HOW WE MADE SATELLITE SPECTRUM A GLOBAL NEWS STORY
There are PR launches, and then there are PR LAUNCHES – and there aren’t many PR agencies who get to help launch a rocket carrying satellites into space. But in January 2026, 361 initiated a countdown on behalf of Open Cosmos, an Oxfordshire-based space tech firm, to blast them into the media stratosphere. Open Cosmos was to be awarded some of the world’s most valuable satellite “airwaves” to enhance space security for the UK and Europe from the Principality of Liechtenstein, having beaten foreign companies and billionaires for the opportunity. Open Cosmos would now harness one of the most sought-after satellite spectrum assets in low-Earth-orbit and 361 was tasked with announcing this news through a planned media strategy that would shape the narrative of the company moving forward – and as it walked onto the global stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Years of industry discussion around the filings had primed a niche but highly influential group of journalists. So rather than starting from zero, we knew we could identify and activate an already engaged media audience that were truly invested in the story. This allowed us to cut through instantly, land the announcement with credibility, and maximise impact for Open Cosmos.
The
CHALLENGE
361’s challenge was to make this story go as broad as possible meaning we needed to simply explain the technology and the importance behind the satellite launch, shaping the narrative to engage not just the techy / space trade media, but broaden it so it meant something to investors, customers and the general public.
What
we did
With Liechtenstein not due to announce that Open Cosmos had been awarded the filings, until the afternoon of 14 January 2026; this put 361 under strict time pressure to get the story out ahead of the rocket launch on 20 January 2026, whilst also ramping up visibility in the media before the client attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, which started on January 19th.
We needed to:
- Reinforce trust in Open Cosmos’ leadership and capability
- Position Open Cosmos as a UK-backed, fast-scaling European space leader
- Demonstrate how this was a rare and strategically vital milestone for space
- Its new constellation would deliver a uniquely European LEO telecoms constellation, designed from the ground up
- Show this would create 200 highly skilled UK jobs and bolster national security
To achieve this, we created a tiered exclusive-first media strategy to build the narrative:
- High-Value Sector Exclusives with publications/broadcast that mattered most with policymakers, investors, industry leaders, and the wider public. Targets included BBC, FT, The Times, Bloomberg, Space News, Via Satellite, Space Business podcast, Vaterland (Liechtenstein national media), La Vanguardia (Spanish national).
- Pre-Announcement Briefings by Rafel Jordá Siquier, CEO of Open Cosmos, to offer deeper insight into the significance of Priority 1 Ka-band and the global implications.
- Coordinated global press release distribution at the agreed ‘announcement’ time to a broad base of media – from national and international news desks, finance and investment desks to technology, government, security, and aerospace reporters.
This tailored engagement approach would ensure journalists were clued up on background, but under embargo, to produce high-quality coverage accurately reflecting the magnitude of the achievement to the right target audiences through sustained global exposure.
The
Results
The calibre of media we achieved for this announcement was out of this world.
The CEO’s aim was to be seen, primarily in UK national media. He got that and so much more with the FT, three stories in The Times, and prime-time broadcast interview on BBC News Channel’s Business Daily, landing on the morning he attended Davos. It was an amazing placement with Open Cosmos the ONLY commercial company featured in the 30-minute segment dominated by news of Trump and Rachel Reeves at the event.
Coverage also appeared in leading satellite trade outlets SpaceNews and Via Satellite, the Space Business podcast, and La Vanguardia, one of Spain’s foremost national newspapers, which published an interview with OC’s Spanish CEO. The news also made the front page of Vaterland, Liechtenstein’s national newspaper.
Bloomberg and BBC Radio 4 have also recorded pieces for broadcast in March.
The results in numbers were:
- 71x pieces of organic coverage including 14x UK/European nationals
- 12x pieces of organic social media from leading space / satellite influencers
- 11x dedicated interviews with Open Cosmos
- Total Organic Reach of 648,270,109
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