You are a tech brand or a consumer company with a clear PR brief. You’ve narrowed your shortlist to two names: BLASTmedia vs KEF Media.
Both are specialists. Both have strong track records. But they operate in almost completely different areas of public relations.
That difference is everything. Getting it wrong means paying for expertise your brand doesn’t actually need.
The BLASTmedia vs KEF Media question is one that many growing brands ask when they reach the point of needing a PR specialist rather than a generalist.
The BLASTmedia vs KEF Media comparison is, at its core, a decision between inbound-focused B2B SaaS media relations and broadcast-first consumer PR production.
One agency was built to help software companies earn their way into trade press, analyst coverage, and enterprise buyer decision cycles.
The other was built to help consumer brands reach mass audiences through satellite media tours, video news releases, and broadcast television placements.
Neither is wrong. But only one is right for your specific brief at this time. Let’s break them down clearly, so you can make that call with confidence.
BLASTmedia: The Only US PR Agency Exclusively Dedicated to B2B SaaS
BLASTmedia was founded in 2005 by Kelly Hendricks in Indianapolis, Indiana.
From its earliest days, the agency made a deliberate and unusual strategic decision.
The descision was to serve only one type of client. Specifically, it positioned itself as the only PR agency in the United States exclusively dedicated to B2B SaaS companies.
That narrow focus defined everything about how BLASTmedia vs KEF Media plays out as a comparison. Where most agencies try to serve many sectors, BLASTmedia spent nearly two decades building unmatched depth in a single one.
In 2024, BLASTmedia was acquired by PAN, a global integrated, brand-to-demand agency headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
The agency was subsequently rebranded as PANBlast, a wholly owned division of PAN dedicated to emerging and high-growth B2B SaaS brands.
BLASTmedia’s 40-person Indianapolis team joined PAN’s 170-person global organisation, giving PANBlast access to a wider range of integrated marketing services.
This included social media marketing, content marketing, paid media, and experience design alongside its core PR capability.
Founder Kelly Hendricks moved into an advisory role through the end of 2024.
CEO Mendy Werne became Managing Director of PANBlast, and EVP Lindsey Groepper continued leading business development and marketing.
BLASTmedia Key Facts
- Founded: 2005, Indianapolis, Indiana
- Current structure: PANBlast, a division of PAN (acquired 2024)
- Combined team: 40-person PANBlast team within PAN’s 170-person global organisation
- Parent HQ: Boston, Massachusetts, with distributed US and London teams
- Primary focus: B2B SaaS and AI technology, emerging to publicly traded
- G2 recognition: Ranked number one PR firm on G2 with the highest client satisfaction score
- Awards: Silver B2B Agency of the Year, 2021 Bulldog PR Awards; Public Relations Agency of the Year, 2021 Business Intelligence Group; six consecutive years named Best Places to Work in Indiana (Indiana Chamber of Commerce)
- Notable clients: Movable Ink, Model N, Mood Media, Litmus, Ceros, Clarabridge, TRIMEDX, Phenom People, Moz, Chorus.ai, Cheetah Digital
What BLASTmedia Does Especially Well
In any BLASTmedia vs KEF Media comparison, BLASTmedia’s defining strength is its sector depth.
The agency knows the B2B SaaS media landscape in a way that generalist or multi-sector agencies simply cannot replicate.
Specifically, BLASTmedia understands which trade publications B2B software buyers actually read when making purchasing decisions.
It knows the reporters who cover martech, sales tech, HR tech, and enterprise software.
It understands the announcement cadences that work in software, including funding rounds, product launches, executive hires, and customer wins.
It tracks the narrative angles that resonate with the analysts and enterprise buyers who influence SaaS purchasing decisions.
Additionally, BLASTmedia provides structured share-of-voice tracking, allowing SaaS clients to benchmark their media presence against direct competitors over time.
For companies in crowded SaaS categories where differentiation is a persistent challenge, this competitive intelligence is practically useful and genuinely hard to find elsewhere.
Furthermore, the PAN acquisition expands what BLASTmedia clients can access.
Beyond earned media, PANBlast clients can now draw on PAN’s social media marketing, content marketing, paid media, and experience design capabilities.
That integration makes the offering more complete for SaaS brands that need more than press releases to move buyers through a complex enterprise sales cycle.
BLASTmedia’s core services include:
- Earned media strategy and media relations for B2B SaaS brands
- Thought leadership campaigns and executive positioning
- Share-of-voice tracking and competitive media benchmarking
- Content marketing and contributed article placement
- Analyst relations support
- Crisis and reputation management for SaaS companies
- Integrated demand generation via PAN’s broader marketing capabilities
Read Also: Guyer Group vs Skyya: Consumer vs Enterprise Tech PR
KEF Media: The Broadcast PR and Satellite Media Tour Specialist
KEF Media was founded in 1986 by Kevin Foley in Chicago, Illinois, after he held account management roles at Burson-Marsteller and Ketchum.
Working at Ketchum’s Chicago office, Foley identified a gap in the market: no firm in the city specialised in the production and placement of video news releases, which were just beginning to emerge as a PR tactic at the time.
He launched KEF Media with one employee. Within months, the firm moved to its own offices and began growing steadily on the strength of its broadcast media production and placement capabilities.
By the early 1990s, satellite media tours had become a primary tactic, and KEF Media built its reputation around executing them efficiently, on budget, and with measurably strong results.
The agency relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, in the late 1990s and has been based there since.
Today, KEF Media is led by CEO Yvonne Hanak, a 22-year veteran of the firm.
In January 2025, KEF Media launched a dedicated entertainment division, appointing Kyle Smith as Director of Digital Content and Marketing and Jurena Cantrell as Vice President of Entertainment.
The new division builds on KEF’s existing work with film, television, and music industry clients, extending the firm’s broadcast PR capabilities into the independent artist and entertainment brand space.
KEF Media Key Facts
- Founded: 1986, Chicago, Illinois
- Current HQ: Smyrna, Georgia (Atlanta metro)
- CEO: Yvonne Hanak
- Staff: Approximately 30 to 38 dedicated broadcast, digital, and PR professionals
- Primary focus: Satellite media tours, virtual media tours, video news releases, broadcast PR, digital amplification
- Notable clients: Kellogg’s, Heineken, Symantec, Liberty Mutual, Bank of America, Nestlé, Disney, Mattel, DreamWorks, American Red Cross, Expedia, Hilton, Purina, Petco, Amazon, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Chime, Elizabeth Arden
- Olympic expertise: Award-winning broadcast work for Olympic sponsors across Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Athens, Torino, Beijing, London, and Sochi
- 2025 development: New entertainment division launched in January 2025
KEF Media Areas of Strenght
In the BLASTmedia vs KEF Media comparison, KEF Media’s defining strength is broadcast access at scale.
Specifically, the firm’s core competency is producing and placing satellite media tours and video news releases with national television and radio outlets across the United States.
A satellite media tour is a tactic in which a spokesperson conducts back-to-back interviews with local television stations, national morning shows, and radio programmes, all from a single production location in a single day.
When done well, a satellite media tour can reach millions of consumers in a matter of hours.
If done poorly, it generates low viewership placements and wasted production spend.
KEF Media has executed satellite media tours for over 35 years.
Its team of former TV and radio news professionals, PR account executives, and digital producers brings newsroom-grade production values to client campaigns.
That combination of editorial understanding and production capability makes it genuinely different from agencies that simply coordinate media logistics.
Furthermore, KEF Media applies what it calls a 3T filter to every campaign: topic, timing, and team effort.
The topic must carry genuine public interest weight. The timing must be calibrated to what media outlets need and when they need it. And the team effort must be unified behind a single execution plan.
This structured approach reduces the wasted media tour investments that happen when campaigns are pitched on enthusiasm rather than editorial logic.
It is also what makes KEF Media the stronger broadcast Strengthchoice in any BLASTmedia vs KEF Media evaluation, where consumer reach is the primary goal.
KEF Media’s core services include:
- Satellite media tours (in-person and virtual formats)
- Video news releases and broadcast content production
- Radio media tours and audio news releases
- Digital amplification of broadcast content across social platforms
- Media pitching and producer relationship management
- Event-based broadcast PR and spokesperson preparation
- Entertainment PR via its 2025 dedicated division
BLASTmedia vs KEF Media: A Direct Comparison
| Factor | BLASTmedia, now PANBlast | KEF Media |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2005, Indianapolis | 1986, Chicago |
| Current HQ | Indianapolis, within PAN global | Smyrna, Georgia, Atlanta metro |
| Primary model | Inbound, earned media, B2B SaaS focus | Broadcast PR, satellite media tours |
| Client type | B2B SaaS, AI technology, enterprise software | Consumer brands, CPG, entertainment, retail |
| Media targets | Trade press, business media, SaaS publications | TV networks, radio, morning shows, local news |
| Share-of-voice tracking | Yes, structured competitive benchmarking | Not a core offering |
| Video and broadcast production | Via PAN’s expanded services | Core competency, 35 plus years |
| G2 client satisfaction ranking | Number one PR firm | Not applicable |
| International reach | Via PAN’s London and US network | US-focused with international Olympic work |
| Best for | B2B SaaS, martech, HR tech, sales tech brands | CPG, retail, consumer health, entertainment brands |
Blastmedia vs KEF Media: Pricing Expectations
Before making the BLASTmedia vs KEF Media decision, understanding the cost structures of each agency helps set realistic expectations.
Neither BLASTmedia, now operating as PANBlast, nor KEF Media publishes pricing publicly.
Based on their respective positioning:
- PANBlast retainers for B2B SaaS PR programmes are estimated to start at $6,000 to $12,000 per month, depending on the scope of earned media, content, and demand generation integration.
- KEF Media project fees for satellite media tours are typically quoted per engagement rather than on retainer, with standard tours estimated at $15,000 to $40,000 per project, depending on production complexity, spokesperson requirements, and the number of placements targeted.
Both approaches represent meaningful investments. Both are appropriate for the client types each agency serves.
Who Should Choose Between BlastMedia vs KEF Media Agency?
The BLASTmedia vs KEF Media decision depends almost entirely on your audience and your media channel priorities.
Choose BLASTmedia, now PANBlast, if:
- You run a B2B SaaS company and need earned media in the publications your enterprise buyers actually read
- Your communications priority is building share of voice against SaaS competitors in a specific software category
- You want an agency that has been named the number one PR firm on G2, rated by real clients
- You need integrated demand generation alongside earned media, including content marketing and paid strategy via PAN
- You are at any stage from early-growth to publicly traded, and need a team that understands the specific cadence of SaaS news cycles
Choose KEF Media if:
- You are a consumer brand, CPG company, or retailer that needs to reach mass audiences through television and radio placements
- Your PR campaign centres on a product launch, seasonal moment, or consumer health message that benefits from spokesperson-led broadcast coverage
- You want a firm with over 35 years of satellite media tour production experience and deep relationships with national and local broadcast producers
- Your brand targets everyday consumers rather than enterprise IT buyers, and you need morning show and local news placements to move the needle
- You are in retail, food and beverage, consumer health, entertainment, or a related consumer-facing sector
Neither agency is right for you if:
- You are a luxury fashion brand seeking editorial prestige in print and digital lifestyle media
- You need crisis communications as your primary brief without a media production component
- Your brief requires international PR coordination across multiple markets and regulatory environments simultaneously