A privately-held global provider of publishing technology solutions was little known in its regional media or trade publications. The corporate Web site was failing to attract interest and no news releases were being issued.
SCAPR launched a full-service public relations program, initially focusing on gaining regional media coverage and building an online news center. A prime speaking opportunity in Washington, D.C., was booked and leveraged via a news release and press contacts, which led to coverage by a local news wire service and publicity on the client’s Web site. Susan Carol highlighted a key element that led to coverage in national and international media ranging from The Washington Post and Virginia Business to Asian Week. The differentiating point was – and still is – that the client taps highly-qualified talent in Asia to provide quick, high-volume production. Currently, only 200 of the firm’s 2,300 employees are in the United States.
More speaking opportunities at publishing trade events and many news releases featuring fertile publicity angles led to PR “buzz” about the client, as well as more than one million credible media impressions with placement value of at least $113,000 in six months.
In addition to building the company’s online news center, SCAPR revamped the Web site to highlight technology used by the client — another of its distinguishing features. The targets were the company’s educational, corporate and professional customers. SCAPR also arranged corporate photography, and wrote bios, profiles and all text for the site, plus Susan Carol Associates created graphic elements featuring the client’s logo. Susan Carol Associates agency entered the client into awards programs, earning recognition for the company in two regional publication “top 50” lists. The company’s placement in Inc magazine’s Inc 500 also was widely promoted.
Three years into the close client-agency relationship, SCAPR completed a Stakeholders Letter as a short annual report to all employees, and we have produced advertisements for the company. Also, Susan Carol Associates audited the firm’s Web site quarterly for style consistency and to correct any errors, since perfectly clean material is particularly critical to this publishing technology organization’s branding. To help the client reposition itself more broadly as a business process outsourcing solutions provider, Susan Carol Associates are conducted market research and reorganizing online content. Susan Carol Associates set up an intranet to help the widely dispersed employees share marketing documents and to ensure that marketing messages are consistent in content and language style.
