Media and Analyst Relations

Media and analyst relations programs are used to launch a new business or product, boost sales, build awareness or attract a buyer. Interacting with reporters and analysts is a skill that involves timing, industry knowledge, trust and reliability. We have long-term relationships with reporters and analysts because we know how to deliver what’s important to them: good content at the right time. Our programs include proactive positioning, news release generation, interview management, byline article writing, reporter briefings and interviews, and industry award nominations.

Client: Delivra

Location: Indianapolis

Delivra, one of the original email marketing service providers, wanted to increase its share of voice and generate more business leads when they started working with Clarus Communications. Working with a structured plan that included traditional trade-based editorial coverage, bylines from an expert perspective and social media, Delivra started to gain moment in the marketplace. A series of end user stories outlining customer successes added to their credibility. Within the first year, Delivra secured two monthly columns in coveted publications, and dozens of articles in targeted outlets. This continuous exposure resulted in the company’s highest number of annual leads in 2010, and invitations to the table by higher value prospects. Founded more than 10 year ago, Delivra was named an Indiana Company To Watch in 2010.

Client: ExactTarget

Location: Indianapolis

Frustrated with lackluster results being delivered by its PR agency, ExactTarget hired Clarus Communications to revitalize its program. An on-demand email service provider, ExactTarget never had a strategic messaging platform. Clarus worked with company executives to craft this document, a crucial marketing tool in an industry that was becoming a commodity. Executives were thoroughly media trained. Then, we identified in ExactTarget a goldmine of information waiting to be tapped in the company’s database of aggregated user information and client case studies. We embarked on an integrated approach of well-documented research studies interspersed with customer problem-solution stories that hit on key issues in the industry. Within three years, the company grew its customer base from 2,200 to more than 5,500, with PR outpacing all other lead sources.

Client: iPay Technologies

Location: Elizabethtown, Ky

iPay Technologies provides white label online bill payment solutions and services to financial institutions. Even though iPay had a 37 percent share of the online bill pay market when they engaged Clarus Communications, their name recognition was limited and they were “flying under the radar.” We helped them launch both a new product for the small business user and a campaign to frame the company executives as industry thought leaders. By focusing on the message and engaging with the media, iPay scored regular features in trade publications including American Banker , Bank Technology News and Credit Union Times . In addition, Business First , the local weekly business paper, ran features on both the company and its founders. Within a year of starting their public relations initiative, iPay was acquired by Jack Henry & Associates for $300 million, one of the year’s largest acquisitions.

Client: Watchfire Digital Outdoor

Location: Danville, Ill.

Watchfire Digital Outdoor is the new LED billboard division of a 70-year-old on-premise sign manufacturer. Competing against Goliaths in the digital billboard industry would take guts, a great product and an aggressive PR program. Watchfire’s new billboard division director hired Clarus Communications after working with our team in his previous career. Clarus developed a message platform that focused on what makes Watchfire different from other LED billboard manufacturers, and then developed PR tactics that included specific lead generation components. In just months, Clarus generated PR leads resulting in millions of dollars in billboard sales.

Client: YourEncore

Location: Indianapolis

In order to grow and survive, today’s leading companies must innovate at an increasing pace. To do this they must look outside their own organization for new products and ideas. This is the idea behind YourEncore, which helps companies accelerate innovation by connecting them with retired scientists and engineers. Having worked with Clarus Communications at three previous companies, YourEncore’s new director of marketing knew Clarus could help YourEncore grow its business. Within the first few months, YourEncore was featured in Fortune, IndustryWeek, BusinessWeek, LA Times and Indianapolis Star. Clarus Communications received three industry awards for the program custom developed for YouEncore.

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