CALYSTO COMMUNICATIONS
Company: CALYSTO COMMUNICATIONS, Atlanta, GA
Company Description: Calysto Communications is a public relations and social media marketing firm focused on the needs of the technology industry in the broadcasting, mobile and telecommunications sectors. Our all-senior management team uses an award-winning approach proven to drive sales, create value for shareholders, move toward liquidity or raise overall awareness by directly reaching market influencers.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Crisis Communications
Nomination Title: Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Tell the story about this nominated campaign since January 1 2010 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
The Mission
Calysto helped its client – The Astonishing Tribe, or TAT – diffuse a crisis and
turn it into an opportunity by reacting quickly to misinformation that appeared
in a well-read U.K. news tabloid. In February 2010, the Swedish software
technology company TAT introduced an augmented reality tool called Recognizr
that allows an individual to be identified using facial recognition technology
on a mobile device – but only AFTER that person subscribes to a service agreeing
to be recognized.
After the software was displayed at Mobile World Congress, a well-read news U.K.
tabloid ran false information about it, labeling it “a stalker’s dream.”
Credible media began contacting TAT for interviews, and TAT found itself under
attack. Calysto’s quick work to diffuse the crisis resulted in positive coverage
by well-known media outlets such as the BBC, Fox News, CNN Online and the
Financial Times.
The Strategy
• Work with TAT to develop a strategic plan that would quickly get the “right”
content out to as many media members as possible – and would not unintentionally
expand the negative coverage.
• Prep TAT for any potential interviews that could result from the first story.
• Turn the negative media story into a positive outcome for TAT.
The Execution
#1: Get the right message out quickly. After the misleading article was
published, Calysto worked with TAT to draft and post a response to the story on
the tabloid’s Web site within two hours. Calysto also posted a statement on
TAT’s Web site describing the software and its privacy safeguards (this
statement did not mention any negative coverage).
#2: Prepare TAT for follow-up interviews. Calysto developed very specific
messages on privacy and the product and began media training the CEO on how to
answer questions and deliver these key messages. TAT’s CEO agreed to be
interviewed by several media outlets covering the story, including BBC and Fox
News.
#3: Change the story focus. Calysto worked with the Fox News producer and
provided talking points before the interview to ensure the story would focus on
TAT’s desired messages rather than a stalker theme.
#4: Build the buzz. Calysto leverage the positive coverage by issuing a news
release that said: “Buzz about the new social networking tool, Recognizr, has
swept the internet since it was displayed as a prototype at Mobile World
Congress two weeks ago. Fox News, BBC, SC Magazine and other well respected news
sources are now covering the application....”
The Budget
Around $5,775
The Results
TAT received positive coverage in BBC and Fox News (combined audience: more than
250 million) within 48 hours after the negative story ran. Thanks to Calysto’s
quick response, the tabloid story’s inaccuracies were not repeated in other
publications. For instance, a well-respected security magazine, SC Magazine,
covered the crisis and quoted the response Calysto and TAT posted on the
tabloid’s Web site word-for-word. Months later, TAT Recognizr is still
benefitting from the crisis due to ongoing coverage in large, well-respected
publications such as CNN, the Financial Times and The Huffington Post.
List hyperlinks to any online work samples, news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
Here’s a link to the “buzz” press release:
Recognizr covered by FOX News and SC Magazine
March 3, 2010
http://www.tat.se/site/media/news_1.php?newsItem=42
Here are links to some of the coverage:
Blackweb 2.0
Recognizr, Facial Recognition Software on Your Mobile Phone
by Amani
March 1, 2010
http://www.blackweb20.com/2010/03/01/recognizr-facial-recognition-on-android/
SC Magazine
New camera phone application that links personal information to a photo raises
fears over personal security, but developer claims that criticism is unjustified
By Dan Raywood
March 2, 2010
http://www.scmagazineuk.com/new-camera-phone-application-that-links-pers...
Q8life
Do You Recognise that Face?
March 14, 2010
http://q8life.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/do-you-recognise-that-face/
The Observer
Augmented reality: it's like real life, but better
By Charles Arthur
March 21, 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/mar/21/augmented-reality-iphone-advertising
FT.com
Face recognition software grows
By Maija Palmer, technology correspondent
May 21, 2010
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/143bedaa-64fa-11df-b648-00144feab49a.html
TelcoJobsBloggers.com
TAT Recognizer Incorporates Social Network with Augment Reality
June 15, 2010
http://www.telcojobsbloggers.com/2010/06/tat-recognizer-incorporates-social.html
The Huffington Post
Point, Click, Stalk
By Robin Sax
June 16, 2010
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robin-sax/point-click-stalk_b_614805.html
CNN
Companies increasingly see possibilities in augmented reality
By Matt Ford
August 23, 2010
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/04/23/augmented.reality.shop/
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that carried out this campaign:
Laura Borgstede has more than 20 years of executive management and public
relations experience. She has successfully managed PR campaigns for industry
leaders in broadcasting & cable, mobile and telecommunications, including the
first digital mobile network launch, the first consumer mobile phone and the
first “world phone.” She founded Calysto in 1999 and today has team members in
more than 40 U.S. cities – including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San
Francisco and Washington, D.C. – and in several locations globally. In 2009,
Laura was ranked one of the best U.S. PR professionals by PRSourceCode’s
independent survey of technology reporters and analysts.