Visa

CLIENT
Visa is the largest payment brand in the world, with a transaction volume that exceeds American Express, Diners Club, Discover and MasterCard combined.

CHALLENGE
Visa launched "Verified by Visa" following Thanksgiving -- in time for the busy holiday shopping season. Verified by Visa is a free service that addresses concerns among online shoppers that card numbers are vulnerable to theft when used on the Internet. The service allows cardholders to protect their cards with passwords. The challenge was to generate massive, widespread awareness for Verified by Visa in a very short time so that Visa could achieve critical mass before competing security services could be introduced.

TACTICS
Split Rock worked with Visas internal marketing team, and a host of outside firms, to put on a full-court press. This included a satellite media tour with Visa execs, a video news release, a radio news release, face-to-face press interviews, and extensive phone interviews with national, regional and local media outlets.

RESULTS
In the first week of the campaign, 107 radio stations covered the announcement, including CBS Radio. More than 100 TV stations covered the news, including CNN and major network affiliates in 11 of the top 12 media markets. Dozens of articles appeared in consumer, banking and business publications. The coverage included syndicated articles by Bloomberg, Dow Jones and Reuters, and feature stories in the Boston Globe, Business Week, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal among others.

Techsmith >>

OPNET

CLIENT
OPNET Technologies develops simulation software that enables companies to explore "what if" scenarios as they design and deploy e-business networks, applications and Web services.

CHALLENGE
Simulation has traditionally been perceived as expensive, highly technical and outside the realm of most enterprise IT departments.It was seen by many as the purview of non-resource-constrained telecom carriers and large R&D organizations. Split Rock was asked to position OPNET's software as a mainstream IT tool that is crucial for success in today's competitive e-business marketplace.

TACTICS
First, build an inventory of customer testimonials to validate OPNET's claims that its easy-to-use software could have a positive impact on a nearly limitless range of IT environments. Second, focus media outreach on the trade press to help fuel sales leads and create awareness for OPNET among IT decision makers.

RESULTS
More than 40 customer testimonials have been completed for such well known customers as Cisco, DirecTV, Lockheed Martin, SBC and the U.S. Air Force. Press coverage in 1999 (the first year of Split Rock's involvement) was double that of 1998. In turn, press coverage in 2000 surpassed all of 1999 by the middle of the year. Oh yeah ... OPNET was also on the cover of fThe Industry Standard.

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Finjan

CLIENT
Finjan develops software that protects computer desktops and servers from malicious code that can transparently steal, damage or erase files of unsuspecting computer users.

CHALLENGE
Most people understand the benefits of security software; however, security is often viewed as a luxury, not a necessity.Many companies and individuals still believe that attacks will happen to someone else.Split Rock was asked to help Finjan educate the business community about the frequency and astonishing cost of computer hacking and malicious code, and to position Finjans software as the simple, affordable and effective preventative solution.

TACTICS
First, establish Finjan as a recognized leader in computer security through frequent coverage by high-profile media outlets.Second, fuel sales leads by securing product reviews for Finjan in leading technology publications that could validate the effectiveness of Finjans software.

RESULTS
In the first six months with the client, Finjan was included in four security stories on ABCNews.com, three stories on cNet, three in Wired, two in Financial Times, and one each in USA Today, Christian Science Monitor and International Herald Tribune.Finjan spokesmen were interviewed live on MSNBC and on the G. Gordon Liddy radio show.The company appeared in 16 articles in trade magazines, and Finjan's flagship product received an outstanding review in Network Computing.

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Rebis

CLIENT
Rebis is the leading global provider of software for the design and operation of industrial facilities, such as factories, plants and refineries.

CHALLENGE
After more than a decade of sustained growth as a privately held firm, Rebis was approaching market saturation in its niche. It had over 63,000 users in 75 countries. For Rebis to continue expanding and, thus, to increase its market value, it would have to move in a new direction. For a variety of reasons, a public stock offering was not a viable option to raise the capital necessary for such a move. And, private funding would be extremely difficult to secure in the tough economic climate of 2002. Therefore, the company opted to make itself available for acquisition, and it was Split Rock's job to raise the public profile of Rebis to make it a more attractive takeover target.

TACTICS
From March through June of 2002, Split Rock put Rebis on a regular news schedule, creating a public perception of momentum by announcing news every 2-3 weeks. Split Rock also worked with Rebis customers to create a library of success stories that highlighted the business value and uniqueness of Rebis software. And, Split Rock executed an aggressive media-outreach effort to bring greater notoriety to the firm, which had grown largely by word of mouth throughout its existence.

RESULTS
On July 26, 2002, Bentley Systems acquired Rebis for $32 million, a price that represented a 100-percent premium over Rebis' total sales in 2001. The acquisition followed a series of news releases from Rebis announcing deals with high-profile petro-chemical and pharmaceutical customers, as well as five compelling case studies written by Split Rock that included persuasive customer quotes and quantifiable ROI metrics. Along the way, Rebis benefited from a steady stream of positive media coverage in its key vertical markets and in well-respected trade journals.

OPNET >>

EmployeeService

CLIENT
EmployeeService provides outsourced HR services to hundreds of companies nationwide via the Internet.

CHALLENGE
When Split Rock began working with EmployeeService, the company's chief rival was moving toward an IPO.EmployeeService felt that its rival's potential market cap was very low and could place an artificially low ceiling on EmployeeService's valuation. Split Rock's challenge was to raise EmployeeService's profile to a level that would establish it as the de facto leader in its space and make it impervious to the effects of a weak public offering by its competitor.

TACTICS
In the short term, bypass the traditional trade press and local press targets on which most small companies focus. Use the client's limited PR budget and resources to pursue high-impact coverage in the national media to reach the investment community that would soon have to place a valuation on the client's market segment.

RESULTS
Eleven appearances on national TV, seven bylined articles in USA Today and MSNBC.com, 25 regional and national radio interviews, and extensive print coverage that included The San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor, Industry Standard and Inc ... in Split Rock's first five months with the client! By early 2001, EmployeeService's CEO was hosting a twice-weekly call-in show on Tech TV Radio.

Rebis >>

TechSmith

Client
TechSmith is the world’s leading provider of screen capture and recording solutions, with millions of customers worldwide, including 98% of the Fortune 500.

Challenge
Split Rock has been TechSmith’s public relations agency since 2001. Upon hiring Split Rock, TechSmith asked us to help turn an engineering-centric culture into one that is marketing-savvy. That meant converting technical jargon into compelling value propositions, taking the company’s story to industry influencers and mainstream media, and receiving external validation for TechSmith’s technology and solutions.

Tactics
Over the past seven years, Split Rock has done everything from securing product reviews to placing TechSmith in feature stories in the national media (e.g., U.S. News & World Report). We even helped define a new market (screencasting) and established TechSmith as the undisputed leader. We have introduced TechSmith to key industry analysts, prepared presentations for major conferences, and written dozens of case studies and countless pages of content for www.TechSmith.com.

Results
TechSmith has been included in over 1000 articles in professional journals, IT trade publications, daily newspapers, news and business magazines, and countless websites. TechSmith is regularly mentioned in David Pogue’s blog for NewYorkTimes.com. We have gotten the company access to analysts at Gartner, Forrester, Frost & Sullivan, Jupiter and IDC. The advertising equivalency of 2007 press coverage was estimated at $1.8 million. TechSmith has received dozens of influential product reviews and awards. TechSmith’s annual revenue has grown over 10X during our time with the company.

Finjan >>

Enterprise Community Investment

Client
Enterprise Community Investment is a socially responsible corporation whose mission is to provide low-income Americans with safe, affordable housing and the opportunity to move out of poverty and into the mainstream of American life.

Challenge
We started working with Enterprise in 2004 when Enterprise partnered with the Natural Resources Defense Council to launch the Green Communities Initiative -- a five-year, $550 million program to build 8,500 environmentally friendly, affordable homes. Our challenge was to help convince lenders, developers and investors who are wary of the costs associated with green development to participate. This meant communicating the value of the technical expertise, grants and tax credits that Enterprise could offer to offset higher development costs and make the homes economically viable.

Tactics
Split Rock worked with mainstream media, green/environmental journals, and real estate & finance publications to promote the program, position Enterprise executives as thought leaders on the topic of green development, and educate the industry on the social and business benefits of green construction.

Results
Dozens of articles have run in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, trade journals, local daily newspapers, and advocacy websites. We have written and placed bylined articles on behalf of Enterprise, and developed op-ed submissions. The program has been so successful that Enterprise exceeded its original goals by 2007. It has expanded the program and is now on pace to build 12,000 units.

Finjan >>