The challenge
Cloudian had big news to share with the press and analysts: this provider of hybrid cloud storage solutions had just bagged $24 million in Series C funding and was on the verge of announcing exciting new products. However, Cloudian was unhappy with the lackluster media coverage generated by its previous announcements, and the company wanted to ensure their upcoming news made a big splash. With the date of the funding announcement fast approaching, Cloudian called in Publitek.
What we did
With less than a month before the big funding announcement, we had to hit the ground running to pull together a comprehensive influencer outreach program to drive positive press coverage and analyst support. We quickly identified a targeted list of influencers, focusing on those most relevant to Cloudian’s news, and secured briefings with both press and analysts. Pre-briefings with the media were an important part of our influencer strategy since they provided a forum for the press to talk to Cloudian executives personally and in depth, furthering the relationship and the scope of coverage. Briefings with analysts were also an important element of our strategy, since analysts have insights (such as where they think the industry is headed or product gaps that may need addressing) that are shared with the client.
Results
Publitek’s rapid response and strategic approach to influencer relations drove a combined total of 18 feature stories about Cloudian’s funding and product launches in Tier 1 media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, TechCrunch, ZDNet, Storage Switzerland, 451 Research Group and more. Publitek was also instrumental in helping Cloudian shape messaging for conversations with more than 20 top-tier media and analyst targets. Once past the funding announcement, we stayed on with Cloudian, using similar influencer strategies in an ongoing PR program, supported by social media, to ensure Cloudian stayed top of mind for media and analysts. In the first six months of this program, our social media efforts produced a more than 500 percent increase in Twitter followers for Cloudian, exceeding the follower base for its two key (larger and more established) competitors.