How to See Through a Company's Big Promises

PR is a powerful tool. It can shape how a business is perceived, capture attention, and build audience trust. But what happens when communication stops supporting a product — and starts substituting for it?

Communications expert Anastasia Kokhanyuk explains how polished PR can sometimes mask real shortcomings, how to recognize the warning signs, and why a compelling story can lead you astray.

When the Story Replaces the Substance

Startup — a word that conjures brilliant ideas and dreamers out to change the world. Apple, Microsoft, Amazon were all once that dream. The concept is seductive: come up with something innovative and the investment will flow. But all too often, behind the polished pitch decks and bold promises lie dubious projects, spectacular failures, and outright fraud.

Theranos: "One Tiny Drop Changes Everything"

Theranos promised a revolutionary technology that would transform medicine. The company claimed its Edison device could run up to 240 different tests from a single drop of blood, right on the spot.

Young founder Elizabeth Holmes spoke with the conviction of a visionary, and the press called her the next Steve Jobs. Investors poured more than $700 million into the company. In reality, the device could do none of what was promised. Instead of hundreds of tests, it could perform only a handful of basic ones — and for everything else, the company quietly used Siemens equipment with conventional venous blood draws.

Juicero: The $120 Million Juicer

Juicero positioned itself as an innovation in healthy living. The company sold a $700 gadget designed to deliver "the freshest juice possible" — high technology, 400 custom-engineered parts, enormous hydraulic pressure, and organic ingredient packs available by subscription.

The idea was simple: pre-cut fruits and vegetables were sealed in proprietary pouches and loaded into the high-tech press, which squeezed out the juice under intense pressure. The company raised around $120 million in funding. It later turned out that you could get the same result by squeezing the pouch with your bare hands — no machine required.

Nikola Motors: The Truck That Rolled Downhill

Nikola Motors promised to build a long-haul truck powered by hydrogen and electricity, along with a nationwide network of hydrogen fueling stations. The startup positioned itself as the Tesla of trucking. It went public before selling a single vehicle. At its peak, Nikola's market cap surpassed Ford's. Founder Trevor Milton confidently assured investors he had working prototypes, painting a picture of a clean-energy future and a new era of freight. In reality, building an actual product was the last thing on his mind.

In 2017, Nikola Motors released a video of its truck in motion. It later emerged that the vehicle had simply been towed to the top of a hill and left to roll down on its own. The camera was tilted to enhance the illusion of forward momentum. The footage was designed to make it look like the company had a functioning prototype.

Where PR Comes In

From a PR standpoint, these stories are a masterclass in how carefully crafted communication can shape perception. Theranos sold the promise of saving lives, Juicero sold a lifestyle and a sense of belonging to the conscious consumer crowd,

Nikola Motors sold the hope of a clean-energy future. Let's look at the techniques these companies used to create the social proof that a real product actually existed.

Storytelling. A good story hooks the audience and creates an emotional connection. It fires the imagination — listeners project themselves into the narrative, empathize with the protagonist, and bond with the teller. That bond builds trust and drives action.

In front of journalists and investors, Elizabeth Holmes would tell the story of an uncle who had died too young from cancer. She wanted to transform how diseases like his were diagnosed and treated — and she promised that her company would do exactly that. Holmes repeated this story like a mantra, again and again. She spoke of a "world where no one has to say goodbye too soon." Meanwhile, she said very little about the science and almost nothing about the technology itself, hiding behind trade secrets and the need to protect the company from competitors.

Working the media agenda. Nikola Motors slotted neatly into the ESG wave sweeping the world. With investment in ESG on the rise, companies were racing to attract ESG-minded investors, media, and consumers who cared about the planet's future. Against a backdrop of surging global interest in hydrogen energy among logistics companies, Trevor Milton made a steady stream of bold declarations about saving the planet — across mainstream media and social channels alike.

Careful framing. Deliberate word choices, deployed to construct exactly the right image. Juicero, for instance, was never marketed as just a juicer — it was positioned as a new mode of plant-based nutrition delivery, a cutting-edge platform for the raw-food lifestyle.

Strong visual identity. Big-stage presentations in the finest Apple tradition, polished design, striking creative, minimalism. Juicero wasn't just a juicer — it was a beautiful object in a well-curated kitchen, a quiet status symbol.

The visionary founder. A charismatic, supremely confident leader at the center of all communication — every interview, every PR campaign revolves around one person, with the team and the technology firmly in the background.

Media selection. Coverage placed exclusively in general interest, business, and lifestyle press. No independent testing, no peer-reviewed publications. Theranos, for example, never published findings in scientific journals and never disclosed how its device actually worked — which meant outside experts had no way to evaluate the technology or determine whether it functioned at all.

Theranos, Juicero, Nikola — different markets, but the same thread runs through all of them: powerful communication. Their shared narrative register: absolute confidence, zero doubt.

Why the Media, Investors, and Consumers Believed

People want to believe in progress, in bold ideas, and in simple solutions to hard problems. These cases show how a compelling story and the illusion of the future can eclipse the actual facts. A confident narrative stirs strong emotions — and emotions dissolve skepticism.

Investors, journalists, and ordinary consumers alike are susceptible to FOMO — the fear of missing out on the next big breakthrough. Media runs on speed and competition: a dramatic story sells better. And newsrooms don't always have the time for deep due diligence.

Theranos was tailor-made for the moment. A young woman in tech, a college dropout out to change the world in the footsteps of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates — how could you look away? First came the Fortune cover, then Forbes, then Wired, Inc., the New York Times, and even Glamour.

Every article, every cover, every LinkedIn post validated the status. Companies and their founders rode a wave of media momentum, while investors were drawn in by the headlines. The more respected names attached themselves to the story, the more press it generated. Everyone wanted to be part of it. That's how a snowball of credibility forms.

Where the Line Falls Between Ambitious PR and Manipulation

Ambitious PR tells the story of what a company will achieve, with an honest acknowledgment that the product is still in development. Fraudulent PR claims the product already exists — when it doesn't. The moment honesty disappears from communication, it stops being a promotional tool.

Warning signs that a project may lack real substance:

• When the communication is heavy on mission but light on specifics.

• When the emphasis is on visuals and emotion rather than data.

• When the company deflects uncomfortable questions by invoking trade secrets, and treats any criticism as a hostile attack.

In 2015, the Wall Street Journal published the findings of a months-long investigation into Theranos, accusing the company of falsifying results. The story sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley. Rather than refuting the claims with data, Holmes moved to question the legitimacy of the media outlet itself.

• When there are no independent tests or publications in the relevant specialist press.

In the Long Run, Transparency Wins

Theranos, Juicero, and Nikola Motors are a reminder that communication should amplify a product — not stand in for it. In the end, Holmes and Milton were convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison, and their companies collapsed. Juicero also shut down.

The "fake it till you make it" principle can work in the short term — but not over distance. In the long run, it's those who build their PR on facts, transparency, and respect for their audience who prevail. Confident communication can temporarily substitute for a real product, but confidence alone isn't enough: sooner or later, people start asking questions.

In today's world, the foundation of any successful PR strategy is building transparent, honest relationships. Trust is earned through consistent, reliable communication sustained over time. Stories grounded in credibility deepen audience engagement and loyalty — and strengthen brand resilience in a competitive market.