RESULTS
SUCCESS STORIES
- Maintaining Market Leadership
- Steady Wins the Race
- Larger than Life Image
- Revitalizing a Dead Market
- From 0 to 60 in 6 Months
- Integrated PR and Social Media Marketing
- Leapfrogging the Competition
- Issues Advocacy
- Repositioning for New Markets
- Viral Video Revitalizes B2B Brand
- Corporate Brand Building
- Curing Pioneer Syndrome
KickApps
Creating a Larger than Life Image
ChallengeThe success of YouTube, MySpace and Facebook has propelled user-generated content and social networking into the mainstream. For the most part, these sites and their underlying platforms are leveraged for entertainment value alone ― participants use them to make friends, network or share photos and videos. Based in New York City, KickApps is a developer of on-demand social media applications with a twist: the company’s applications are designed to help web publishers and marketers extract tangible business value from this consumer phenomenon. By enabling the creation of social networks that can be easily integrated with branded web sites, KickApps provides online marketers methods of growing, engaging and monetizing online audiences.
The Bateman Group’s initial research found that while KickApps was included in technology coverage of social media platform providers, the coverage was not yet distinguishing the company as a provider to professional developers, interactive brand managers and media companies rather than amateur users. In addition, the Bateman Group found that KickApps was not as well known among leading industry bloggers and developers ― two constituencies with growing influence in both the Web 2.0 and digital media markets.
The key objectives were to establish KickApps as the de facto choice for audiences who want to get serious with social media, and educate prospects on the use of branded online communities to stimulate rapid audience growth and incremental ad revenue
Strategy
In order to begin fulfilling the above-stated objectives, the Bateman Group created an integrated PR program for KickApps that included the following strategies:
- Generate consensus from the top down on company and product messaging via Bateman Group facilitated workshop
- Secure active customer and analyst endorsements in support of overall product messaging
- Establish reciprocal relationships with the most influential trade press targeting web developers, media/advertising industry and the technology community
- Formalize a quick-response program within the blogosphere on hot topics such as data portability, behavioral targeting and online advertising
- Launch an ongoing thought leadership campaign, through the pursuit of high profile executive bylines, speaking engagements at industry tradeshows, product reviews and awards
Results
In the first three months, the Bateman Group generated 109 total unique media placements on behalf of KickApps. 61 percent of this coverage placed KickApps in a positive light and reinforced key product messages, while only three percent of the coverage contained any negative comments. KickApps was consistently positioned as a viable leader in the market for social media applications. A recurring theme among these articles pointed to KickApps’ marquee customers and the company’s focus on the professional developer community as key differentiators from Marc Andreessen’s Ning and others in the space.
Coverage was spread across traditional business and technology media (such as Computerworld and Fortune and The Wall Street Journal), but focused mainly on top online publications and industry blogs, an influential voice for potential partners and customers. Significant inroads were made with blogssuch as Mashable, GigaOm and TechCrunch, the last of which referred to KickApps as “White-Label Social Networking that Delivers”. Efforts to reach the digital media and advertising audience were also successful, resulting in multiple placements in iMedia Connection, MEDIAWEEK, MediaPost’s Online Media Daily, paidContent.org, and TVWeek.
The Bateman Group also secured several top-tier speaking engagements for KickApps’ C-level executives and product managers, including Digital Hollywood, the Consumer Electronics Show, OMMA (Online Media, Marketing & Advertising) Conference, Future of WebApps and the Digital Media Summit; all of which helped raise the company’s profile as a thought leader in the space.
All of the Bateman Group’s targeted programs can be directly linked to KickApps’ rapid business and media mindshare growth. KickApps customer base grew from less than 5,000 networks to more than 40,000 active social networks in less than twelve months time. Better still, KickApps emerged as THE anecdotal company for the white-label social networking category, often usurping Ning place in the brand hierarchy. A great example would be Ignite Social Media’s List of 25 Social Media Buzzwords, which included KickApps alongside category-defining brand names like Twitter, LinkedIn and del.icio.us.
"Bateman Group grasped our value proposition right away and outlined a solid plan for expanding our leadership in a fast-moving market."
Michael Chin
SVP, Marketing
KickApps