Tellium

Managing a successful initial public offering amid the volatile telecommunications market of 2001 seemed improbable to Tellium, a relatively new optical networking company that produced innovative gear for carrier backbone networks. But Tellium believed its intellectual capital would prove a key differentiator in its industry and asked Morrissey & Company to manage the public relations aspects of its IPO effort.  Morrissey & Company developed and implemented a reputation management program designed to help Tellium build a reputation as a respected and credible vendor among key audiences and stakeholders. Highlights included:

• Clarifying Tellium’s messaging and positioning, introducing a unified focus on the unique selling proposition of the company’s core product.
• Leveraging the industry pedigree of the company’s leading executives and its research and development team to establish trust in the company’s technological prowess
• Raising awareness about the company through an aggressive speaking engagement program
• And, launching a media relations program designed to improve the company’s visibility in local, vertical and national business media.

The program fueled a rapid increase in awareness, resulting in Tellium being named a “company to watch”, a “Rising Star 2001” and a “Top 100 Company” by major business publications. Positive media placements were secured in Dow Jones, TheStreet.com, CNET News, CNBC and Industry Standard. Company executives appeared at more than 80 speaking engagements across the U.S. Tellium’s stock rose nearly 40%, making it one of 2001’s most successful IPOs. Morrissey & Company’s program won a Gold SABRE (Superior Achievement in Branding and Reputation) Award in the Investor Relations/IPO category.

World Street

WorldStreet Corporation, led by executives with deep financial services experience, hoped to use its knowledge of the information flow among Wall Street’s institutional investors to launch a technology platform to create more efficient and effective communication between buy-side and sell-side firms. Faced with tight technology budgets and a steep learning curve among prospective clients, WorldStreet needed to establish trust and credibility among the top branded financial services firms. Morrissey & Company developed a multi-pronged strategic program using messaging, media and analyst relations, speaking opportunities, and event management to position WorldStreet as a reliable, intelligent vendor. The program included:

• Revamping online and print collateral to stress the company’s Wall Street pedigree and to clearly explain its product platform in the context of the buy-side and sell-side workflow
• Establishing deep, ongoing relationships with the industry analysts on whom prospective clients relied for technology adoption advice
• Executing a deliberate media relations strategy that tackled vertical, local and national media outlets in successive phases
• And, planning and executing a series of top-shelf speaking opportunities and receptions designed to introduce company executives to prospective clients.

Morrissey & Company’s work helped to dramatically improve WorldStreet’s sales; secured at least three U.S.-based speaking opportunities per quarter for executives; and established the company as experts in the latest developments in financial services technology. WorldStreet landed positive and lengthy coverage in numerous media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and the Boston Globe. The program’s success was recognized with a 2002 Gold Bulldog Award for Excellence.

Covansys - Reputation Management

Despite investing in a new name, new brand, and a restructuring of its sales and marketing functions, the value proposition and expertise of Covansys Corporation (NASDAQ: CVNS), a global consulting and technology services company, remained virtually unknown among key audiences, including potential clients, industry analysts, employees and the business and technology media. In 2001, the company turned to Morrissey & Company to devise and implement a reputation management program to establish a deeper, textured, foundational image as an emerging global player in the technology services space. The program spanned included:

• Conducting a benchmark Reputation Audit to pinpoint the company’s weaknesses and strengths in the marketplace, and to clarify its best messaging and differentiation options
• Developing the first, coordinated, global internal and external communications program in the company’s 15-year history to raise and maintain improved awareness and visibility
• Building and managing the company’s first, aggressive and ongoing outreach campaigns targeting hundreds of key media and industry analysts
• Creating comprehensive print and online marketing, sales and media kit content and collateral for the company and its service segments
• And, providing strategic and crisis communications counsel

Morrissey & Company’s program marked enhanced and strengthened Covansys’ reputation over a three-year period. By the end of 2001, the company had issued 53 news releases, earned 230 online and hard copy media placements and landed 12 first-time briefings with IT industry analysts. By the end of 2003, Covansys had secured more than 1,000 media placements since the initiation of Morrissey & Company’s work – a 350% increase. Top tier technology media and key industry analysts came to depend on Covansys for expert analysis of relevant IT trends, while company employees reported high satisfaction with internal communications. Covansys was named one of the leading IT companies for state and local governments in 2002, 2003 and 2004 by Washington Technology magazine, and one of the top 500 solution providers in 2002 and 2003 by VARBusiness magazine.

Covansys - Market Positioning

In 2002, long before “offshore” became a dirty word in the American IT industry, Covansys Corporation (NASDAQ: CVNS), a global consulting and technology services company, felt it needed to better leverage the competitive advantage of its off-shoring capabilities in the marketplace. The company was one of the first U.S.-based technology vendors to establish offshore facilities in India and had long been certified as operating at the industry’s highest quality standards. With enterprises clamoring for faster and less expensive IT solutions, Covansys turned to Morrissey & Company to better position its ability to deliver rapid deployment, world-class quality and reduced costs. This program included:

• Introducing Covansys, its offshore track record and its capabilities to industry analysts and technology media through briefings, story pitching and speaking opportunities
• Developing print and online content and collateral, including a media kit, sell sheet and marketing brochure, that clearly communicated the offshore value proposition
• Helping to manage a series of successful “Offshore Outsourcing Seminars” n key U.S. markets
• And, developing case studies to highlight Covansys’ success at delivering offshore solutions for top name brands

Morrissey & Company’s efforts helped to significantly boost Covansys’ reputation for off-shoring expertise. The company’s offshore facilities, practices and clients began to win regular, unsolicited mention in reports from leading industry analysts. Covansys was included in feature stories on the topic that appeared in BusinessWeek, ComputerWorld, InformationWeek, eWeek and CIO, as well as in numerous industry vertical media. The marketing brochure on offshore IT service delivery drafted by Morrissey & Company won a Communicators Award of Distinction.

Covansys - Rebranding

In the highly competitive IT consulting services market, mid-tier players are often lost in the visibility tug-of-war between boutique firms and the powerhouse consultancies, making it difficult to capture the attention of influential third parties on whom potential enterprise customers rely for advice. Visibility is exactly what Complete Business Solutions, Inc., (CBSI) wanted when it retained Morrissey & Company to execute a re-branding campaign at the start of 2001. A publicly traded, global IT services company with $420 million in revenue and a 15-year track record growth and success, CBSI hoped to be positioned – with a new name and logo and a new chief executive – as the IT industry’s best kept secret. Morrissey & Company devised and executed an extensive strategic communications program that included:

• Defining the company’s brand and unique market position, and validating its new name – Covansys Corporation (NASDAQ: CVNS)
• Quickly penetrating key business, technology and regional media, and developing and managing a national media effort to tell the company’s story for the first time
• Completely overhauling the company’s mission statement, value proposition, corporate background, website content, marketing materials and company boilerplate
• Creating focused messaging and training C-level executives to speak effectively with the media
• And, developing and executing internal launch activities for more than 3,400 employees

Business and technology media in Covansys’ headquarters market, Michigan, carried saturation coverage of the re-branding. National outlets, including CNBC’s Power Lunch, The Hindu, Wall Street Journal Radio, and Dow Jones, also produced stories. Morrissey & Company secured regional media coverage in key company markets in Wisconsin, Ohio and Rhode Island. Covansys’ share price improved from $9.56 on Jan. 2, 2001 to $11.69 on the day of the re-launch, Feb. 5, 2001. The day after the launch, CVNS shares closed at $12.75. One week after the launch, CVNS stock closed at $12.65 – a price its stock would not approach again until May.

RAPID

RAPID, a not-for-profit trade association focused on fueling technology adoption in agri-business, faced the challenge of convincing companies entrenched in the world’s oldest business – agriculture – to join a 21st century e-business database called AGIIS. To help sell member companies on the benefits of AGIIS, RAPID enlisted Morrissey & Company to develop integrated marketing and public relations program. The program included:

• Targeting and educating key agri-business and technology media about RAPID and AGIIS
• Researching and educating key C-level agri-business executives responsible for technology adoption within their companies
• Creating and implementing a marketing plan to raise awareness about AGIS through unique direct mail, case studies, opinion articles, and an interactive web seminar
• Securing additional speaking engagements for RAPID executives
• And, developing a RAPID-sponsored awards program to recognize superior technology adoption and use within companies in the agri-business industry

Morrissey & Company’s program resulted in media coverage of RAPID and AGIIS in such publications as CropLife, Seed Quest, Computerworld, IndustryWeek and InformationWeek. The marketing program increased the number of new member company subscriptions in the AGIIS database, and led to a high-profile speaking opportunity for RAPID’s chief executive.

WebGen Systems

WebGen, a provider of advanced software for energy conservation and control in commercial buildings, needed to leverage a small but impressive base of customers to increase awareness in support of lead generation for new business. The company approached Morrissey & Company to help its capabilities earn better visibility among potential enterprise clients. The program included:

• Researching appropriate media at relevant trade and business publications, as well as appropriate media in the headquarters’ markets of their branded customers
• Developing a working rapport with a select list of influential media to improve opportunities for WebGen to be included in energy conversation stories
• Creating and maintaining a list of relevant trade shows and industry conferences for WebGen sales staff to attend
• And, drafting and submitting WebGen executives for speaking opportunities across the U.S.

The program improved WebGen’s visibility in the marketplace and prospective client pipeline. WebGen secured prominent coverage in media such as The Miami Herald, Building Automation, and Energy User News, and its executives were selected to speak at major relevant conferences, including National Manufacturing Week, ASME Power and Today’s Facility Manager.