Interprose case study
Global Member Association
Marquee event, marquee results.
A global technology standards development organization targeted a marquee cultural conference to expand its appeal to a broader audience than it had typically reached. Leveraging its public relations prowess, Interprose worked in lockstep with the client’s internal teams to promote a robust speaker series at the conference. The complex effort strongly positioned the organization as the place for next-generation innovators to engage and collaborate on emerging technology topics, such as quantum computing, machine learning and “machine consciousness,” digital identity, expansion of internet connectivity to unconnected populations, and ethical development and implementation of innovations.
CHALLENGE: Reach next-generation thought leaders
The organization is established as the professional home for numerous world-renowned technology experts and inventors who have pioneered technologies we use every day. The goal of this campaign was to educate, inspire, attract, engage and enlist more diverse members in emerging industries to become active participants in the organization and its activities shaping cutting-edge technologies and their societal and ethical implications for humanity’s future.
The organization viewed the annual South by Southwest® (SXSW®) conference in Austin, Texas—and its “convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries” in “the premier destination for discovery”—as a prime opportunity to tap into a rich, new source of potential volunteers and contributors. The organization sought to build momentum leading up to the conference, bring visibility to its speaker series and showcase its offerings among next-generation thought leaders.
STRATEGY: Go big
The standards organization built a powerful series of events featuring high-profile personalities in solo and duo presentations, panel sessions and meetups, and partnered with Interprose for a public relations campaign to promote the series. Interprose and the client began well in advance of SXSW to plan a rolling-thunder approach to promote the speakers, topics and sessions and execute on variety of interrelated tactics:
- Designed and compiled a comprehensive dossier highlighting the organization’s impressive lineup of speakers and sessions, and used it as a valuable tool for the media to drive interest and coverage on speakers and their topics.
- Engaged in a hefty regimen of pre-show promotion anchored by contributed articles authored by the experts (ghost written by Interprose) in highly targeted outlets, reinforced by recaps on the client’s blog to drive more traffic.
- Secured media briefings with the industry leaders that made up the speaker series, researching and aligning the client with innovation and trends that were presented at SXSW.
Interprose managed the on-site interviews and created opportunities for ongoing conversations among the speakers and media throughout the conference. The campaign needed to be managed with military precision, as it required extremely detailed coordination among multiple client contacts, all of the speakers, their own individual PR representative/teams and executive assistants, the reporters and SXSW, among others. Finally, Interprose continued to drive follow-up opportunities for coverage in the weeks following SXSW.
RESULTS: Big splash, lots of ripples
The first articles appeared three months prior to the event, and the momentum continued beyond SXSW, garnering coverage throughout the year. The spokespeople participated in media interviews resulting in influential articles in top-tier business and industry trade outlets—CNBC, Motley Fool Explorer, PCMag, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, among them—and across multiple platforms including podcasts, video, print and online media. As a result of the widespread exposure and audience engagement at the event, the client successfully expanded its standing among new audiences as an environment for leading-edge technology exploration and professional development.
