“Jason is more than just PR. He is a strong marketer and a terrific ‘thought partner’. Jason sees the big picture but also understands the details well enough to get things done. He has great people-skills and as a result, he has been able to forge great relationships with our media partners and key influencers. Our recent success at CES in Vegas is a great example of Jason’s contributions. As a start-up competing against thousands of companies attempting to get the media’s focus and attention, CES can be particularly overwhelming. I was amazed to see the amount of coverage he helped generate for us. It was a culmination of great teamwork and collaboration in developing the right story but also an example of his relentless energy and focus to contact, engage, and follow-up with key media partners. We look forward to working closely with Jason as we evolve our platform and story!”

Mel Chiba, VP of marketing and business development, Cercacor

BACKGROUND

Cercacor is an innovator of non-invasive, portable consumer monitoring technologies. Its début product is Ember – the world’s first non-invasive hemoglobin tracker for endurance athletes and coaches. Its sister company, Masimo, is a publicly traded, global leader in innovative noninvasive monitoring technologies.

PROBLEM

When Cercacor came to SCM, it was completely unknown; didn’t have any connections or previous experience with the triathlon, endurance sports or coaching communities; and had no experience with media, special events or sales. Most target audiences didn’t understand the value of regular hemoglobin monitoring. And, the product costs $400 or $700, depending on the model (and now requires users to pay $1 per hemoglobin-based test after the first 200).

SOLUTION / ACTIVITIES

Working with Cercacor’s VP of marketing, SCM developed and executed a detailed, fluid strategy to identify, educate and work with key influencers and potential partners; build foundational marketing and public relations materials / tools; identify and work closely with elite endurance athletes and coaches to test Ember and share their stories; and gain positive media attention.

Our initiatives fall under the following five categories:

Public relations
We developed foundational company and product fact sheets and a comprehensive online newsroom; identified and enlisted prominent, third-party authorities on training, hemoglobin, cycling, triathlons, etc. to become part of our story; identified and built a list of relevant print and electronic media to reach our key audiences; continue to build and maintain relationships with top industry reporters and tell our evolving story to dozens of prominent media; and much more.

We officially launched at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show and secured dozens of interviews and resulting stories with prominent U.S. and global media.

Marketing communications
We helped to create and edit: sales sheets, website copy, customer / constituent / strategic partner communications, blog posts / stories, executive biographies and more.

We identified and introduced Cercacor and Ember to key contacts at new sales channels, such as: coaches, altitude tent manufacturers, associations, and others.

Strategic partnerships
We researched, identified, reached out to, scheduled and participated in calls and, in many cases forged ongoing relationships, with leaders of the following organizations: Strove, TrainingPeaks, USA Cycling, USA Triathlon, Slowtwitch (Dam Empfield), the University of Colorado, Boulder, founders of the four top altitude tent manufacturers, the top cycling retailer in the United Kingdom, The Surrey Human Performance Institute, and many others.

We scheduled and participated in face-to-face meetings with top partners in Boulder, London, and Las Vegas (twice in each city).

Industry events
We prepared for, attended, arranged media and partner interviews, and assisted with all elements of exhibiting at Interbike 2015 and 2016*, the 2016 London Bike Show and the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show* (*: exhibited at these shows).

Social media
We built and executed a strategy to create and grow Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. We developed monthly editorial calendars; identified, followed and engaged with key audience categories (world’s top cyclists, triathletes, others); stage announcements; conducted a competitive analysis of similar companies to glen their best practices; continue to create and post compelling infographics to drive traffic to Cercacor’s blog and website; and much more.

RESULTS

Media Coverage:
We have secured feature stories on Cercacor and Ember in the following outlets:

Spanish-language media:

Alliances:
Cercacor continues to forge meaningful relationships with many reporters and editors, professional coaches, universities, training centers, software companies serving endurance athletes and coaches, and even equipment manufacturers. They are rooting for Ember’s success.

Social media:
We grew from a few hundred followers to several thousand; secured new sales, media/interview opportunities and strategic partners via our social media channels; and greatly increased Cercacor’s exposure among key audiences via this important communications medium.