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op
Company re-launch into corporate financial compliance requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
The Challenge:
In 2002, op’ CEO, mk, knew he needed to take drastic measures or his company would not survive. mk recognized that his company would never move beyond a niche player status in the content management market, which was dominated by the likes of Vignette and Documentum.
What mk did know was that op had a great technology platform upon which a rich set of applications could be built. So he began researching the needs of organizations that had significant financial reporting and regulatory disclosure requirements. During this same time frame, in reaction to the Enron and Worldcom scandals, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As a former accountant and controller, mk understood the ramifications of this new law and the challenging reporting requirements it would be placing upon corporations. By the spring of 2003 op had developed and delivered an application, Sarbanes-Oxley Express, to a few forward thinking customers to help them meet their compliance reporting requirements.
With these assets in place, mk knew it was time to officially re-launch op with a new position on solving the corporate financial reporting compliance requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). But because market for SOX-compliance software was still in its infancy, it did not yet command the media’s attention. Subsequently, coverage of SOX technology was sporadic and unpredictable. Moreover, while the mainstream and financial publications were trying to untangle and interpret the legal requirements of the act, they paid very little attention to companies offering technology for SOX compliance.
The LP&P Difference:
To drive awareness for op’ emergence as a new company, op turned to LP&P for help. LP&P focused on five core strategies:
Help educate the media about SOX;
Develop close ties with the three analysts most often quoted by the media in stories about Sarbanes-Oxley compliance;
Concentrate on building momentum in financial and accounting publications, which would in turn bubble up to the mainstream press;
Illustrate op’ market momentum through an aggressive new customer announcement program supported by an exclusive media pitch program; and
Feed the media with new story angles on how SOX was just the first step towards a broader enterprise governance and risk management strategy
To educate the media, LP&P established an aggressive buddy campaign designed to connect op with a variety of SOX-related topics, positioning op executives as thought leaders and go-to resources for quotes. LP&P also developed and fostered strategic relationships with the key analysts most often quoted, driving reporters to the analysts as additional resources.
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The Results:
Laying the groundwork with the analysts and verticals publications paid off when reporters from the AP and Investors Business Daily sought out and covered op in feature-length article, and when op’ customers were included first in articles about the purchase of SOX technologies and, a few months later, in implementation stories.
In 2004, op was featured in over 150 articles, which is more than triple that of its nearest competitors, and conducted more than 50 analyst briefings. Additional highlights include:
Nearly 80 percent of op coverage was in business or financial publications, a key target demographic for op’ sales team, including: BusinessWeek, Financial Times, Investor’s Business Daily, Associated Press, San Jose Mercury, Boston Biz Journal, and CFO.
Fifty percent of op coverage was feature stories, as opposed to the minor mentions that accounted for most of its competitors’ coverage.
Almost every major SOX technology article mentioned op and a competitor. While the competitor named in the stories varied, op remained the constant vendor.
CEO mk was recognized as one of Treasury & Risk Management’s “100 Most Influential People.â€
In 2005 op was the vendor that received the majority of the coverage in the Wall Street Journal’s April 25, 2005 story on Sarbanes-Oxley, “Can Technology Help Companies Comply with Sarbanes Oxley?’
In May of 2005 op CEO, mk, was named a finalist for Ernst & Young’s New England Entrepreneur of the Year .
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