Why The Kroll Company Exists
Media relations didn’t stop working.
People stopped doing it.
Over the past decade, much of PR has been replaced by automation, list scraping, and volume outreach. Reporters are flooded with irrelevant pitches every day, most ignored, many deleted instantly. Founders are often told that PR doesn’t work anymore.
But the truth is simpler.
Bad PR doesn’t work.
Real media relations is a skill. It’s built on judgment, relevance, credibility, and trust, not templates and blast emails. The best coverage comes from understanding what journalists care about, how stories develop, and where a company fits into the larger narrative shaping an industry.
Very few firms still practice it that way.
That’s where the advantage is.
Earned media is consistently trusted two to three times more than paid advertising. Nearly seventy percent of people actively avoid ads, while credible third-party reporting drives stronger recall, engagement, and conversion.
Credibility compounds across the business.
Ads convert more efficiently.
Sales cycles shorten.
Inbound improves before the first call.
Founder voices carry weight.
Earned media isn’t a “nice to have.”
It’s a growth multiplier.
The Kroll Company exists to practice media relations the way it was meant to be practiced: strategically, selectively, and with deep category understanding.
For 15 years I trained inside the world’s largest communications and marketing agencies, Edelman, Ogilvy, Ketchum, and Porter Novelli, where I learned how messaging, positioning, and media strategy actually work at scale, and where modern PR often breaks down.
For the past five years I’ve operated inside real estate, mortgage, and proptech, helping build and reinvent brands through multiple market cycles, narrative shifts, and moments of scrutiny.
Justin O’Neill / Principal
“I have spent a good amount of my time griping about bad PR people, so I think it's only fair to recognize the ones who really add value. Thank you Justin O'Neill for being a fantastic resource.”
- Andrea Riquier, USA Today Housing Reporter
What Sets The Kroll Company Apart
Deep, real relationships with reporters across housing, real estate, mortgage, and proptech.
Daily fluency in the market, not reactive familiarity.
We follow the industry the same way journalists do, tracking rate moves, regulation, lawsuits, funding rounds, product shifts, earnings calls, and narrative shifts as they happen.
Most agencies spend the first phase of an engagement getting up to speed on your category. That time comes out of your budget.
We start where others eventually arrive, with a clear understanding of the landscape, the players, and the narratives shaping the market.
We anticipate news developments rather than reacting to them.
You don’t need to explain the industry. We tell you what’s happening, where the narrative is moving, and how to position your company inside it.
Category expertise and media strategy working together is what turns coverage into influence.
Senior judgment.
Real market fluency.
Immediate execution.
No learning curve.
Category Fluency
How We Work
We operate a selective model by design.
We take on a limited number of engagements so the work stays senior, focused, and effective.
No account teams.
No junior layers.
No learning curve.
When we start working together, we move immediately.
Because we already understand the market you operate in.
And when we represent you, your credibility has our full attention.