Internet Devices Press Launch —
Securing a Press Presence in a Highly
Competitive Space

Mission: In February 1998, start-up Internet Devices entered the extremely competitive firewall Virtual Private Network (VPN) and bandwidth management markets with its Fort Knox Policy Router. The company, a relative unknown in network policy management, immediately found its product going head-to-head with such industry heavy hitters as Bay Networks, Cisco, VPNet and others. Internet Devices' technology was solid, but they needed to get the word out — fast. ShapeTechnology was brought in to effectively position and promote Internet Devices and the Fort Knox Policy Router to the press community.

Meet the Press. ShapeTechnology immediately identified and introduced Internet Devices to key editors and industry analysts. In just a short time, ShapeTechnology secured one-on-one meetings with the most influential editors and analysts covering every facet of the meetings market.

Spread the Word. Why meet with the press? In a word: credibility. As unbiased professionals, reporters are credible; positive product endorsements from them lead to increased sales. In less than ten months, ShapeTechnology placed Internet Devices in more than 40 articles and secured stellar product reviews for the Fort Knox Policy Router in InternetWeek, Data Communications, PC Week, LANTimes and InfoWorld. Moreover, with the help of ShapeTechnology, Internet Devices' Fort Knox Policy Router won Computer Reseller News' Editor's Choice Award, Data Communications' Hot Product Award, PC Magazine's Editors' Choice Award and InternetWeek's Best of Breed Award. Plus, Data Communications and LANTimes named it their Best of Show at Networld+Interop '98 Atlanta. How credible do you think that is?

Power of the Pen. It's more important to get the right editorial coverage in the publications your customers read than to get lengthy coverage in the wrong publications. By integrating itself into Internet Devices' business, ShapeTechnology was able to effectively counsel the company on which publications made the most sense for their target markets. To date, coverage is booming and sales are up!

Contacts, Contacts and Contacts. There are rules to working with the press. Unfortunately, these rules are mostly unwritten. What you don't know can hurt you. With years of first-hand press experience, the team at ShapeTechnology was able to develop and maintain the relationships Internet Devices needed to burst onto the scene and stay there.

Timing is Everything. Timing Internet Devices' press launch correctly was critical. Springtime is show time — trade show time. To avoid being buried alive in trade show previews and wrap-ups, ShapeTechnology introduced Internet Devices between such press frenzies as Comdex, Internet World, Networld+Interop and SuperComm. Proper planning and forethought by ShapeTechnology garnered Internet Devices better exposure by working around the industry noise rather than trying to compete with it.

The Net of It. Since teaming up with ShapeTechnology, Internet Devices' presence within the press and analyst communities went from zero to 10,000 feet in an instant. Following a successful corporate and product launch, the product reviews and other editorial news coverage continue to stream in. ShapeTechnology is more than a full-service public relations and marketing communications agency. ShapeTechnology is an extension of your business.