"LP&P’s contacts with the news media and knowledge of our industry are impressive. We are absolutely delighted. Our partnership is unbelievable and the results are blowing away our goals. The team is exceeding our expectations."
Joe Fuentes,
Former Global Public Relations Manager,
StorageTek

Case Studies

StorageTek
 StorageTek: Enhancing Visibility and Maintaining relevance

The Challenge:

StorageTek, a 35-year old data storage company based in Colorado, approached Lois Paul & Partners (LP&P) in February 2002 because the company’s senior management felt that its current public relations agency did not secure the public visibility or favorable media coverage that the company deserved. The general consensus was that the incumbent agency did not possess the required press relationships and was not aggressive or creative enough to increase the company’s visibility as it entered into a critical stage in its continued evolution from tape storage hardware provider to end-to-end storage and services leader.

StorageTek, an established storage vendor known primarily for its automated tape storage hardware solutions, needed to expand beyond its tape heritage by introducing a more robust portfolio of storage solutions including disk, storage networking, software and services in order to position itself as a total storage solutions expert and a viable industry leader. At the time, StorageTek was not as well known as its high profile industry competitors EMC, IBM and HP, and its stock price was hovering around $10 per share.

Among the challenges that StorageTek faced at the time was a general media bias toward StorgeTek as “the tape storage dinosaur,” ongoing reluctance of StorageTek’s chief executive to participate in media opportunities, shifting product release schedules and few (in many cases, no) customer references to support key product introductions.

To address these issues, StorageTek conducted an extensive RFP that resulted in hiring LP&P. The charter was to reestablish its position in the marketplace and gain increased, positive media coverage for its new solution offerings, its pioneering information lifecycle management strategy, and its evolving business. The ultimate result of the three-year program was to enable StorageTek to take market share from its competitors and establish itself as a market leader in several key storage technology sectors prior to being acquired by Sun Microsystems in a cash transaction at a nearly 20% premium in June 2005.

The LP&P Solution:

To help achieve its goals, LP&P structured its internal support team to mirror the internal StorageTek account structure across four key areas, focusing on IT/technology, corporate affairs, customer references and vertical markets (broadcast and healthcare), respectively. In this way, LP&P was able to reengage top tier media targets and reinvigorate media interest in the company, its technology and service offerings, and its valued customers. This full- service North American media and customer relations program included initiatives designed to secure a greater volume of technology- and company-focused editorial coverage, executive speaking opportunities, awards (company, product, and customer), and bylined articles. The program has since evolved to support industry analyst relations.

Upon engagement, LP&P set out to reintroduce StorageTek to its key media targets. Within the first 90 days of engagement in the spring of 2002, LP&P helped StorageTek deepen established relationships and expand its visibility with IT trade, business and vertical market press by educating key influencers on StorageTek, focusing on the company’s current market position and product offerings. This reintroduction produced more than 100 meetings and more than 150 stories in key IT and vertical publications.

Following the reintroduction phase, LP&P executed a “Rolling Thunder Campaign,” that ran in the fall of 2002 and again in the spring of 2003, which highlighted the new executive team leading the company to financial stability and operational excellence and introduced more than 25 new products and enhancements to the market - including Bladestore, the market’s first storage solution built around inexpensive ATA disk storage technology. To complement this campaign, LP&P worked closely with StorageTek to support its annual customer event, FORUM (Fall 2002), and helped secure and manage more than 50 media interviews scheduled for the event.

The campaign communicated StorageTek’s growth and potential by launching a series of solutions encompassing all storage technologies, including the best-in-class storage devices, global services offerings, enhanced management capabilities and replication solutions. During this campaign, LP&P secured press pre-briefings for executives to communicate key messages about the company’s long-term vision, product direction and immediate product news. The “Rolling Thunder Campaign” generated over 300 meetings and more than 350 stories.

In concert with the “Rolling Thunder Campaign”, LP&P also set out to communicate the financial transformation story to business press through quarterly earnings, financial analyst events and proactive outreach. To increase mind share with business press, which had not covered StorageTek much in the past, LP&P strived to prove corporate viability through a variety of methods, including:

  • Earnings announcements - leveraged strong earnings in 2002 - 2004 to establish StorageTek as a financially stable entity, enabling the company to expand its market leadership.
  • Financial Transformation story – communicated how StorageTek’s leadership team helped StorageTek deliver nineteen consecutive quarters of y/o/y earnings growth, increase cash flow, reduce debt, keep revenues in tact, and increase stock value more than 300 percent.
  • Executive profiles – highlighted deep bench of executives leading StorageTek through its transformation through profiles and Q&As.
  • Information lifecycle management approach – announcing and reinforcing the company’s information lifecycle management approach following StorageTek’s annual analyst day which was the first time StorageTek allowed media to attend and LP&P secured interest in several top tier media attending which resulted in business press coverage and a significant stock increase. The company evolved from ‘the storage expert’ to ‘the ILM expert’ within the industry, second only to EMC.

 

In 2004, LP&P worked with StorageTek to reinforce the company’s industry leadership in information lifecycle management, launch the company’s new flagship StreamLine™ portfolio of modular tape library systems, and reinvigorate interest in StorageTek’s revamped and expanded FlexLine portfolio of disk storage solutions by leveraging the launch of FlexLine at StorageTek’s annual customer event, FORUM. This program also included support for StorageTek’s acquisition of Storability Software in Fall 2004 that served to expand StorageTek’s expertise and technology leadership in the Storage Resource Management (SRM) market.

In 2005, LP&P presented a plan to the Executive Management Team to increase StorageTek’s relevance in the business media. The program focused on enhancing StorageTek’s market momentum across all of its product portfolios, generating awareness around StorageTek’s highly successful yet little known Global Services unit, and launching the company’s pivotal push into the archive and regulatory compliance market via its IntelliStore™ intelligent archiving solution – the first homegrown solution offering to emerge from StorageTek’s Information Lifecycle Management Solutions unit since the group’s formation in early 2004. LP&P has already begun planning for FORUM 2005, endeavoring to make this forthcoming FORUM the most successful ever. In 2005, for the first time, the FORUM planning committee proactively solicited LP&P to help plan for the event.

The Results:

Over the course of this 3+ year public relations program (culminating in the company’s acquisition by IT industry leader Sun Microsystems), StorageTek enjoyed an ever accelerating flow of positive, predominantly on-message media coverage that pushed the company back into the storage market ‘limelight’ as a reinvigorated, forward-looking market leader.

Due in large part to LP&Ps focused and sustained support over 3+ years, StorageTek’s stock price more than tripled from $10 to $32 from Spring 2002 to June 1, 2005 – the day before the company’s acquisition by Sun Microsystems.

IT/Technology Campaign – The strong relationships that LP&P cultivated with the IT trade and storage-focused media during the agency’s continued engagement with StorageTek have been critical factors in driving the volume and positive tone of StorageTek’s product and technology-focused editorial coverage across every top tier trade publication and media outlet. StorageTek counts on LP&P’s IT/tech team not only to broker key media relationships and manage information flows, but also as content experts. During LP&Ps engagement with StorageTek, LP&P has written 95% of StorageTek’s product press releases and technology byline articles. Highlights include:

  • Byte and Switch , March 2, 2005, “StorageTek Swears by Services” (Coverage from Global Services and Professional Services realignment media tour with Eula Adams and Todd Rief)
  • Datamation , February 18, 2005, “StorageTek Seals Datamation Product Award” (StorageTek SL500 wins Datamation Product of the Year Award.
  • Network World , October 18, 2004, “StorageTek CEO: We’re More Than Just a Tape Company” (Q&A with Chairman, President and CEO Pat Martin from StorageTek’s annual customer conference, FORUM)
  • Internetnews.com , July 10, 2004, “Jon Benson, VP and GM, StorageTek” (Q&A with Jon Benson as part of StorageTek SL500 launch – 30+ meetings conducted, 50+ pieces of coverage across IT, storage, local and majority media – 0 customers available to comment)

 

Corporate Communications Campaign – Over the course of this engagement, LP&P has opened the doors to the top-tier of industry business publications and broadcast media outlets, including Bloomberg, CNBC Squawk Box, Dow Jones, Forbes, Investor’s Business Daily and the Wall Street Journal. The media relationships developed via this campaign are strong and enduring and have served to keep StorageTek relevant to Fortune 500-caliber readerships including being named #1 in the Computer Peripherals category four years running as a FORTUNE Most Admired Company. Highlights include:

  • "This is the fourth consecutive year where earnings have grown over 25%," StorageTek CEO Pat Martin told analysts during the company's fourth-quarter call. "And this was done when we were in one of the roughest periods for technology spending”. From Dow Jones, January 25, 2005, “StorageTek CEO:'04 Was 4th Yr Earnings Grew More Than 25%”
  • “In most cases, the ability to offer new, enticing models or to bundle them with upgrades to existing products is what it takes. StorageTek, a Colorado maker of tape-storage devices, is in the middle of a new product launch aimed at increasing the utilization and data protection of existing storage.” From Barron’s, December 13, 2004, “Stock Pickers, Start Your Engines.”
  • “Twenty years ago, it (StorageTek) was the ninth largest company in the computer industry. It once made mainframe computers, but for the most part it's focused on data storage products and services. It has managed to remain relevant through various upheavals and industry transitions, reinventing itself several times. Like other tech companies, StorageTek has managed to weather the harsh environment the last few years. Unlike many, though, it's amid a string of seven straight profitable quarters”.From Investor’s Business Daily, February 13, 2003, “ Storage Technology Has Had Right Stuff To Be True Tech Survivor”

 

Customer Reference Management Campaign – Working closely with StorageTek sales executives and key StorageTek customer contacts, LP&P has fought hard for every customer reference for every press release and every product launch endorsement. To grow and maintain the healthy stable of customer references that StorageTek enjoys today, LP&P has pulled out all of the stops to secure awards, speaking opportunities and case study profiles showcasing StorageTek’s valued customers. Highlights include: (3 bullets)

  • eWeek , April 25, 2005, “Taking Care of Business” (Donna Fawcett, Canadian Depository Services, Cover Story)
  • Network World , March 28, 2005, “Taking the Best of Tape and Disk” (Todd Cushing, First Data, feature story on use of StorageTek virtual tape).
  • Computerworld, December 6, 2004, “Digital media firm drives down operating costs with ILM” (Joe Baldini, Loudeye, feature ILM story on StorageTek customer).
  • SearchStorage , March 16, 2004, “Backward compatibility key to new tape drive buys” (Kevin Balmer, Aegon Insurance, T9840C news story with customer feature).

 

Vertical Market Campaign – Prior to partnering with LP&P, the editorial coverage that StorageTek secured in top-tier healthcare, broadcast and government-focused IT publications was virtually non-existent. Today, StorageTek enjoys a steady flow of product and technology coverage across each of these vertical markets and bylined ‘thought leadership’ articles placed in top tier vertical publications including Broadcast Engineering and RT Image. Additionally, LP&P has supported StorageTek for key industry tradeshows such as NAB, IBC, HIMSS and RSNA, securing onsite media interviews and speaking opportunities, and penning the industry-tailored marketing materials to help make these events key coverage and revenue drivers for StorageTek. Highlights include:

  • Broadcast Engineering , May 2005, “Data Storage’s Growth in Broadcast Engineering” (Bylined article opportunity)
  • Broadcast Engineering , July 2004, “CCTV builds a digital future” (Customer case study, Cover story)
  • RT Image , March 8, 2004, “Bracing for the PACS Data Explosion” (Bylined article opportunity, This LP&P-penned article later repurposed for StorageTek white paper)

 

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