Rising Above the Noise: Positioning Terracotta for Market Success
The Opportunity
In early 2013, Terracotta Inc., a leading provider of in-memory solutions for Big Data, was faced with a massive marketing effort in a short, 100-day window. With limited internal resources, the company was planning an annual sales kick-off, a major launch of BigMemory, its market-leading in-memory solution, and the unveiling of In-Genius – a transformational new analytics offering for big, fast, real-time data. Terracotta initially hired Tanis for brand strategy and messaging, then quickly expanded the engagement to include PR, design, marketing communications, and web development, due to the breadth and quality of services Tanis offered. What appeared to be an insurmountable number of deliverables became feasible with Tanis’ comprehensive team of technology marketing and PR experts.
Tanis provided a seamless extension to Terracotta’s internal team successfully elevating Terracotta’s message – from technical specs to the impact of their technology on enterprise businesses – positioning the company as a thought-leader in the Big Data conversation. With a truly holistic approach, Tanis partnered with the internal team to design a fully-integrated communications strategy with compelling brand positioning and messaging, refined creative identity and collateral to align with Terracotta’s desired brand attributes, and updated nearly 50 collateral pieces to support the sales training kick off. Through proactive and creative media relations, the company’s product launches were covered in more than 1,000 articles, mentions and release pick-ups. And the results have continued. Since taking over the Terracotta PR program, Tanis has achieved nearly 4.5x the number of staff-written press coverage over the prior year.
“Tanis brought Terracotta a rapid extension of our marketing team at a critical time. They were a true partner in the process, with the ability to walk side-by-side with us in a very fast-paced and dynamic environment. Their strategic thinking and disciplined execution helped us achieve exceptional results.”
Jill Richards, CMO, Terracotta Inc.
The Assignment
- Establish and preserve a consistent brand identity
- Elevate corporate messaging to appeal to C-level executives
- Develop a complete set of collaterals and templates
- Set context for launches, highlighting the transformative benefits of bothnew and existing products
- Increase overall press coverage and maintain momentum
By leveraging unique design and sophisticated storytelling, Tanis was able to deploy integrated communications across the organization and outward. Tanis worked side-by-side with Terracotta to plan and execute ongoing strategy, messaging, collateral development and a comprehensive PR program to raise awareness of Terracotta’s products, and establish thought leadership for the company.
The Deliverables
- Newly-developed marketing and PR strategy
- Updated thought-leader focused messaging around Big Data
- Updated creative identity with consistent look-and-feel
- Impactful collateral pieces aligned with new brand framework, and in linewith new, unique brand voice including:
- Web banners
- Battlecards
- Brand book
- Case studies
- Event planning and support
- Co-branding support
- Sales training presentations
- Customer reference programs
- Datasheets
- Fact sheets
- Custom graphics and images
- Corporate and product logos
- Solution briefs
- Website design
- Infographic designs
- Whitepapers
- A new, broadened, comprehensive PR strategy and program that included:
- Development of unique narrative and Q&A for news and media pitches
- Proactive media outreach
- Creation and placement of contributed articles
- Comprehensive launch support
- In-depth media training
- Comprehensive media coverage monitoring and analysis
- Research and submission of awards and speaking engagements
The Results
- Tailored pitches to get Terracotta on the radar of 200 relevant reporters and analysts
- More than 19 pre-briefings with key, influential press
- 4.5x more press coverage in the first seven months, with over 1000 unique articles – more than any month in the prior year
- Refreshed nearly 50 collateral pieces
For More Information
Tanis Communications, Inc.
Silicon Valley Headquarters
800 W El Camino Real, Suite 180
Mountain View, CA 94040
Tel: +1 650-731-0554
www.taniscomm.com