Case Studies

• B3 Communications leveraged public relations activities to create a new market segment, build awareness of the market, and establish leadership for marketing automation software company, Rubric, and successfully positioned the company for acquisition by Broadbase.

The Challenge

When B3 Communications began working with software company Rubric Inc., the Marketing Automation segment was just beginning to gain attention from industry influencers. Marketing automation was being talked about as an extension of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) market; however, the big CRM players were not yet involved in marketing automation. B3 Communications was challenged to educate the market on the need for marketing automation software and establish Rubric as a leader in this category.

The B3 Communications Solution

B3 Communications began by working with Rubric to develop an extensive analyst relations program. Rubric’s CEO and vice president of marketing were directly involved in ensuring analysts were educated on Rubric’s vision for the market. Then, B3 Communications developed and implemented visionary media relations and speaking programs for key Rubric executives.

To build additional credibility for Rubric in the Marketing Automation space, Rubric's CEO created a Marketing Council that included marketers from companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems, Bank of America, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Airtouch Cellular and Putnam Investments. The Council members worked together to discuss e-marketing issues, address technology challenges and share best practices for including e-marketing as an essential part of integrated marketing campaigns.

Lastly, the B3 Communications team conducted an e-commerce study on the stickiness of a group of retail websites in targeting potential customers that opted in for communication from a retailer. The study identified the challenges many companies were facing in effectively using the Internet to market to targeted prospects.

Results

B3 Communications leveraged Rubric’s customers and partners for media relations, speaking opportunities and events to establish market leadership for Rubric and show success in online marketing. B3 Communications enabled Rubric to build solid relationships with the press and analysts and established Rubric as the leading provider of web-based e-marketing applications. B3 Communications also used corporate and product awards to establish both credibility and leadership through an extensive awards program.

B3 Communications worked with Rubric to leverage integrated marketing and public relations campaigns to paint a clear vision of the company and market. Resulting from the B3 Communications team’s efforts, analysts positioned Rubric well in all top tier reports, including Forrester, IDC, Seybold, and Hurwitz. B3 Communications also secured as many as 30 opportunities at general business conferences and high-level business conferences for Rubric executives.