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Access360
Background:
In March 2001, Access360 (www.access360.com) then a privately-held provider
of software that enables organizations to deploy and manage user access
rights, hired INK Inc. to achieve specific PR goals. These included securing
media coverage in IT trade and vertical publications, as well as mainstream
broadcast and business press, both in the U.S. and the U.K. Placements
should be targeted to position Access360 as a pioneer and a leader in
the field of provisioning software.
Obstacles to achieving these goals were basically three-fold. With the
business press, the idea of provisioning software lacked sex appeal and
few reporters outside the deep IT trades even understood the term "provisioning"
in real-life applications. Also, the company lacked any new product launches
or significant news announcements to give its story a sense of timeliness
or urgency. Finally, mainly due to the sensitive nature of security products
in general, Access360 could offer only one or two customers who would
speak to media about their use of the company's software.
Strategy/Tactics:
INK decided to develop an angle that would enable Access360 to hook into
a real-life situation that would give its software products relevance
and timeliness within the current economic climate. The angle needed to
be sexy enough to entice reporters into covering the story even when few
companies could speak to their use of the product on record. Because of
the dotcom demise and a rising tide of layoffs throughout other industries
as well, many had begun raising concerns about the increasing potential
for cyber sabotage by insiders - specifically disgruntled former employees
who might still hold passwords to active "orphan" user accounts.
The issue came to a head with the widely publicized case of Cisco Systems,
where two former employees were convicted of pilfering company stock.
INK positioned provisioning software (and Access360 as the leader and
pioneer in provisioning) as a key part of the solution to cyber sabotage
by former company insiders, vaulting the issue from a niche-specific IT
story to one that was of merit to the broader and more valuable national
mainstream media.
INK tailored the pitch to various media outlets, depending on their audience
and needs. For mainstream media such as daily newspapers, INK provided
links to a recently published study by the FBI and Computer Security Institute,
which listed various statistics regarding cyber sabotage and insider attacks.
Later, when the National Research Council published a similar report and
guidelines for network security, INK hitched Access360's wagon to the
document.
After September 11, INK followed up with reporters with a new angle: provisioning
as a potential protection against cyber terrorism and the increased concerns
over terrorist attacks on computer networks.
Also, INK targeted specific viable vertical markets for Access360 software
and pitched to those pubs in those industries, such as Insurance &
Technology, Federal Computer Week and Risk & Insurance.
In addition, bylined features and tips articles were written and placed
in various publications.
Results:
Media coverage to date has run the gamut from features in national dailies
such as the New York Times, Investor's Business Daily and
the Wall Street Journal, to product reviews in trades and verticals
such as Network Computing and Wall Street & Technology.
Broadcast placements have included interviews on "Silicon Valley
Business," CNET Radio, WBBM -AM in Chicago and BBC World "Click
Online" in the U.K., and Newsweek Online.
Overall, placements included features or mentions in the following media
outlets:
- Availability.com
- Banque & Informatique
- BBC World Click
- BBC World Click Online
- BtoB
- Business Magazine
- CIO Magazine
- CFO Asia
- CFO Europe
- CNET Radio
- Computer Fraud & Security
- Computer Weekly
- Computerwoche
- Computerworld
- eCFO
- Electronic Commerce News
- Eurobusiness
- eWeek
- Facilities Management
- Federal Computer Week ("10 Companies to Watch")
- Financial World
- Government Computer News
- InformationWeek
- InfoSecurity
- Infoworld
- Insurance & Technology
- Insurance Networking
- Internet World
- Investor's Business Daily
- La Tribune
- Le Journal du Net
- Les Echos
- Network Computing
- Network News (part of VNU.co.uk)
- Network World ("10 Hot Startups to Watch")
- Network World Fusion
- Newsweek Online
- New York Times "Sunday" edition
- People Management
- Personnel Management
- Red Herring
- Retail Week
- Risk & Insurance
- Secure Computing
- Silicon Valley Business
- Smart Business
- Tech Republic
- Upside
- Wall Street & Technology
- Wall Street Journal "In the Lead" column
- WBBM Radio
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