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The PR Report
Strategies & Actions
April 2006
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Landing A1 of The Times
Of “All the News That’s Fit to Print,” what elevates a
technology story to The New York Times’ front
page? Corporate Ink has landed 2 front-page
features on cyber security in the last 8 months,
featuring iDEFENSE and StrikeForce. While
editors ultimately decide, reporters advocate for their
stories. Like company executives, reporters want
to see their names on page A1. Understanding what
they need to pitch stories to their bosses gives you a
better chance at the prestigious placement – and the
business that can arise from it.
Where Tech Fits
The Times’ Page 1 typically leaves room for
one or two feature stories daily. This means
technology
competes with lifestyle, entertainment and a variety
of 'soft' news. To pass the front-page litmus test,
tech stories require:
- Financial impact. Quantify the dollars.
The
more money lost, the
stronger your story. Tap third-party experts for
compelling data; then support it with a compelling
case for how technology helps.
- Emotional impact. The best stories
evoke
drama and tension – whether it’s fear, pain, revenge
or reconciliation. They focus on people, not widgets
and Windows®. Identity theft is the ideal example:
Readers relate to victims, demand answers from their
banks and retailers, and want solutions.
- Details. Reporters follow the
classic 'show,
don’t tell' model, and the more they can show, the
more gripping the story.
- Plain English. Tech companies love their
TLAs (three-letter acronyms) and new buzzwords.
Sometimes, words outside of everyday
conversation are required to tell the story. Yet, the
simpler the concept, the more likely The Times
is to
bump it to Page 1.
- A sidebar angle. Editors envision how
the
story will fit on a page, what other news is running
that day and what can be added online. Pitching a
sidebar – even if it appears in the interior jump –
elevates the story and gives vendors more
opportunities for coverage. Case in point:
StrikeForce Technologies got a 5-minute online
interview defining keyloggers in conjunction with a
Times front-page article on keylogger-related
identity
theft.
- Availability and flexibility. Like any
business
press story, companies need to be prepared for
multiple interviews, last-minute questions, fact-
checking and immediate availability. The keylogger
story ran on a Monday and required StrikeForce’s CEO
and CTO to answer questions on Sunday night.
Front-page stories come together when everything
falls into place. While companies can’t control most
of what happens in the world overnight, successfully
managing the opportunity can make the difference
between landing on page A1 or inside the business
section. Both are nice. Page 1 is better.
Evangelizing a Market
In one year, Open
Ratings moved from being one-of-
several providers of ‘clean data’ to the industry’s
authority on managing supplier risk. The transition
was remarkably swift – culminating in Open Ratings’
recent acquisition by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), already
a strategic partner, in March.
Of course, planning was underway long before the
story became public. The biggest driver was market
pressure; Open Ratings’ historic business, providing
reliable data about suppliers, was at risk of becoming
a commodity. It also targeted a tactical buying
audience, rather than the CFOs charged with
mitigating corporate risk.
Timing Is Everything
Mitigating risk showed all the signs of becoming a
boardroom issue in early 2005. But most companies
focused on SOX or catastrophic events, and didn’t
yet realize that unexpected shortfalls at a small
supplier could bring even the biggest global business
to its knees.
That’s the story Open Ratings set out to tell – and
the market it intended to own. It was the only
company that could consistently and accurately
predict supplier performance woes, long before they
occurred – giving customers time to get back-up
supply lines in place, and help key vendors avoid
trouble.
It hit a huge need. A single story in
InformationWeek,
showcasing an Open Ratings customer, defined ‘best
practice’ – and quickly led to several calls from
Fortune 1000 companies. Out in the field, competitors
were dogged by our coverage, with prospects
consistently pulling out articles and news releases,
asking these companies what they were doing to get
ahead of this critical sector.
Here’s how we helped Open Ratings create the
market for supply risk management – and become a
de facto leader:
The Briefing Campaign: We invested in
relationships, briefing editors and reporters, as the
first move in educating the market. We knew stories
would follow – and seeded each briefing with a
singular story that mapped to their publication. 80
percent of the briefings led to industry-defining trend
stories, where Open Ratings was a key player.
Speak Where It Counts: Industry
conferences carry real clout. Our mandate was to
make Jim Lawton the voice of Risk Management – and
a speaker at the three biggest supply chain events.
Because we made the issue an industry driver,
Lawton was invited to speak at Supply Chain World,
National Manufacturing Week and ISM, where vendors
almost never appear. We also booked several local
round-table events.
Money Talks: We focused on the demons
that worry big companies, but that supply chain
practitioners didn’t always know how to define. When
appropriate, we used ‘bad news’ to make the story
crushingly real to the media, who didn’t understand
the dimensions, either. Hot topics: A spate of high
profile bankruptcies that were directly tied to poor
supplier performance.
Analyst Advocates: Sometimes, only one or
two industry analysts 'get it.' We invested time and
resources to enlist their support and endorsement –
and we let them know they were our exclusive
partners. We intentionally shared the thought-
leadership mantle, and benefited when big reports
called the market in our favor.
Three Simple Words: Supply risk
management. This tagline is clear, concise and jargon-
free. We seized every opportunity to brand it as our
own. That’s what the industry calls it, too.
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In Our Corner
"We've worked with other agencies, and wanted to
step up our visibility. An analyst we respect
recommended Corporate Ink very highly -- and they
proved themselves in the first meeting, with their
understanding of our industry, and showing us how
PR will tie to our business goals. The team delivered
valuable coverage within the first 30 days. I fully
expect Corporate Ink to set a new standard for PR
inside our company."
—Andrea Soltysiak, VP Marketing, Procuri
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DEMO: The ‘Biz Press’ Event
DEMO – one of the industry’s longest-running big-
ticket events – still has the chops to merit the high
entry price.
Where else can you find the senior tech writers,
editors and columnists from The Wall Street
Journal, BusinessWeek, USA Today,
Forbes, Infoweek, Newsweek,
PC Magazine, PC World, CNET and at
least a few broadcast networks all in one place?
Better yet, with a drink in their hand and interested
in your product.
Our client, StrikeForce, landed coverage in The
New
York Times, USAToday, The
Washington Post and
more than a dozen other outlets as a result of the
show – and lined up great relationships for the launch
of an upcoming consumer security product.
So – is DEMO for you?
This twice-yearly event is still considered ‘the’ launch
pad for new tech products – though it’s less
recognized than it was in the 1980s, when the event
itself made as much news as the products launched
there. It’s still a plum event, because of the
unparalleled opportunity for high-caliber business
press coverage.
For exhibitors, the $20,000 entry fee is steep enough
to merit serious budget discussions. Like most
launches, deciding to do it is just the beginning. A
major challenge is mastering the main event: a 6-
minute live demo on the big stage, with your image
projected on two massive screens. Your challenge:
demonstrate your product with enough content and
flair to stand out from everyone else in your
category. (After awhile, the presentations begin to
sound alarmingly alike.)
DEMO’s producers get credit for creating a clubby
event with a level playing field. This year, 1,500
companies pitched and just 60 or 70 were chosen –
an intentional mix of well-funded and bootstrapped
start-ups, and a smattering of new offerings by major
players. Once in, everyone is considered worthwhile
and every booth is similarly small and stark – with
minimal giveaways. The agenda showcases the demo
sessions, which pull in most of the show’s attendees.
The majority then troop right into the big tent, where
exhibitors can demo their products one-on-one.
In truth, the media may be the show’s top draw, and
DEMO’s organizers protect this franchise tightly.
About 75 reporters attended the February event,
with a heavy showing from the IT press, as well as
the mainstream business media and lesser-known
outlets.
A very serious embargo on news prohibits leaking
DEMO announcements before the show, though with
careful planning, it is possible to score coverage on
opening day. The list of attendees is released only at
the show, and it’s ‘against the rules’ to pitch
reporters expected to attend ahead of time.
This hands-off policy helps preserve the seemingly
casual nature of the event itself, along with the
outdoor cocktail party, the propensity to bump into
people everywhere you turn, and the unfettered jam
session. This after-dinner gig is still considered one of
the social highlights – though it ends earlier than it
used to.
What to Know:
Hot companies can take home a DEMO God award,
which is celebratory at the event, but probably not
worth much elsewhere. The takeaways from
2006:
- Have a great 15-word pitch at the
ready: You will meet people everywhere. Be
ready to give them your top message, fast.
- Know how to break the rules
safely: You can get coverage to appear the day
of the show, but not before. This helps drive other
press to your booth.
- Everyone’s blogging: Almost all
reporters file news daily from the show; some,
especially the tech press, file throughout the
day.
- Consider hiring a DEMO coach to create
a power-packed demo: This is a visual event,
and playing to the audience is key. It is very, very
different from an analyst or customer presentation.
(PowerPoint is off-limits.)
- Have a backup way to showcase your
product: Demos do crash, and there are no
extensions. When your six minutes are over, they’re
over.
- Work the press, just like you would
anywhere else: Identify the people you want to
meet. Find them. (They will come over to your booth,
especially if you escort them.)
- And for your six minutes of fame:
Remember you’re playing to the big screen, so the
rules of TV apply. Leave the white shirt in your
suitcase. Use small gestures. Don’t pace. Consider a
prop, if it makes sense. And connect with your
audience.
Exostar Taps Corporate Ink
Exostar LLC,
tapped Corporate Ink to highlight how its secure
collaborative network is transforming the Aerospace
and Defense industry, by
linking the world's leading defense contractors with
more than 20,000 suppliers.
Exostar is a joint venture of five of the biggest
names in the global
defense market: The Boeing Company, BAE Systems,
Rolls-Royce, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.
The win continues to deepen Corporate Ink's portfolio
in the security,
supply chain and the federal markets, including
Guardium,
Procuri, SoBran and StrikeForce Technologies.
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Clients 
