite of B2B & consumer brands.

In my 20+ year PR career, it’s the *genuinely kind, decent people* who have staying power. 🏆

The self-absorbed a-holes have a funny habit of (poof! 💨) disappearing quickly in tough times. 

Being a *nice person* is the soft skill I value most as a founder. 

That’s not just LinkedIn wisdom:

I built my entire team on it. 

If you know you know ✌️

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations 
#bekind

Parry Headrick

There’s a reason this tweet was so popular:

It’s true. 

School lied to us 🤥 

In PR, in business, in life: be succinct or be irrelevant. 

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations 
#business

The real world *hates* long-winded writing. 🙄

But we spent our college years trying to *sound smart* by peppering our prose with fancy words to impress our persnickety professors…

Like we were standing atop Mount Olympus in flowing robes. 

You know you did. 

We all did. 

But nobody taught us to explain big hairy ideas in a way that even grandma can understand. 👵 

Nobody told us that in PR, in marketing, in business — brevity is king. 

Be succinct or be irrelevant. 

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations

Do. 

Or do not.

There is no try.

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations

I was a hard news reporter before switching to PR. 

That’s a big job, folks. 

Journalism is huge grind under harsh deadlines and constant scrutiny. 😩

It’s not for the faint of heart. 

But I’m glad I was a reporter *first* because it gives me unique insight into their challenges and needs as a PR leader. 

I’ve walked a mile in their shoes. 

I’ve been on the receiving end of *garbage pitches* and follow-up bordering on harassment. 

And it sucks. 

That’s why I’m out here every day preaching about having *empathy* for key audiences. 

For example:

 In my view “spray & pray” media relations is just another way of saying “I don’t respect your profession or your time.”

Yet that’s how so many PR folks *still* operate. 

Sorry, but that’s just the truth. 

And that’s a shame, because the public relations industry is *so much more sophisticated* than throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. 🍝 

I wish every young PR pro could shadow a reporter for a week. 

✔️So they could see how many *craptastic* email pitches flood their inboxes daily. 

✔️So they could see how often the phone rings with wildly off target follow-up. 

It would be eye-opening. 

Just as being a reporter was truly my best education about how to be a better messenger and *steward* for my clients. 

This is the way ✊


#publicrelations 
#journalism

Happy Friday to everyone *except* company execs still asking PR pros “which reporters are you friends with?” 

That’s not how PR works. 🙄

We aren’t the mafia and we can’t call in “favors.”

It’s the story, stupid. 

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations 

👇

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but…

PR is expensive because it’s *hard AF* to do well. 

Thats it. 

That’s the whole post. 

This is the way ✊


#publicrelations 
#pr

Corporate workers can do their jobs *fully remotely* if they have: 

1. A laptop & Wi-Fi 💻 

2. Good Java ☕️ (optional) 

3. A boss who understands it’s not “where you are” but *what you do* that matters. 

voilà! 

This isn’t hard.

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations 
#workflexibility 
#remotework 

👇

Happy Friday to everyone *except* PR pros who love to brag about their “deep relationships” in the media. 🙄

Why? 

Because you force our *whole industry* to dance like monkeys over the silly “which reporters do we know” question. 

FACT: we *all* know reporters. 

FACTIER FACT: that doesn’t mean Jack sh*t.

It’s the STORY, stupid!

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations 

👇

Is it a blessing or a curse? 

Dunno. 

But for most PR pros I know? 

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations

FACT: The PR industry takes a lot out of you 🫠

It’s rewarding, sure, but it’s also a rough business, with *a lot* of spinning plates. 

Frankly, it’s a lot to keep up with 😵‍💫

My lovely bride is also a PR agency leader, and is probably the hardest-working (and most patient) mother I know. 

It’s crazy, really, that she can even function with me and our two boys always up in her grill 😬

That’s why it’s so important that we *prioritize time off* together. 

To travel 🇫🇷

To de-stress.

To reconnect. 

To remember why the hell we’re working so damn hard in the first place. 🤔

It’s easy to burn out in PR. 

It’s easy to forget to step away for a while. 

Don’t forget to prioritize YOU.

You matter, too. 

You do. 

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations 
#mentalhealth

Hey LinkedIn fam!

I realize I’ve never intro’d myself to you — so let’s fix that:

Hi, I’m Parry Headrick. 👋

Founder of *modern* tech PR agency Crackle PR. 

I’ve been in PR 20+ years. 

Started in Boston as a hard news reporter — and later parlayed those skills into PR Account Executive gig. 

Smartest move, ever IMHO

In the intervening years I worked my way through the agency ranks to VP Marketing. 

I helped grow *three* of the largest tech PR agencies in North America. 

I also served as the *lead PR pro* for those leading PR shops. 

Guys, I’ve seen a lot 👀

The good, the bad, the ugly. 

You could make a case that I literally helped shape our industry into what it is today. 

I spent more than a decade in San Francisco launching and counseling a who’s who of Silicon Valley tech darlings. 

And I’m damn proud of that. 

All of it. 

But that’s only part of my story. 

During the pandemic (like a lot of people) I stared at the walls of my home and dared to dream. 

“What if I grow *my own* agency?”

“What would I *do differently* if I had the chance?” 🤔

So I took account of all of the things that *needed to change* in the industry I helped build: 

*No more chasing every dollar
*No more working with a**holes 
*No more expensive office overhead
*No more bait & switch
*No more staffing accounts with junior talent 
*No more spray & pray pitching
*No more dickering with RFPs that don’t include budget
*No more flying teams anywhere to pitch business 
*No more tracking time in 15-minute increments
*No more reliance on press releases as a PR strategy 
*No more bullshitting prospects about which reporters we’re friends with as if that matters 🙄

The more I thought about what needed to change, the more convinced I was in the opportunity. 

Enter Crackle: 

A national (but fully remote) agency that only works with *good* companies. 😇

Imagine that? 

In the 2+ years since our founding we’ve worked with great people and clients like Stord and ON24 and Talkwalker and Senet and BDEX and Pigeon and many more. 

And I’ll spend my remaining days on this planet evangelizing for the PR industry. 

We can be smarter. 

More nimble. 

And we can do it all by leading with *empathy* for our key audiences. 

It’s nice to meet you all 😃

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations 

👇

FACT: My reporter buddies won’t write about my clients without a *good* story. 

That’s not how PR works. 🙄

Like, at all. 

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations
#b2btech

FACT: A *strong PR story* is much more important than which reporters you know. 

That’s it. That’s the whole damn post.

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations

In 2023, here are my top 5️⃣ traits that separate *good* PR pros from the truly *great* ones:

1. Stellar writing. ✍️ 

Good writers are plentiful. 

GREAT writers are unicorns. 

In PR, great writers are also *versatile* writers. 

They effortlessly toggle between crafting killer press releases to pithy social media posts to SWOT analysis to byline articles. 

Great writing is my #1 requirement for PR pros.

Full stop. 🫳 🎤 

2. Ability to process info quickly. 🧠

Great PR pros digest large amounts of info and connect the dots to current trends and storytelling opps. 

Lots of PR folks have knowledge. 

But *knowledge isn’t wisdom*, and you need wisdom to find creative pathways that others can’t see. 

That’s how you guide clients to higher ground.

3. Charm. 😁

Yes, charm!

Look, PR is as much about sales as it is writing and strategy. 

The old adage that “people buy from people they like” is absolutely true in public relations. 

Charming = interesting. Charming = energetic. Charming = persuasive. 

Can you be a solid PR pro without being charming? 

Of course. 

I’m just telling you what I think. 

4. Aptitude for failure. 😬

Say what? 

PR people who aren’t trying new things aren’t going to move the needle. 

Trying new things *necessarily means failing* sometimes. 

The best PR people aren’t afraid to take calculated risks, and know how to fail quickly and pivot to better ideas. 

PR people who balk at doing things differently might be competent, but they rarely *inspire* clients.

5. A bias for empathy 

Great PR people have respect for their audiences.

They respect journalists. 

They can *read the freaking room* and act accordingly. 

They feel things, ya know?

This list might not work for you. 

But for Crackle PR?

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations 

👇

When your tech PR team is *literally* all over the country… 

From San Francisco to Denver to Boise to Boston and everywhere in between … 

This is what “coming to the office” once a week looks like. 💻😊

Granted, remote work *isn’t* for everybody. 

By a long shot. 

But for Crackle PR?

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations 
#b2btech 
#workflexibility

No alternative text description for this image

I used to be a reporter. 🗞

Some of my close friends are still reporters. 

And guess what?

They’d *never* write about my clients without a strong story. 

And I’d *never* pitch my friends garbage. 

That’s not how PR works. 

And it’s damn sure not how friendship works. 

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations

👇

FACT: When you’re in PR, sometimes it’s best to dodge the whole “I don’t think PR is what you think it is” convo altogether. 

If you know you know 🥷 

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations

Twitter agrees with me that PR pros with *journalism backgrounds* are particularly savvy in comms.

Do you agree?

I’m not say *every reporter* would be great at PR. 

Don’t @ me. 🙄

I’m saying there’s a strong correlation IMHO. 

Journos FTW 🙌 

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations 
#journalism

Listen, press releases have their place in a PR strategy, BUT:

I’d argue that 80% of ‘em could be a quick blog or a LinkedIn post. 

I said what I said. 

But if cranking out press releases is your prinary “PR tool” you just can’t help yourself, right? 🤷‍♂️

When all you have is a hammer… *everything looks like a nail*. 🔨

In 2023, please be more selective. 

Reporters damn sure will be. 

This is the way ✊

#publicrelations

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