Building Visibility for a Small Company in a Legacy Market

Situation:
TIDAL Software, a backend automation software company faced the daunting challenge of being a small player in a legacy market that garnered little attention from the press. The privately held company had only a small chance of placing traditional product and news stories in business and trade journals that shared less than a modicum of interest in TIDAL's market sector. And if TIDAL did get the occasional placement, the low frequency would do little to raise awareness. G2 had to find another way to grab the attention from the media and TIDAL customers.

Solution:
G2 developed a strategy that would leverage other less traditional "PR assets" and one in particular that was sure to draw attention. TIDAL's CEO, Thomas Charlton was one of those assets. He not only turned the company financials around, but moonlighted as a boxer on weekends and evenings. G2 established a connection between Charlton's prowess in the boxing ring and his ability to "fight" for TIDAL's success. Charlton's image of leading TIDAL on an aggressive growth path, turning a lackluster culture into one of high performance coupled with his experience in the boxing ring stamped a lasting image in the media, and raised confidence in customers and employees.

Results:
The Thomas Carlton campaign led to business stories and profiles about his unique management style in Inc. Magazine, Business Week, The New York Times, The San Jose Mercury News, San Jose Business Journal, KICU TV, San Francisco Business Times, Chief Executive Magazine, California CEO, Silicon Valley Business Inc., and others. That year, the company also produced the biggest revenue results in its history, winning 90% of new deals away from behemoth competitors, IBM, Computer Associates and BMC. TIDAL also became the world's fastest growing vendor in its market segment.

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