From Start Up Through IPO: Public Relations Campaign Helps Define Category

At the height of the dot-com era, a small software company in San Mateo, California needed to jump start sales of their newly developed e-commerce system. Online shopping was gaining momentum and retail establishments were in need of reliable Web-based applications to help them better manage customer data and increase revenue. Recognizing that public relations would offer the best value for their marketing dollars, this company turned to The Devon Group to help advance them from a small start up all the way up, through and beyond their initial public offering.

In the beginning there were only five people running the business, so the idea of having in-house PR support was unthinkable. However, an internal consensus agreed that public relations would create the broadest exposure, enable tighter control of the company message and give the best return on their marketing dollar. While the team agreed on hiring external public relations counsel, limited in-house resources demanded an agency that could hit-the-ground running with little-to-no internal support. The company’s Vice President of Marketing had previously worked with The Devon Group and knew the breadth of experience the agency could offer. Confident in their ability to work independently – despite a distance of 3,000 miles – he selected The Devon Group to provide much-needed support for the company’s media and analyst outreach efforts.

Upon learning that the software company’s CEO was a former NASA scientist and expert on Artificial Intelligence, the Agency designed a program that would capitalize on his unique leadership background. Since the company was at the forefront of defining a new category - e-commerce - there were few customers to promote. Without the luxury of a strong customer base, instead the agency’s outreach plan started with promotion of eclectic background of the serial entrepreneur CEO to foster the image of a large organization that could support the Web needs of the world’s largest retailers.

Going from there, The Devon Group gained the support of industry analysts in order to help attract economic buyers. As media attention and industry interest began to mount, the agency followed up with a strategic media operation. Innovative media campaigns centered on promoting the company’s intellectual capital created an aura of a mystery surrounding the CEO, which energized the media and made meetings with the CEO quite coveted. High-end media such as Fortune and Forbes sought interviews with the seemingly inaccessible CEO, which served to maximize exposure to C-level decision makers.