TOPAZ PARTNERS Strategic Communications

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TOPAZ PARTNERSStrategic Communications

• Your Air Cover
• In the Battle For
• TE Reporting Market Share
• And Mind Share

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• Strategic communications a new approach to
  public relations and marketing communications
• Topaz Partners a new breed of public relations
  firm, focused on strategic communications with a
  business development mindset

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What is Strategic Communications?

• Extends beyond roots in traditional media
  relations, marketing communications
• Beyond dial smile knowledge-based
  relationship-building
• Beyond press releases e-newsreleases, web-based
  press kit, media e-newsletters, website newsroom
• Beyond ed-opp calendars creating opportunities
• Beyond road-shows online meetings, demos, email
  outreach
• Beyond data sheets and brochures website
  development

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What is Strategic Communications?

• Focused on influencing influencers who help build
  mind share and establish your reputation with
  target audiences
• Customers
• Investors
• Partners

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What is Strategic Communications?

• Multi-faceted integrated communications
• Industry analyst relations
• Financial communications
• Executive communications
• Crisis communications
• Communications-driven management consulting
• online and offline

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Topaz Partners

• Specialists in strategic business communications
• Senior team of tech industry professionals
• Experience in communications and management
• Background across full range of communications
  disciplines

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Track Record of Success
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The BattlegroundChallenges

• Microsofts plan to add MS TE icon to Windows
• Bill Hewletts crusade to undermine last years
  proposed merger with HPs Bogus Business Software
  Division
• Fallout from Enrons involvement in beta customer
  program
• Increasing competition/consolidation in TE
  Reporting space
• Vaporware issue
• Lack of referenceable customers and any
  visibility with influencers

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The BattlegroundOpportunities

• Unique approach to TE Reporting
• Upcoming product release
• Evolving line-up of beta customers
• Background, perspective of management team
• Increased focus on TE as strategic
  capabilitygreater emphasis on accounting
  principles
• Opportunity to fill void as driving force in TE
  Reporting

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Your Marketing Arsenal

• Special Forces
• E-newsletters
• Search-engine optimization
• Relationship marketing
• Conferences, seminars, road shows
• Air Cover
• Strategic Communications activities aimed at
• Setting the backdrop
• Raising visibility
• Developing your reputation
• Building the buzz and the bandwagon by
  influencing the influencers of your target
  audience

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Strategic Communications Targets The
Influencers -- Media
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Strategic Communications Targets The Influencers

• Industry Analysts
• Eric Schmitt, Forrester
• Thomas Topolinski, Gartner Research
• Laurie Balch, Gartner Research
• Andrew Ware, IDC
• Consultants
• Bain, EDS, Perot
• Other Buzz-Builders partners, other vendors,
  pundits
• Bob Metcalf, Steve Alsop, Esther Dyson, Jeff
  Tarter

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Strategic Communications Battle Plan

• Messaging/Mapping
• Identify key influencers
• Focus your message
• Message intranet, online media training
• Analyst Outreach/Relationship-Building
• Introduction/pre-launch analyst meetings
• Seek counsel on marketing/business development
  strategies
• Track reports/coverage, identify TE experts
• Build database of analyst media references
• Launch analyst e-newsletter

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Strategic Communications Battle Plan

• Media Outreach/Relationship-Building
• Face-to-face meetings
• Editorial board meetings
• Trackable e-releases
• Spurious as expert reference offer
  perspective, insight
• E-newsroom
• Visibility-Building Editorial Opportunities
• Viewpoint pieces, case studies
• Management profiles, customer profiles, features
• Spurious-generated trend stories

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Strategic Communications Battle Plan

• Visibility-Building News releases, e-releases
• New products, upgrades
• Customer wins
• Management, partnership announcements
• Visibility-Building Networking, Speaking Opps
• Agenda
• PC Forum
• Business Week Executive Summit
• Integrate with Other Marketing Initiatives

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Your Options

• Focus on the Special Forces
• Lack of effective backdrop makes the battle more
  difficult and success more of a challenge
• Launch Advertising Air Cover
• Expensive and of questionable validity
• Launch a Balanced Battle Plan
• Build the buzz that will make all other marketing
  initiatives more successful
• Generate credible, 3rd-party validation
• Achieve cost-effective audience coverage

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How Cost Effective? Strategic Communications
Budget
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Why Invest In Strategic Communications?

• The value of a business increasingly lurks not
  in physical and financial assets that are on the
  balance sheet, but in intangibles.
• The Economist
• If youre not managing your corporate
  reputation, youre wasting a global corporate
  asset.
• CEO
• A reputation is an incredible asset, one you
  cant appreciate until you lose it. And when you
  do, every aspect of business gets harder and more
  costly.
• CEO
• If you lose dollars for the firm by bad
  decisions, I will be understanding. If you lose
  reputation for the firm, I will be ruthless.
• Warren Buffet

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Why Invest In Strategic Communications?

• PR ranked as one of top three priorities in
  meeting sales and marketing objectives.
• American Advertising Federation
• 96 of CEOs believe reputation is important to
  their companies
• 77 believe good reputation helps sell products
  and services
• 61 believe good reputation helps attract
  employees
• 53 believe good reputation increases credibility
  in times of crisis
• CEO Magazine Poll

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Next Steps Launching Your Strategic
Communications Campaign

• Take stock of the battleground the enemy, your
  weakness, your strengths
• Lay out the battle plan
• Attack the marketplace with overwhelming force

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Spurious Software and Topaz Partners

• In the battle for TE Reporting market share and
  mind share
• Strategic communications is your air cover
• and Topaz Partners has the fire power