California native David Splivalo moved to Greater Des Moines with hopes of publicizing technology-driven companies located in a Midwestern marketplace that’s easy for nationwide publications to ignore.

Now, as the founder of Freestyle Public Relations LLC works from the top floor of the Midland Building to shine a spotlight on local and national clients, the 34-year-old business owner is looking to boost his own brand while convincing others that Iowa is worth a look.

“I saw it as an opportunity for a firm like mine, that literally was mimicking what a Silicon Valley firm is, to set up shop here,” Splivalo said. “At some point, we’re going to ride out this tidal wave that’s been building.”

In 2006, Splivalo launched Freestyle in Alexandria, Va., and opened an office in West Des Moines the same year. And as the 5-year-old agency signs new clients, he plans to draw on his West Coast connections to convince reporters and cameramen that Silicon Prairie, as Central Iowa is called in high-tech circles, has a lot to offer.

In addition to getting large media outlets such as The New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle to pay attention to mid-tier markets, Splivalo said he sometimes has to persuade potential clients to share their stories.

“I feel that this area deserves more attention than what it gets,” said Splivalo, who cut his teeth working at public relations firms in San Jose and Los Gatos, Calif., and Detroit. “One of the things I always hear when I talk to Iowans is, ‘We don’t like going around tooting our own horn.’”

For example, Splivalo said, he worked for nearly five years to talk Ames-based Iowa State University Research Park into launching a public relations campaign, which earlier this month led to articles being published in both the Des Moines Business Record and The Des Moines Register.

In addition to patience and persuasiveness, Splivalo said persistence is a key component to his media-relations prowess. In July 2010, his efforts landed information about and photographs of a Freestyle client, West Des Moines-based Caleris Inc., in a nearly 1,200-word article printed on the business pages of The New York Times.

“My model is shaped exactly after a Silicon Valley agency,” said Splivalo, adding that though he offers an array of communications services in markets such as sports and entertainment, he leaves the marketing and advertising to others. “We don’t have an advertising component to our business,” he said. “We’re not a marketing firm disguised as a PR firm. We do PR.”

Orlando, Fla.-based tXtBlocker and Los Gatos-based Smashwords Inc. – a publishing and distribution platform in the emerging e-book market – are among the most recent additions to Freestyle’s client roster.

Local companies Torsion Mobile LLC and Dwolla Corp., both of which are located in the same downtown building as Freestyle, have also been counted as clients.

“I actually brought them on as a pro-bono client,” said Splivalo of Dwolla, noting that former Freestyle employee Jordan Lampe accepted a position as that company’s director of communications in February.

“We are pleased to announce that Jordan Lampe has transitioned full-time to the team from Freestyle PR, whom we have been working with for more than a year now,” Dwolla CEO Ben Milne wrote in Feb. 25 blog post. “I was constantly blown away by the Freestyle team’s diligent and creative work, to which Jordan was an essential component.”

“There are plusses and minuses, especially from an agency standpoint,” Splivalo said of Lampe’s move, adding that his relationship with the communications director could lead to future opportunities if Dwolla ever decides to outsource any public relations work. “When they go work for a competitor, that’s how you build your business,” he said.

Now, as a greater number of local start-ups and established companies seek the limelight, Splivalo said he will continue promoting Central Iowa as he reinforces his commitment to the region.

“I was always interested in opening up a Midwest location,” he said. “From an operational standpoint, it’s much more affordable to do business out here than it is in Silicon Valley or out in (Washington, D.C.) or any other large metro area.”

Splivalo, who estimated his overhead costs run about 30 percent to 35 percent less here than they would in the San Francisco Bay area, noted that Freestyle’s 2010 billings were just less than $500,000. About 50 percent of the agency’s clients are domiciled outside Iowa.

And though technology-beat reporters in coastal areas may be more eager to interview companies located near their home turfs, Splivalo expects the rapport he’s built with working journalists in those areas to pay off.

“You can have the best technology in the world, but because you are in Iowa does not guarantee you anything,” he said.

“But if you have the best technology in the world and you’re from Silicon Valley, then you have a lot riding for you.

“I saw Iowa, I saw Des Moines, as a challenge,” Splivalo continued. “And I’ve always been interested in challenges in my career. You have to be that much more persuasive about trying to get that client in the door because of where they’re based.”