A company from the machinery and plant engineering sector for fine grinding technology wanted to gain significant market share in the international confectionery industry. To this end, the company focused on growth markets in the emerging countries of Asia and Latin America in order to achieve a prominent position as a technology leader there.
As a first step, a new type of system was to be presented for the first time at a leading international trade fair and publicized in advance. The dissemination of information about the new type of system was also intended to convey the message that the company is an innovative, future-oriented mechanical engineering company.
The company commissioned the interim manager to achieve these goals. At the same time, the previously sporadic press and public relations activities were to be internationalized and professionalized.
Communication concept developed with a three-stage step-by-step strategy
A strategically and tactically cleverly coordinated PR campaign was to be developed and implemented step by step for the trade fair presence and beyond. It was important to note that no official information about the new machine type could be provided in the run-up to the trade fair
so as not to draw the competition's attention to the company's latest innovation prematurely. The PR strategy had to be adapted to this difficulty.
To meet this challenge, the interim manager developed a communication concept with a three-stage step-by-step strategy.
- The first step focused entirely on the upcoming trade fair appearance in order to generate noticeable media attention for the topics on offer in the run-up to it.
- In a second step, the medium-term goal was to position the company as an innovative and future-proof machine manufacturer.
- The third step was to shape the company's image as an important industry player and technology leader in the focused market segment.
Concept created for international market launch of the new type of machine
The interim manager took on the following tasks in the implementation of the PR: She developed a strategic communication concept for the international market launch of the new type of machine for confectionery production, including target group analysis as well as analysis and benchmarking of competitor communication. She also developed consistent messages for external communication.
The interim manager planned a story-of-the-month campaign for continuous and professional press relations: representatives of relevant national and international trade and business media were contacted personally and provided with press releases on industry-moving topics once a month. The interim manager took advantage of the fact that the new machine type could not yet be named. She quickly drew the attention of the press to the company with an anticipatory range of topics relating to hygienic, energy-efficient, automated confectionery production and with the method of storytelling.
New product successfully placed in the trade press even before its launch
Within the first four weeks after the start of the PR campaign, the interim manager succeeded in arousing the interest of the German and international trade press without having to mention the product. After the first three months, the trade press approached the company itself with interested inquiries.
The target of 70 to 80 percent of media representatives from Germany and abroad from all relevant key media attending the trade fair stand was exceeded with all invited media representatives present. By the end of the collaboration, 80 percent of the published press releases had been published in the German and international trade media.
Client successfully positioned as an opinion leader in the media
The medium-term goal of positioning the company as a relevant opinion leader in the media with strategic topics was achieved after six months.
