VC-funded Enpirion came to Rainier to launch the company into the competitive world of power-management devices. Taking aim at a market long dominated by entrenched, established brands, Enpirion came armed with a distinctly innovative portfolio of patents and an ultra-integrated semiconductor product about to emerge from R&D.
Enpirion knew its technology had market potential, but Rainier was the key to communicating the product’s significance to potential customers.
Rainier felt that Enpirion would be one of those rare market disrupters, and the agency devised a PR program designed specifically to distinguish Enpirion from the crowded field of competitors.
As a startup, Enpirion might have been written off as “yet-another-power-chip” company – an insignificant drop in the ocean of old line power module makers. However, Rainier got Enpirion in front of the right analysts and media outlets with solid messages that resonated with clear and compelling market differentiation.
“Rainier has the right mix of media and analyst connections, industry insight and public relations skill to get us magazine covers, loads of coverage and top industry awards,” remarked Mark Downing, former CEO of Enpirion.
Within months, the awards and accolades began pouring in, and the customers soon followed. Power Electronics Technology presented its first-ever “Product of the Year” award to Enpirion in 2004. analogZONE’s Product of the Year Awards recognized Enpirion’s “Best Use of New Technology in Power Management,” and Enpirion won EDN magazine’s prestigious “Innovation Award” in the Power IC category. Subsequent product releases have resulted in additional honors, including EE Times “Ultimate Products,” and Electronic Products’ “Product of the Year Award” in 2006.
Noted CEO Downing, “Even our investors commented that despite Enpirion being a small startup, our public relations program has cast a very big shadow that makes us seem larger than life.”
For the launch tour alone, Rainier arranged seventeen face-to-face briefings with editors and analysts to introduce Enpirion and to communicate the true significance of the company’s breakthrough technology. Rainier calls this approach “influencing the influencers,” and for Enpirion, the tactic yielded massive amounts of positive attention from both analysts and the media. Major articles appeared in leading trade publications such as Electronic Design, EE Times and Power Electronics Technology within weeks of the launch.
Rainier capitalized on that momentum and Enpirion’s new-found recognition by pursuing speaking opportunities at industry events, pitching contributed articles to key publications, and submitting applications for industry awards.
After the initial launch, the company didn’t for a moment rest on its laurels, and neither did Rainier. Enpirion’s product roadmap has resulted in a portfolio of reliable, innovative products, and Rainier has sustained the market and media momentum through an ongoing, comprehensive PR program.
Beginning with the launch and consistently thereafter, Rainier has helped Enpirion penetrate the horizontal engineering market and reach design engineering audiences. News coverage, contributed articles and speaking opportunities at marquee events have given Enpirion high-level visibility and increased brand awareness among that key constituency.
Enpirion’s business strategy has since evolved to include specific vertical markets for which Enpirion’s products are ideally-suited, such as wireless broadband, data networking, and “Pro-sumer” audio/video. Rainier helped the company realign its marketing messages to support this new strategy, and has expanded its public relations outreach to vertically-focused publications and trade shows.
Rainier’s sustained PR program continues to create a broad market presence for Enpirion. Today, with hundreds of customers, Enpirion’s innovative image has matured to the level of solid market credibility.
-Mark Downing, Enpirion CEO
