From the Web to AI: Larry Weber’s Four‑Decade PR Legacy and Why Storytelling Works
It takes vision not only to create groundbreaking technology, but also to help the world understand it.
Building credibility, positive public perception and awareness for technology brands that have stood the test of time requires far more than advertising campaigns alone.
Larry Weber understood that principle in the early days of public relations, helping architect the communications strategies of many of the world’s most recognizable technology brands.
For nearly four decades, the tech PR firm he founded in the late 1980s became known for using strategic communications to publicize product launches and explain complex technical topics for major clients such as AOL, Panasonic and Microsoft.
He made clear in an exclusive interview with EIN Presswire that his firm at the time, The Weber Group, recognized the power of storytelling through the media.
Weber’s influence on the industry at large, with many having since followed in his footsteps, stems from his focus on building relationships with journalists who cover relevant beats.
During a conversation, Weber, who is widely regarded as a pioneer in tech PR, reflected on several of the earned media placements and front-page stories that defined his career.
One example Weber pointed to was a story on the front page of the Wall Street Journal about how baseballs for the major leagues were handmade in Haiti for one of his clients.
“I had an idea, a creative idea. I studied the front page of the Wall Street Journal, and there’s a section that’s called an A-hed. It was always an offbeat, funny factual story that was part business,” he said. “I was already speaking the journalist language. I said, ‘Larry, it would be perfect on opening day of baseball if there was an article on how baseballs are made.’”
“He wrote a wonderful piece,” Weber said of the Wall Street Journal reporter with whom he had built a relationship. “They even had an artist cut a ball in half and showed how the ball was made. ... Everybody loved the story.”
Weber mentioned that his firm worked with Steve Jobs and that he remembered meeting a young Mark Zuckerberg. “It was called The Facebook back then,” Weber said. “They were at the same office that my company had been in on University Avenue (in downtown Palo Alto, California).”
He ended up staying in touch with the Facebook communications team, offering them ideas. They had an internal comms department at Facebook at the time, Weber noted. “They wanted some ideas on how to be a good technology company as they were starting to grow.”
Weber said: “One of the ideas we had was, why wouldn’t you have free internet connections around the world, especially for third world countries? I ended up staying in touch with the communications people... and would give them ideas.”
After a decade of building a portfolio of major tech clients and handling media relations as well as crisis communications, he sold The Weber Group in 1997. By then it had become the world’s largest technology public relations firm at the time.
But he did not stop there. He later launched other PR agencies and today continues to provide PR counsel to a range of major companies such as John Deere, LG Electronics and Boost Mobile.
He wears many hats at Racepoint Global, a boutique PR firm he founded, where he serves as chairman and CEO.
Over the years, Weber has also added another title to his resume: author of seven books, including a best‑selling book that guides businesses in transitioning from traditional advertising to online marketing (Marketing to the Social Web in 2007), social media and AI.
His books are available at Barnes & Noble, Books‑A‑Million and Amazon.
Weber said he’s now working on a new book related to artificial intelligence, specifically focused on trust and reputation after the emergence of Large Language Models. “I want to write about trust and how it’s changed.”
And another passion of his, Weber noted, is speaking to rising PR professionals at colleges and universities.
Students and others who attend his speaking engagements hear from a PR veteran who helped turn early HTML and interactive marketing into modern communications practice. Weber has spoken at dozens of universities like Harvard, Boston, UCLA, to name a few.
“Whenever I have a thought that would make a good lecture, it’s usually based on my current book,” he said. “They’ll get a whole classroom filled up with all these smart people to listen.”
Editor’s note: This interview was conducted during a Zoom conversation and has been edited for length, clarity and brevity.
Issac Morgan, EIN Presswire: You’ve witnessed PR evolve from traditional media to the web, then social media and now generative AI. Which transition has been the most disruptive?
Larry Weber: “Most people would probably say the large language models are the most disruptive, but I would say the actual World Wide Web was the most disruptive.
“It became sort of like electricity... I still hold that that’s one of the major impactful moments that changed everything around information and media.”
Issac Morgan, EIN Presswire: Journalists receive hundreds of pitches every week. What actually makes a pitch stand out today?
Larry Weber: “I don’t believe it’s changed that much... I think the hard work isn’t the actual pitch. I think the hard work is the actual homework the PR person needs to do to be relevant to that journalist.
“I want to know the last three years of everything Issac’s written... What are his favorite things to cover, what are the angles he likes to use... so before I come up with the pitch for my client, I know what is possible that Issac would be interested in.
“The right approach is doing your homework, being honest and direct, being creative, helping that journalist out.”
Issac Morgan, EIN Presswire: Are there any PR trends you think most businesses are underestimating right now?
Larry Weber: “I think what they’re underestimating is the earned media that large language models [rely on].
“They’ve got to understand the impact that their Wikipedia profiles, their Reddit communications, their YouTube content, their LinkedIn content...they gotta be all over that content and be smart about it, consistent about it.”
Issac Morgan, EIN Presswire: If a startup only had a budget for one communications initiative this quarter, where would you invest it?
Larry Weber: “I would always focus on an influencer program. You’ve got to get those five or 10 people who hold the keys to credibility who are gonna comment and write and talk about what this company’s innovation is, what it is doing… If your budget is low, I would focus on an influencer program.”
Issac Morgan, EIN Presswire: If negative news about your company starts spreading online, what should leadership do and avoid doing?
Larry Weber: “The first thing is, before that happens, you should be consciously building what I call media equity or earned media equity. You should be building a position of strength around why you’re a good company and why you’ve built quality products, so when something does happen, you have sort of a group of supporters that are going to say, ‘Well, wait a minute.’
“Only one person should be a spokesperson. You shouldn’t have a lot of people. You should be honest and open directly, and you should have regular times that you’re answering questions and being open and direct. And also admit if you’re wrong.”