Media Slide [Showcasing coverage with impact]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
Our client Vanessa asked us an interesting question while we were working on her presentation:
“Is it okay to just drop all my press coverage logos on one slide and move on?”
Our Creative Director answered:
“Only if you want it to be forgettable.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on dozens of decks throughout the year, and here’s something we’ve observed. The media slide is almost always treated like an afterthought. People drop in some logos, maybe throw a headline or two underneath, and hope the slide says, “We’re legit.” But here’s the thing. It doesn’t.
What it actually says is: We didn’t try very hard, but hey, at least someone out there wrote about us.
In this blog, we’ll talk about why the media slide matters way more than people think, what most presenters get wrong about it, and how to use it to actually make an impact, not just fill space.
The Problem with Most Media Slides? They’re Lazy.
Let’s be brutally honest for a second. Most media slides look like someone googled "Forbes logo PNG" at 11:57 PM and slapped it next to a couple of blurry screenshots. Maybe there’s a date. Maybe a headline. And then, boom, on to the next slide. It’s a visual sigh.
The logic behind it is understandable. “We’ve been featured. That should be enough.” But that’s the bare minimum. Coverage doesn’t equal credibility unless you know how to present it.
A bunch of logos doesn’t tell how your product was perceived. It doesn’t tell what angle the journalist took. It doesn’t tell whether it was a passing mention or a full feature. Without context, a media slide is just a trophy shelf with no story.
And this is where most founders and marketers miss the point. A media slide isn’t just about showing off. It’s a trust-building device. It says, “Don’t just take our word for it—here’s what the world is saying about us.” But instead, most slides quietly mumble, “We got mentioned, we swear.”
And here’s the kicker. When your audience sees the same recycled media slide format over and over, it blends into the background. You lose the moment. You miss the punch.
So, if you're going to include a media slide, it better earn its keep. Otherwise, it’s just noise.
How to Make a Media Slide That Actually Works
1. Curate Like a Pro, Not a Fan
You don’t need to show everything. In fact, showing everything dilutes the good stuff. We’ve seen decks with 30 logos squeezed onto one slide like it’s a sticker collection. It looks desperate.
Instead, ask yourself: Which three to five pieces of media coverage tell the most powerful story about us? Not the most impressive names. The most strategic ones.
Let’s say you’ve been mentioned in Forbes, TechCrunch, Business Insider, and a niche trade publication that goes deep into your specific industry. Most people would ditch the niche name in favor of the big shiny logos. That’s a mistake.
The niche piece probably gives more context, detail, and industry validation than all the others combined. That’s the one your investors or enterprise clients will actually care about. Pick that.
Your media slide isn’t a résumé. It’s a highlight reel. And smart curation makes the viewer think, These people know how to tell their story.
2. Add Context, or Don’t Bother
Let’s talk about context—because this is where 90% of media slides flatline.
Just slapping a logo on the slide tells me nothing. You’ve got the BBC logo there. Great. What did they say about you? Were you featured in a 30-second blip or a full-on documentary? Was it about your product or a broader trend where you got name-dropped in the sixth paragraph?
Without context, that logo means next to nothing.
We recommend adding a short pull quote or headline below each media mention. Something that makes it clear why the piece matters.
But don’t overdo it. This isn’t the time to paste entire paragraphs of coverage. One line is enough, if it’s the right line. Pick the quote that delivers the punch. The line that makes someone raise an eyebrow. The line that makes your company look legit.
And yes, it helps if you actually design it properly (more on that later).
3. Group It with Intent, Not Chaos
Media slides often look chaotic because there’s no structure. It’s just a floating collage. But if you group mentions by category, type, or relevance, you can guide the viewer’s attention in a much more intentional way.
Here are a few smart ways we’ve grouped media in real decks:
By Theme: "Product Launch Coverage", "Founder Stories", "Market Validation"
By Audience: "Mainstream Press", "Tech Media", "Industry Journals"
By Outcome: "Increased Sign-Ups", "Investor Buzz", "International Interest"
Now you’re not just throwing media at the wall. You’re shaping a narrative. You’re showing that you didn’t just get coverage, you got the right coverage at the right time.
It creates a flow. And people pay attention to flow.
4. Use Design Like It Actually Matters (Because It Does)
We’ve got a hard truth for you: people judge your brand based on how that media slide looks.
If it looks cluttered, they assume your messaging is cluttered. If it looks like a screenshot mess, they assume your product probably is too. If it looks like you dragged and dropped logos into a PowerPoint template from 2004, they start questioning how much you really care.
Design is not the cherry on top. It’s the plate you’re serving your credibility on.
So here’s what actually works:
Consistent logo sizes. Resize everything so no logo looks like it’s screaming louder than the others.
Clean grid or layout. Group mentions in rows or columns with even spacing. Avoid anything that looks like a sticker bomb.
Readable quotes or headlines. If you're using pull quotes, make sure they’re legible even from the back of the room.
Contrast and hierarchy. Use contrast (like bolding or color) to draw attention to the most important bits. What do you want them to notice first? Make that element do the talking.
Brand alignment. Your media slide should feel like an extension of your brand—not a random page stuck in the middle.
You wouldn’t show up to a VC meeting in mismatched shoes. Don’t let your slide show up like that either.
5. Tell a Tiny Story on the Slide
This part is underrated but powerful: a great media slide tells a micro-story in the middle of your deck.
You can sequence the coverage to show your company’s rise. For example:
First, we launched quietly and got attention in our niche.
Then, the tech media picked us up.
Next, mainstream press started noticing.
Finally, international coverage followed.
That’s a story arc in a single slide. Even if you don’t spell it out, people feel it. It’s subtle, but it adds a layer of narrative that makes your deck more memorable.
Another way to do this? Use time-based structure. “Early buzz,” “Launch reaction,” “Post-launch momentum.” This shows progress. It shows traction. It shows movement. And movement equals interest.
6. Don’t Fake It. Don’t Stretch It. Don’t Overclaim.
We shouldn’t even have to say this, but here we are.
Please don’t list media logos for places where you got a backlink, a press release repost, or some AI-generated content you paid for. Audiences are sharper than ever. They know the difference between earned media and engineered fluff.
And if someone digs into your coverage and realizes you were mentioned for five words in a giant roundup post? You’ve lost credibility, not gained it.
It’s better to have three solid, real media pieces that actually say something about your product than to inflate your slide with 15 meaningless logos.
Because again, the point isn’t just to prove you were seen. The point is to show how the world responded to what you built.
7. Understand Where It Sits in the Narrative
Your media slide shouldn’t pop up randomly in your deck. It should be part of the story.
Think of it like this:
If you’re using the deck to pitch investors, the media slide supports traction and social proof.
If it’s a brand partnership deck, the media slide supports audience trust and relevance.
If it’s a keynote or conference deck, the media slide builds credibility before you dig into your ideas.
In each case, what the slide means changes slightly. So make sure the coverage you include reinforces the message you're pushing in the broader deck.
Throwing it in as filler? That’s when it becomes noise.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.