Marketing & Sales Roundtable PR & Market Success November 2005 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Marketing & Sales RoundtablePR & Market SuccessNovember 2005

11:30 – Introductions/Objectives

11:45 – PR and Market Success

1:15 – Summary and Wrap-up

Employee Meetings

Press and Analyst Briefings

Corporate Identity System

Trade Shows, Conferences

Speeches,Presentations,Employment Ads

Websites, Extranets

Brochures,Collateral

Sales, Channel Training

Message Architecture

Message Architecture

Positioning Strategy Statement

Positioning Strategy

• Positioning is communicated through strategy evidence-based messages that address market, technology, product and company elements

Market

Technology

Product

Company

• Prove Importance
• of the Market
• Customer problem/Company opportunity
• Segment characteristics
• Market size, growth

• Prove Viability of
• Technical Approach
• IP, Patents
• Standards
• Technology heritage

• Prove Business
• Benefits of Product
• Key benefits:competitive differentiator
• Total product elements
• 3rd party benchmarks, tests

• Prove Quality of the
• Company
• Funding, board
• Management team
• Domain expertise
• Customers, partners

Company Value Proposition

Education

Market Segment

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SALES

MarketEntryCustomer

Segment

Company

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Message Distribution Channels

• Public Relations is about relationships
• PR is every employee’s responsibility
• Reputation, image require constant care
• If you don’t position yourself, your competitor will
• What’s kept out of print is also a measure of success
• “PR” does not stand for Press Release

• Position company and product (s)
• Educate key market participants
• Establish credibility
• Gainawareness
• Capitalize on key customer/partner ‘wins’

• Need for objective, independent viewpoint
• Provides stronger communication to key audiences
• Ability to leverage strategic skills and support
• Implementation with newest ideas and tools

• Product or company launch
• Support ongoing marketing effort
• New financing
• Crisis management
• Employee communications
• Shareholder communications
• Community or government relations

• Define your objectives
• Construct an informational backgrounder
• Develop a list of agencies
• Meet the short list
• Executive team review of finalist (s)
• Make the final decision

Hire a PR Agency: 4 to 6 Weeks

Announce A Company and Funding: 4 to 6 Weeks

Announce First Product: 8 to 12 Weeks

Announce Market Awareness & Build Infrastructure Relationships:

Over 1 Year…

• Media relations
• Proactive efforts
• Daily communications
• Editorial calendars
• Analyst relations
• Trade analysts
• Financial analysts
• Writing
• Press releases
• Press kit development
• Collateral
• Investor relations/financial community expertise

• Planning & counseling
• Tailored messages
• Awards and reviews programs
• Tradeshow/special event support
• On-site support
• Press room staffing
• Speaker placements/industry expert profiles
• Press tour planning & support

• What business goal with this help us achieve?
• Whom do we want to reach and why?
• What are variables in the market environment? Competitors, market dynamics, socio-economics?
• How can we make this story broader? What else can we package together to make it stronger?
• Do we have a single, double, triple, homerun?

• There are finite number of stories to tell – take your cue from classic literature: Media narratives are told and retold
• How does your company fit into broader narratives?
• What character does your company play?
• How do you keep the spotlight?
• Who are the supporting characters?
• Deconstruct your potential story via past articles
• What was the theme?
• How prominent was the story?
• What assets did they use?
• Find your “in” connection
• Are there reporters that have personal connections?
• Is this a hot theme for a given publication?

• Situation analysis
• Competitive landscape
• Business goals
• Timing
• Audiences
• Messages
• Spokespeople

Three Months Before Product Launch:

(ANNOUNCE THE COMPANY)

• Identify and pre-brief key analysts
• Announce the company, funding, investors, executives, company direction

Two Months Before Product Launch:

• Develop market segment positioning and messaging
• Gain endorsement of analysts, customers and partners as references
• Conduct embargoed briefings with large pool of analysts and longer lead press

One Week before Product Launch:

• Conduct embargoed briefings with short leads and trusted bloggers

Announce Product:

• Including market demand, value proposition, differentiation, pricing, availability

Ongoing Visibility:

• Create opportunities for thought leadership, visibility, product reviews

• Straight news
• News announcements
• Earnings
• Industry trends
• Primer/overview
• Q&A
• Profiles
• Product stories
• Product overviews
• Product reviews
• Hits and misses

• Little to no preparation
• Misaligned objectives
• Inconsistent/unclear messages
• No follow through, no follow-on plan
• Assumption that “product” sells itself
• Inward focus – it’s about the market, not you!
• Delegating PR responsibility to junior people
• Focusing on window dressing vs. the content
• Events, announcements are tools, not end result

• Quote, story inconsistent with the positioning strategy
• Quote, story inconsistent with the message architecture
• Leak while a story is under embargo
• Unsubstantiated, non-credible claims
• Wrong magazine, etc. for the target market

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Company

Market Entry

Customer

Segment

Do articles and editorials reflect Company’s positioning strategy?

Is Company

management

viewed as an

information

source?

Do they

support

targeted

applications,

customers?

Does the

customer

understand

when to call

Company?

Do all Company

functions, divisions/

geographies

understand and

support the

positioning strategy?

Do reports reinforce

Company’s positioning strategy?

Are these groups references, testimonials for Company?

• Make yourself available as an expert “resource” and you become an ally to influencers
• Align company outreach to receptive audiences at the right time
• A well executed PR program can be your best lead generation tool

• Funding Announcement Package
• Guidelines for Creating a Speaking Opportunities Calendar
• Media Interview Guide
• Press Releases – Tips from Business Journalists
• Sample Public Relations Plan Outline
• New Media 101: Acquiring and Building Customer Relationships the “New Way” Marketing & Sales Roundtable

Sample Media Narratives: Business Features

Sample Media Narratives: Business Features

Sample Media Narratives: Business Features

Sample Media Narratives: Business Features

IT

• CIO
• CIO Insight
• ComputerWire
• ComputerWorld
• CRN/VARBusiness
• eWeek
• Information Week
• InfoWorld
• Intelligent Enterprise InternetWorld
• InternetWeek
• Network World
• Network Magazine
• Network Computing
• PC Magazine
• PC World

Technology

Linux

• Linux Today
• Linux Magazine
• Linux Journal
• Linux.com
• LinuxWorld Magazine
• Open Magazine
• OSDN Open Source Storage/Database
• Computer Technology Review/ Storage Management Solutions/ Storage, Inc.
• Data Storage Review
• InfoSTOR
• Mass Storage News
• Storage Magazine
• StorageWeek

General Science

• American Scientist
• Discover
• Scientific American
• Technology Review

Storage Onlines

• Byte and Switch.com
• Embeddedstar.com
• Enterprise Storage Forum
• IT Storage Online
• Mass Storage News
• Searchstorage.com
• SNIA.net
• SNWonline.com (Toigo)
• Storage Reporter
• Storage Supersite
• Storage World Web
• StorageAdmin.com
• StoragePipeline.com Storewidth.com
• Tidalwire.com (The Storage Reporter)

Government

• Defense News
• Federal Computer Week
• Federal Times
• Governing
• Government Computer News
• Government Computing
• Government Executive
• Government Product News
• Government Technology
• Homeland Defense Journal
• HPCwire
• Military Information Technology
• Signal
• Technology in Government
• Washington Technology

Life Sciences

• BioCentury
• Bio-IT World
• Biomedical Market Newsletter
• BioPharm
• BioScience
• Bioscience Technology
• BIOTECH
• Biotech Business
• BioTech Technology
• BioTech Week
• Biotechnology Focus
• Biotechnology News
• BioVenture View
• BioWorld Today
• Genome Technology
• Start-up/InVivo

Online/Wires

• Associated Press
• Bloomberg
• CNet
• Dow Jones News
• Gannett
• IDG
• Knight Ridder
• MarketWatch
• msnbc.com
• CNN.com
• Reuters
• Scripps Howard News Service
• ZDNet/Cnet

Top Dailies

• Wall Street Journal Times
• New York Times
• Los Angeles Times
• Washington Post
• Financial Times
• San Jose Mercury News
• Boston Globe
• USA Today

Business/Mainstream

• Business 2.0
• Businessweek.com
• Business Week
• Entrepreneur
• Forbes
• Forbes.com
• Fortune
• Fortune Small Business
• Newsweek
• Time
• U.S. News/World Report

Finance

• Daily Deal
• Private Equity Week
• Red Herring
• VentureSource
• VentureWire

• Arun Taneja
• Data Mobility Group
• EMA
• ESG
• Evaluator Group
• Gartner
• Gilder
• IDC
• Illuminata
• META Group
• Strategic Research
• Yankee Group

• Burton Group
• Cahners In-Stat
• Clipper Group
• Dell’Oro Group
• DH Brown
• DISK/TREND
• HTRC Group
• Hurwitz Group
• Infonetics Research
• InQuest
• IT Centrix
• NetsEdge Research
• Peripheral Concepts
• Pioneer Consulting
• Sageza Research

• Aberdeen
• AMR
• Datamonitor
• Forrester/Giga
• Current Analysis
• Technology Business Research
• The Storage Group

• BusinessWeek Dealflow
• SiliconBeat
• SiliconValleyWatcher
• Slashdot.com
• Silent Penguin
• Open Source Zone
• Engadget
• Boing Boing
• Gizmondo

• Om Malik
• Dan Gillmor
• Dana Blankenhorn
• Joi Ito
• Andrew Sullivan
• Doc Searls
• Wonkette
• Lawrence Lessig
• Davenetics

• O’Reilly Radar
• Above the Crowd
• Sandhill.com
• VentureBlog
• Web Standards Project
• InstaPundit

Public Relations Agency Selection Guide

• Public Relations is a key activity throughout a company’s lifecycle and is often its major marketing activity leading up to a company
• or product launch. Unlike other service agencies (graphics, web, advertising, etc.), a PR firm must have an in-depth
• understanding of a company’s products and strategies in order to represent it accurately to press and analyst audiences. Since
• your team will spend significant time and resources building the PR firm’s knowledge base, it will be well worth the up-front
• investment to select a firm with the right capabilities and personality fit.
• Start by phone screening 3-5 firms based on knowledge of your technology and product category, experience with companies of
• your size and maturity , and cost. Determine whether there is a potential competitors. Schedule in-person “capabilities
• Presentations” with 2-3 firms that meet your criteria.
• Selection Team: CEO, VP Marketing, Director of Marketing Communications
• Here are key questions that should be addressed during the search and selection process:
• Capabilities
• What is the size of your firm? Number of clients? Number of permanent employees vs. number of contractors? Where are they located?
• What is your experience in our technology, market, and product? Can you provide examples of your ability to understand technical concepts and products and communicate it in an accessible manner to a wide range of audiences?

• A. What are the backgrounds and experiences of the team that would work on our account? What other
• accounts do they work on? What other accounts do they work on? What % of time do they devote to each?
• (3-4 accounts should be maximum for an account executive)
• B. With which key influencers in our market do you have established and ongoing relationships?
• C. What is your level of experience in working with launching new technologies/products, helping create new
• markets, etc.?
• 4.Team structure. Who exactly is responsible for what facets of the program activities? Will there be one person
• Who will be our day-to-day contact? When will we meet that person?
• Provide three current or recent client references with requirements similar to ours.
• Why have you parted ways with clients and visa versa?
• Strategy Development
• How do you ensure that a company’s positioning and branding strategies and messages architecture and
• properly conveyed?
• 8. What do you think are the most important PR challenges facing our company?
• 9. How does your agency develop content and messages? How will the messages be articulated and approved?
• What does a typical message document like?
• 10. Describe your planning process. Will you begin working on programs prior to completion of a plan? What is
• a typical plan like? What time period does it cover?
• How does your firm integrate with your clients’ website and web capabilities?

• Strategy Development
• How will your agency address the issues associated with the fact that our market are global, that we have potential customers
• in several geographies outside of the U.S.?
• Programs and Tactics
• What kinds of press materials do you recommend?
• Do you recommend ongoing programs like editorial calendars and testimonials? How do you work with clients to get information
• for such programs? What are your requirements from us?
• 15. What is the approval process for programs and materials including press releases?
• 16. How would you schedule and conduct press tours and meetings?
• What do you think are the key publications, websites, newsletters, etc. that we should be targeting? Key analysts? Have you
• worked
• with them in the past? What were the results?
• 18. How should PR programs be measured? How will we know we’re successful?
• What is your experience with new media such blogs, podcasts, etc.?
• Billing and Fees
• 20. How do you bill for services?
• 21. Is there a retainer or will we be billed by project or on an hourly basis? If hourly, what are the rates of the various team members
• and what will their roles be? If retainer, what if we don’t require any services during the retainer period ? How do you handle client
• related expenses (especially travel)?

• Billing and Fees
• How are project fees approved? How are potential overages approved?
• What do similar companies spend on PR services? Including expenses?
• Key Questions a potential PR agency should ask you
• What is the current status of your product (alpha? beta?)?
• Do you have a positioning strategy statement? A message architecture? Have they been validated with customers,
• partners, press, etc?
• 3. Who are the company spokespersons? The level of their prior experience with the press?
• 4. Who within the company will manage PR activities?
• 5. Who are your publicly reference-able customers?

• Rosemary Remacle, Consultant

Market Focus

408-244-0412

rosemary@mktfocus.net

• Donna Sokolsky

Sparkpr

415-321-1862

donna@sparkpr.com