FTX's 7-part media playbook, and what it can teach other founders

SBF did all the wrong things with money, but all the right things with press

Just satire, believe it or not. Credit: @amasad

FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried enjoyed better media coverage than any other company I can think of. Both the flattering tone and the sheer quantity of articles about the company and its founder were wildly out of proportion with their actual merits.

Now, coverage like that doesn’t just happen. Reporters are not known to be pollyannish about ambitious new tech and crypto startups — in fact, the common view among founders is that the media is too hard on tech. For FTX, the glowing coverage was the result of a sustained campaign to charm and persuade reporters, strategically orchestrated by SBF and his team.

This is not a post about where journalists fell short (and to be fair, it wasn’t just reporters who succumbed to that charm). This is a post about how SBF won over the media, and how other founders can use the same tactics to get better coverage for their own companies.

1. Tell an interesting story

SBF offered what

Brian Morrissey

described as “a story too good to check.” Sam was a young nerd on a big mission, with colorful quirks that peppered every article. People love unlikely heroes, and the “disheveled mogul saving the world” narrative touched a lot of journalistic erogenous zones. Each article about SBF was lively and entertaining, which attracted more readers and more subsequent articles.

Lesson: Ditch the robotic corporate speak and show some personality. Don’t just give people dry facts (like announcing a product update) but make it part of a bigger story that invites emotional investment and intrigue (like how this new product came to be against all odds, or how it brings the human race closer to a 200-year lifespan).

2. Money talks, and writes

Between the sponsorships, ad buys, investments, and straight up donations, SBF splashed money across much of the fourth estate. Some handled it properly (e.g. Semafor’s prominent disclosure), but not everyone is equally scrupulous, and common sense would suggest at least some writers would have been reluctant to antagonize someone holding loose pursestrings.

Lesson: I don’t recommend trying to use money to compromise reporters — a good reporter will see through it, and you’ll only end up irritating and offending them. Instead, build influence more ethically and less expensively. You can offer other incentives for positive collaboration, such as scoops or access to people and information.

3. Flood the zone with content

SBF was always doing something bold or expensive or just weird, and FTX had a constant stream of new investments or launches or partnerships. There was so much stuff happening at all times that it was hard to keep up, much less dig deeper. Most importantly, the drumbeat of announcements meant that they were usually on offense, putting things out into the world and proactively establishing their narrative, rather than on defense, reacting to incoming queries.

Lesson: Be on offense as much as you can. You don’t have to be announcing something every other day, but you should maximize the stories you’re telling versus stories being told about you by others with their own agendas. The latter is inevitable, but your job is to change the ratio in your favor.

4. Credibility loves company

SBF always surrounded himself with credible people in highly visible settings. His panel appearance alongside Bill Clinton and Tony Blair is a great example, or his interview with the famous Princeton ethicist Peter Singer. It established a perceived peer group of heavy hitters, which lent him (in this case, unearned) seriousness and trustworthiness.

Lesson: Be selective about the settings in which you appear and the people you appear alongside. If you’re having trouble getting invited to the conferences you should be at, build relationships, grow your company, and keep trying for those aspirational opportunities. Don’t settle for accepting invitations for low-value 8-person panel talks that erode your credibility and prestige. Choose your perceived peer group carefully.

5. Education > advocacy

With an esoteric topic like crypto, the demand for information is much greater than the supply of people qualified to provide it. SBF talked to everyone all the time to explain and demystify crypto. He offered briefings to reporters, on background and on the record. He gave talks and hosted events. He chatted with policymakers and influencers to inform their understanding of the crypto industry. All of this resulted in his being viewed as an authority figure and a sort of Sherpa for crypto. So when he said great things about his own company, they were hard to disentangle from the rest of the seemingly true and objective insights he provided.

Lesson: Don’t just nakedly shill your company or product. You’ll gain more trust and respect by being an honest broker, giving a broad view of the industry and helping people understand how your company fits in to the big picture.

6. Be the human mascot of the company

This is the most important point of all: the great press for FTX all stemmed from SBF’s personal engagement and disarming vibe. Tech journalist

Eric Newcomer

has noted that SBF was personally reachable for many reporters - no phalanx of handlers.
As Jeff John Roberts, who wrote the now iconic “Next Warren Buffett?” Fortune cover story about SBF, said later:

“I was charmed by his nerdy affect as SBF, unkempt in a T-shirt and bushy hair, as he twirled a fidget spinner…it was all bullshit, of course, and I didn’t see through it.”

Lesson: People trust people, not companies. It may be hard for introverted founders to hear this, but every founder has a responsibility to be the human mascot for their company. All companies take on the reputations of their leaders. If the founder is trustworthy, then so is the company; if the founder is a technical genius, then the company’s products must be worthwhile; and so on. And I wince to repeat the hackneyed advice to “be yourself,” but the truth is that your genuine personal traits (whether volubility, optimism, shyness, humor, even awkwardness — whatever you got) are usually the best way to win over reporters — or anyone. You have to show up as a leader. Don’t outsource this to your PR team.

7. Looks matter

SBF’s physical appearance was a major part of his persona. Clothes make the man, and in this case, bad clothes seemed to make a good man. SBF’s sloppiness was one of his strongest assets; he used it to build a personal brand of earnestness and candor, which he deployed with great effectiveness on behalf of FTX.

Lesson: Just as with SBF, your look will shape your brand — think Palmer Luckey’s Hawaiian shirts, John Fetterman’s basketball shorts, or Lex Fridman’s suit and tie. However, it only works for them because it’s authentic! A corporate talking head showing up in a new hoodie and pressed jeans might as well be Dukakis rolling up in a tank.

FTX may have used this playbook to fool the world, but the tactics themselves are smart, effective, and ethical. Please use them responsibly!