Make IT in Oradea, an initiative dedicated to supporting early-stage tech founders in Central and Eastern Europe, launched a reimagined version of its Bright Labs program, an intensive 100-day bootcamp designed to accelerate the development of high-impact digital products. To increase the program’s visibility and attract relevant international applicants, the organization partnered with JUNE to deliver a targeted PR campaign and, instead of presenting Bright Labs as a conventional accelerator or incubator, the campaign framed it as a next-generation lab.

As part of our earned media strategy, we ran a highly targeted European media pitching campaign designed to raise awareness for the Bright Labs program across relevant innovation ecosystems. We conducted in-depth research on dozens of journalists from outlets such as Tech.eu, EU-Startups, Sifted, and other niche innovation platforms. Each outreach message was carefully personalized to match the journalist’s coverage area, editorial tone, and recent work.

The project attracted the attention of leading international tech media, securing features in Tech.eu, EU-Startups, and The Recursive, consolidating both the program’s credibility and Oradea’s positioning as an emerging, founder-friendly innovation hub.

Services

Targeted Research & Mapping:
The campaign was grounded in over 20 hours of detailed research focused on identifying relevant journalists across the European startup and tech media landscape. Each contact was carefully selected based on their coverage area, editorial tone of voice, and alignment with the program’s mission.

Earned Media Approach:
JUNE implemented a fully personalized European media pitching campaign designed to raise awareness for the Bright Labs program across relevant innovation ecosystems. The outreach was primarily one-to-one, complemented by selective distribution through a newswire, ensuring authentic and context-aware engagement.

Personalized, One-to-One Outreach:
The campaign targeted specialized media segments across the EU and CEE regions, as well as innovation-focused outlets in Moldova and the Baltics. We tailored each content piece to appeal to all the audiences interested in tech innovation, founder support, and public-private collaboration.

Narrative Positioning:
Messaging framed Bright Labs as a distinctive, founder-first acceleration experience while reinforcing Oradea’s image as an emerging tech and innovation hub. Each storyline was shaped to resonate with startup journalists and European innovation stakeholders.

Outcome

+10 Startups enrolled in the program as a result of the PR campaign, including 5 international teams from Poland, Estonia, France, Italy, and the UK.

+95 International Press Pickups via international newswire distribution service

+3 Tier 1 International Media Features (Tech.eu, EU-Startups, The Recursive)  

+21 National Media outputs in Romania  

+15+ Organic Social Media Shares (LinkedIn, Facebook, X)