In his first phone call to Rainier, CogniScent CEO Hugh Greville complained, “We’ve got this fantastic sensor technology, but literally nobody knows who we are.”
Results: New business and investor leads
For the tiny startup company, Rainier’s hard-hitting PR campaign created market awareness and product interest where before there was none. “Rainier’s work directly resulted in numerous new business and investor leads,” said CogniScent CEO Hugh Greville. “The agency’s strategic counsel and tactical PR execution was absolutely instrumental in securing the exact kind of coverage needed to achieve commercial success.”
Tactics: Contributed articles & analyst/media briefings
Drawing on the agency’s extensive circle of media contacts, Rainier’s staff pitched select editors to arrange for phone briefings with CogniScent spokepersons. As a result, CogniScent obtained coverage for its technology in such diverse publications as PC Magazine, Pharmacy Choice, Boston Business Journal, Gizmo Watch, Security Products, and Scientific American.
Rainier also leveraged its long-standing relationship with Sensors Magazine, the flagship publication of the sensors industry, to secure a contributed article placement for CogniScent. Together, Rainier and CogniScent drafted, edited and produced “Better Security with Ambient Air Sensing,” which ultimately became a cover article for the magazine’s December 2007 issue. Rainier also successfully placed CogniScent articles in Security Products Magazine and NASA Tech Briefs.
Goal: Maximize media & industry awareness on small budget
When Cogniscent first engaged with Rainier, the startup odor-detection maker was about to be granted a patent for its DNA-based sensor material, developed to detect an unprecedented range of volatile airborne compounds. With its intellectual property protection in place, CogniScent would be ready to communicate how its technology could accurately and inexpensively detect the presence of explosive, toxic chemicals and biological matter in the air.
But CogniScent came to Rainier with an extremely small budget with which to target the horizontal sensors industry plus the vertical security, medical and industrial markets. In response, Rainier formulated a costeffective communications plan designed to maximize media awareness for CogniScent, with two specific objectives in mind:
- Build awareness for Cogniscent in the greater business and scientific community, extending beyond the tiny circle of olfactory researchers already aware of the company
- Cause portable-product OEMs to grasp the market potential of integrating CogniScent’s sensor solutions into their products
Rainier’s first aim was to establish a dialog between CogniScent and key industry analysts, as well as editors at trade and scientific publications. After assembling a strategically targeted list of key press and analyst contacts, the agency identified a list of editorial calendar opportunities that targeted particular publications covering topics relevant to CogniScent’s technology, either in online or print editions.
Rainier began CogniScent’s media campaign by issuing a productlaunch press release describing CogniScent’s receipt of its U.S. patent, and focusing on the value of the company’s breakthrough. The release emphasized CogniScent’s ability to provide engineered odor-detection solutions more quickly, at higher volume, and at greater sensitivity and lower cost than previously available technologies.
Rainier’s results for Cogniscent demonstrate the agency’s ability to make the most of its industry contacts and outstanding PR skills. For Cogniscent, working with Rainier proved to be an exceptional return on investment.
