S3 EP44: Digital PR for DtC Challenger Brands with Tom Chivers from Sabot

"I think Challenger brands are uniquely positioned to talk about things organically, talk about things quickly, and actually just produce stuff that journalists want to know about." — Tom Chivers

In this episode of Customer Growth Sessions, host Pat Ahern speaks with Tom Chivers, Co-Founder and Digital PR Specialist at Sabot, about why digital PR is a non-negotiable growth lever for D2C challenger brands in 2026. Tom breaks down the two core pillars of modern PR: reactive PR (capitalizing on breaking news cycles with fast expert commentary) and data campaigns (building original, robust studies to drive high-authority backlinks and search traffic).

The conversation dives deep into practical tactics for lean teams, including combining open-source public datasets to uncover unique angles, conducting effective media outreach without relying on creepy hyper-personalization, and recognizing when to transition PR from in-house efforts to an agency. Tom also highlights Sabot's 2026 AI Agentic Shopping Audit (conducted in partnership with Blend Commerce), detailing how e-commerce brands can optimize site schema and accessibility to capture traffic from AI agents conducting consumer shopping tasks.

Want to test your store's AI shopping readiness or check out the full research study? Read the Agentic Shopping Audit 2026.

To learn more about how Sabot builds search visibility and earned media for challenger brands, visit wearesabot.com or connect with Tom Chivers directly on LinkedIn.

Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about future episodes, and leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

Interested in seeing how Intergrowth could help you grow your business? Head over to intergrowth.com/cgs to book a complimentary strategy session with our team.