To execute a successful public
relations campaign for Yehti, Springbok Technologies
recommends:
·
Building momentum through strategic messaging
delivered to industry analysts, customers and prospective customers, partners,
and the news media surrounding the company launch;
Springbok recommends the following media relations tactics
to support Yehti’s successful 2001 launch:
Messaging and Competitive Analysis
·
Springbok will assist Yehti
and its partners, customers, and vendors with development of key messages that
will enable Springbok to present Yehti, its
technology, and its service offerings to key media and analysts in a clear,
concise manner. Springbok will
collaborate with Yehti executives and partners to
detail customized messages for target audiences.
·
Springbok will research, summarize, and
regularly update Yehti on key competitors in a
comprehensive database.
·
Springbok will analyze and contrast competitor
messaging to refine Yehti’s strategic market
positioning and highlight competitive differentiators.
Industry Analyst Tour
Because Yehti is
launching a new product in a crowded market Springbok recommends an analyst
relations tour prior to the launch. An
early industry analyst tour allows Yehti to receive
feedback on its business model and market space as well as adapt its messaging
and service offerings to better highlight competitive differentiators.
·
Springbok recommends that Yehti
executives become regular attendees at targeted industry analyst conferences or
summits.
·
In addition to identifying analyst conferences,
Springbok will identify key analysts for in-person briefings or conference
calls. A sampling of targeted industry
analysts includes:
·
Aberdeen Research,
Kent Allen, Online Advertising analyst
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·
Forrester Research,
Bob Chatham, CRM analyst
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·
Springbok will work collaboratively with Yehti’s executive and marketing teams to develop and
evaluate strategic messaging for analyst presentations, and provide feedback on
the accompanying Power Point presentation.
·
Springbok will conduct presentation training for
Paul Kirchoff and other Yehti
executives in preparation for industry analyst briefings.
·
Springbok will coordinate analyst tour
logistics, including scheduling and confirming appointments with analysts, and
attending the Yehti briefings either in person or via
conference call.
·
Springbok will compile comprehensive background
materials on individual analysts and organizations that Yehti
will brief during the tour.
·
Springbok will regularly follow up with the
targeted analysts and their organizations to develop and leverage media and
industry opportunities.
Springbok recommends that Yehti enhance its efforts to attract venture funding with
specific tactics to raise awareness of Yehti’s
strategic market position. Tactics may
include:
·
Leveraging relationships with favorable analysts
to help Yehti develop a pitch that would appeal
specifically to venture capitalists.
·
Inviting venture capital investors to a Yehti-sponsored event that addresses the evolution of the
online marketing and advertising industries.
·
Encouraging a third party, such as the Austin
Software Council, to host a symposium on CRM, eMarketing,
and online advertising issues at which Yehti
executives could speak.
Springbok will identify and pitch appropriate
editorial opportunities in CRM, online advertising, eMarketing,
information technology, and Internet publications. A sample of the targeted publications
includes:
|
CRM |
Online Ads |
eMarketing |
I.T. |
Internet |
|
CRM – Customer
Relationship Mgmt. |
Ad Week |
DMN |
CNET |
Inter@ctiveWeek |
|
Customer Support Mgmt. |
Ad Age |
dmnews.com |
ZDnet |
InformationWeek |
|
Customer Interface |
American Demographics |
emarketer.com |
Smart Partner |
InternetWeek |
Springbok will regularly follow up with the
relevant reporters and editors at targeted media outlets to develop and
leverage coverage opportunities, including maintenance of a comprehensive list
of editorial calendar opportunities.
Reporter and Editor Relationship-Building
·
Springbok will research and develop targeted
lists for CRM, eMarketing, and online advertising
media outlets and industry analysts.
Springbok and Yehti will evaluate these lists
quarterly to reflect any changes in Yehti’s target
audiences or key messaging.
·
Springbok will develop and maintain
relationships with top CRM, eMarketing, online
advertising, and business media as well as industry analysts.
Trade Shows and Speaking
Engagements
·
Springbok will develop a targeted trade show
database outlining recommended trade shows at which Yehti
executives should attend, exhibit, or pursue sponsorship opportunities.
·
Customer Relationship Management/Support
Services Conference and Expo, May 2001,
·
Advanced Marketing Research Conference and
Exhibition, June 2001,
·
Customer Relationship Management Solutions,
July/August 2001,
Press Releases & Launch Plan
·
Springbok will create and distribute news
releases on strategic alliances, contracts, significant hires, and joint
announcements with Yehti’s partners and
customers. Early press release topics
may include:
·
Funding Announcements
·
Partner Announcements
·
Customer/Contract Announcements
·
Yehti Launch
Announcement
·
Executives/Board of Directors/Board of Advisor
Updates
Media Tour
·
Alene Weintraub, Business Week,
·
Gwendolyn Mariano, CNET,
·
Larry Tuck, Customer Relationship Management,
·
Mindy Charski, Inter@ctive Week,
·
Erika Brown, Forbes,
·
Jeff Sweat, Information Week,
·
John Schwartz, New York Times,
In addition to the ongoing media relations tactics
outlined in this plan, Springbok recommends that Yehti
develop and execute two specific public relations campaign following the
company launch in Spring 2001.
·
Privacy: Overcoming consumer privacy
concerns will be critical to the successful launch of Yehti
and *message effects. Springbok
recommends that Yehti use speaking and editorial
opportunities and placement of contributed articles to establish Yehti’s position as a privacy
advocate.
Springbok recommends Yehti appoint a Chief Privacy Officer, preferably an
individual with an established track record on privacy issues, to advocate a
best-practices strategy for online marketers and advertisers. The CPO or another privacy advocate should
also be appointed to Yehti’s board of directors or
advisors.
·
Define the market: Another component of a successful Yehti launch will be industry recognition that Yehti’s contextual personalization strategy is superior to
existing CRM, eMarketing, and online advertising
strategies. Yehti
executives and advocates should capitalize on opportunities to address industry
trends by providing verifiable statistics that highlight the shortcomings of
existing messaging and online advertising solutions at trade shows, analyst
events, media and analyst appointments, and in contributed media placements.
Springbok recommends
executing these campaigns following Yehti’s
launch. However, if opportunities
present themselves before the launch to make the case for increased privacy or
defining the market in Yehti’s terms without
revealing Yehti’s business plan, products, or
strategies, Springbok recommends Yehti aggressively
pursue those opportunities.
White Papers
Springbok recommends that Yehti
pursue the development of white papers on important industry issues. Springbok will coordinate the drafting,
editing, and distribution of white papers, and seek placement of the papers in
key industry publications. Possible
topics include:
·
Privacy issues related to online advertising, eMarketing, and CRM
·
The decline of banner advertising
·
The expected decline of permission-based
marketing
·
Integration of eCommerce and CRM solutions
·
The emerging trend of companies seeking new
layers of CRM-type solutions to more fully leverage existing legacy systems and
databases
Customer and Partner Success
Stories
Springbok will work with Yehti
to gather information about individual customers and contracts as they become
available. In addition to the media
value of announcing these deals, Springbok recommends developing case study
abstracts to pitch to the media.
Springbok will draft case study abstracts and coordinate the outsourced
writing of customer success stories.
Potential case studies include:
·
Dell
·
Gateway
·
Hammett school supply company
As Yehti expands and
strategically develops white papers and success stories, it will also be
important for Yehti to capitalize on opportunities to
place contributed articles in select publications. Springbok will research which targeted
publications accept contributed articles and coordinate the conversion of white
papers and success stories into the proper format for contributed articles. Springbok will submit abstracts for contributed
articles to targeted publications to secure placement.
As with any strategic media
relations plan, it is critical for Yehti to have
standards to measure the success of Springbok’s activities.
In the pre-launch stage of Yehti’s development, Springbok recommends Yehti assess Springbok’s performance by the timeliness and
quality of promised deliverables, such as research, lists of media and
analysts, and assess success based on the number of appointments secured with
targeted analysts. Springbok’s goal is
to secure as many as seven to ten appointments with influential analysts prior
to Yehti’s launch, and secure additional analysts
briefings as appropriate following the launch.
After Yehti launches
its technology and service offerings and becomes a publicly visible company,
Springbok recommends that Yehti assess Springbok’s
performance by the timeliness and quality of deliverables, appointments with
analysts and reporters, and the metrics delivered on a monthly basis that
detail the news coverage Springbok obtains on Yehti’s
behalf.
2001 Media Relations Time Line –
Draft*
(*Based on launch time frame, these targeted dates may be
revised to accommodate industry analyst and media availability and other
variables.)
Research competitors and market
space
Research reporters and
publications
Messaging research and
collaboration
Research and
submit analyst applications
Follow up with
analysts to schedule and confirm briefings
Submit finalized
media and industry analysts lists to Yehti
Finalize initial
messaging
Begin
development of media and information kit materials
Research and compile 2001
editorial calendar
Continue media kit development
Research opportunities to host or
co-sponsor a local industry event/seminar
Research and compile trade show
matrix and recommendations
Collaborate and provide content
recommendations for analyst presentation
Submit local event co-sponsor
opportunity recommendations to Yehti and pursue where
appropriate
Assist with preparation of analyst
presentation
Distribute Yehti
information kit to identified analysts
Research and compile speaking
opportunity matrix and recommendations
Develop Launch plan and event
strategy
Submit Yehti
for attendance and/or booth space at targeted trade show(s)
Research and compile targeted list
of industry analyst conferences and/or summits
Pitch appropriate editorial
calendar opportunities
Launch event preparation
Submit Yehti
for identified speaking opportunities
Prepare media tour strategy and
begin securing briefings based on launch date
Pitch appropriate editorial
calendar opportunities
Media tour follow up to secure
briefings
Launch event preparation
Follow up to secure attendance or
booth space at targeted trade/analyst show(s)
· Weeks 3 - 4: Conduct media training with key Yehti executives
Analyst tour
follow up
Launch event preparation
Media tour follow up to secure
briefings
Pitch appropriate editorial calendar
opportunities
Follow up to secure speaking
opportunities
Follow up to secure attendance or
booth space at targeted trade/analyst
show(s)
Draft press
releases as needed
Media/analyst
follow-up
Distribute
media kits to targeted reporters/editors
Pitch appropriate editorial
calendar opportunities
Submit Yehti
for attendance and/or booth space at targeted trade/analyst show(s)
Prepare briefing materials for
media tour
Post-launch
follow-up with reporters and analysts
Pitch appropriate editorial
calendar opportunities
Submit Yehti
for identified speaking opportunities
Follow up to secure attendance or
booth space at targeted trade/analyst show(s)
·
Weeks 3-4: Conduct
media tour follow up
Draft press releases as needed
Initiate
ongoing media and analyst relations plans, including:
- privacy
and/or market-defining campaigns
Begin research and development of
contributed articles, white papers, and customer success stories
Attend and speak
at analyst and industry events
Pitch appropriate editorial calendar
opportunities
Follow up to secure speaking
opportunities
Media/analyst
follow-up
Pitch appropriate editorial
calendar opportunities
Distribute media kits to targeted
reporters if no E1 launch
Pitch appropriate editorial
calendar opportunities
Conduct Media tour (east and/or
west coast) if no E1 launch
papers, and customer success stories
Conduct media
tour follow up if no E1 launch
Initiate
ongoing media and analyst relations plans, including:
- privacy and/or market-defining campaigns if no E1 launch
Attend, speak at,
and/or host an industry event
Pitch appropriate
editorial calendar opportunities
Draft press
releases as needed