On Friday, our client Tideway was featured front and center in the Wall Street Journal – and by front and center, I mean the first company listed in the story above Microsoft and Adobe and on the front page of the MarketWatch section – in an article by Ben Worthen, highlighting the company’s Community Edition software.
The article was a great success on many fronts. For March, it was an opportunity to build a relationship with an influential tech reporter at the Journal, as well as another way to show our value and understanding of Tideway’s business objectives. For Tideway, it was a way to reach numerous potential new customers, and as they say about Community Edition, a way to “scale the market.”
As with any grade-A media hit, the opportunity didn’t come without some valuable refreshers on PR and media. First of all, the opportunity never would have resulted if we didn’t call Ben to follow up on a pitch. While most of the media tell you not to follow up with a call, I’d argue that 90 percent of the time, it’s that call that’ll actually get you into the story. While I firmly believe in being as respectful as possible to comply with reporters’ preferences, a good ole’ fashioned conversation is still one of the best ways to build a solid relationship.
Once the article hit, it took a somewhat different direction than we’d initially thought. This happens all of the time with stories, regardless if it’s business or trade press, broadcast or even social media. Maybe the editor cut something out to make it fit the layout or the overall idea had to be tweaked a bit to more appropriately encompass all of the companies profiled…either way, the company is still in the Wall Street Journal, which will most likely boost its awareness and add credibility to its name. It’s the PR agency’s job to appropriately highlight that and work with the client to brainstorm supplemental initiatives to showcase its technology. For this opportunity specifically, we worked with Tideway to write a post for its blog, highlighting its appearance in the Journal and serving as a forum for interested parties to learn more about Community Edition. Tideway also leveraged its fantastic customer relationships and had one of its former customers comment on the story online.
This experience showcased one of the things I love most about working in PR – everyday you experience something different; the scenario could be the same, but the circumstances are always different.
I’m eager to see the results – i.e. lead generation, increase in Community Edition downloads, traffic increase, etc. – from Tideway’s inclusion in this article. As with any client, we want our results to have a direct impact on increasing their bottom line, and if we’ve done that, than we’ve done our job.
