“I’ve rarely found a company that lived up to its tagline. With Jason and his firm, “the passionate pursuit of results’ is absolutely true. Jason cultivated all the best media contacts in our industry and generated an incredible level of excitement and interest in our company and our service. This interest manifested in the form of timely and compelling write-ups and articles that have given us more inquiries and leads than we have been able to handle. His grasp of technology and media relations is a great pairing. Jason is professional, smart and a joy to work with.”

Patricia Keljik, founder and president, giantLEAP, Inc.

 

BACKGROUND

Founded in 2003, giantLEAP™, Inc. was a technology services company specializing in the mobile working needs of the home improvement industry. In February 2005, the company introduced salesbuddy™ – the world’s first point-of-sale estimating and ordering service for replacement window sales. Operating on a Pocket PC, salesbuddy streamlines the “in-home” selling process, and greatly reduced mistakes and inefficiencies while increasing sales and customer satisfaction.

PROBLEM

giantLEAP entered the market having absolutely no awareness among its primary target audiences – window dealers and manufacturers. It was self-funded; needed to generate demand and educate potential partners and end users about its offering; and had to quickly create a presence as a category leader in the remodeling industry.

SOLUTION

SHERMAN communications and marketing developed a three-part strategy to create awareness, credibility and demand for giantLEAP and salesbuddy.

  • Built a foundation

We first developed a company fact sheet to explain the story about and behind the technology – describing the industry’s need, the human-interest story with the founder inventing the technology, the problem salesbuddy solved, and how the technology actually worked. We also highlighted the management team’s strengths by developing compelling executive biographies. Then we created a list of appropriate media outlets and editorial contacts. We also helped to craft all company messaging for each audience: investors, media, prospects and partners.

  • Secured product reviews, announced partnerships

Our first step toward gaining awareness, educating giantLEAP’s audience and creating a buzz (especially in light of not having customers using the product) was to secure product reviews. And, as giantLEAP created new partnerships, we developed and issued news releases announcing these partnerships (with Leica Geosystems and RenoWorks).

  • Developed and profiled a beta tester

We helped to identify a prominent and highly respected window installation company, Dial One Windows, run by Founder Charlie Gindele, who agreed to conduct an extensive beta test. We developed a strong case study and shared this with key media.

RESULTS

  • We secured product reviews with photographs of salesbuddy (screenshots and handheld device) in nearly a dozen (almost all) major relevant trade publications – from Pro Remodeler to Replacement Contractor.
  • We secured a six-page cover story in the April 2006 issue of one of the most influential publications serving the industry. Window & Door magazine (at the time) had more than 20,000 subscribers – window and door dealers and manufacturers (giantLEAP’s primary market). The article generated more than 100 leads (90 percent of which were qualified), many new customers, interest from venture capitalists, and additional strategic partners and customers in brand new industry sectors (shutters, as an example) that wish for giantLEAP to create a new solution to serve their needs. giantLEAP’s two primary partners, Leica and RenoWorks, also landed significant new contracts due to the exposure they received in the article.
  • In conjunction with advertising, the public relations campaign helped to generate nearly 1,400 leads.
  • After ROI and cost-benefit analyses, giantLEAP decided to invest primarily in public relations.