Dear BAMf Podcast: Episode 58 with Natasha Azar

Dear BAMf // Episode 58: Natasha Azar of Osage University Partners talks about positioning your client for top-tier publications.

In this episode of the Dear BAMf podcast, we speak with Natasha Azar, VP of Investor Relations & Marketing at Osage University Partners. She joined OUP’s university relations team in 2016 where her main focus has been maintaining and enhancing relationships with current and potential institutional partners. In this episode, Natasha answers tough marketing and PR questions from our listeners, including this one about securing top-tier placements and educating your clients.

Dear BAMf,

My client has an incredible product that has the power to truly change and improve lives. However, despite the fact their product is necessary, timely and relevant, we've struggled to secure a top-tier media coverage because the client has been reluctant to share facts, figures, compelling stories, and partner quotes. Do you have any suggestions about how to illustrate to a client, the importance of data and access to key players, if they want to land those big time placements, how can the PR team better support the client as well? So that the client doesn't feel like this is a heavy lift with no reward.

 

 

Listen now to hear how Natasha advises this writer to move forward.

Dear BAMf: Episode 58

Episode 58 highlights:

• (01:57) What is Osage University Partners?

  
  "Osage University Partners or OUP, as we're starting to go by is a venture capital firm based in Philadelphia with a singular focus on investing in companies, commercializing university research," explains Natasha. She gives a brief intro to the emerging partners and the strategies used by OUP saying, "We're actively involved in the university entrepreneurial ecosystems, working with entrepreneurs, the academic founders, and the students developing these novel technologies.

• (03:38) What are you most proud of accomplishing in the last 12 months?

  Last year, during the pandemic, OUP decided they wanted to put a focus on full-time faculty members that are using OUP stating, "These are people who are full-time faculty members or researchers who somehow find time in between teaching and publishing to start companies based on their research." The first batch is dedicated to women founders and Natasha is proud of OUP's dedication to bring awareness to these founders' challenges and success stories.

• (06:30) Do you have a favorite way to tell a story?

  Doing in-depth feature pieces on individuals is Natasha's favorite way to tell a story. Making a story current and relatable is essential for Natasha and this can be done by leaning in on customer stories and educating founders. "It's figuring out a way to explain what the company is doing that is interesting and relates to people. And it's understandable because the science can get rather complex." Research and academia often use nuanced language, so Natasha likes to get to the point with simple language that users and investors can understand.

• (09:20) How do we educate our clients on the importance of assets needed for top-tier placements?

  Setting the expectation for clients is key and Natasha expresses this saying, "Prepare to provide a unique data point, quotes from your leadership, or even make your leadership available to be interviewed by the publication, something that nobody else would have access to." Although a company may want an article explaining who they are and what they do, things are not so simple, "A vague statement about what your company is doing does not make for a compelling story. It doesn't get clicks, because there's no hook." Natasha suggests, "Be prepared to provide something such as a unique data point, quotes from your leadership, or even make your leadership available to be interviewed by the publication, something that nobody else would have access to."

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