Company: Vantage Communications
Company Description: Vantage Communications is a technology public relations agency with four primary divisions - mobile, enterprise/telecom, cleantech and consumer tech. With 22 years of public relations expertise, Vantage Communications brings both passion and senior-level technology experience that help its clients succeed.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Low Budget (Under $10,000)

Nomination Title: Building a Startup’s Credibility Among Industry Giants

Tell the story about this nominated campaign since January 1 2012 (up to 525 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:

When interactive TV company, Flingo, came to Vantage, its goal was to be the company to watch in the overcrowded connected TV industry. The challenge of this PR campaign was raising the profile of a small startup to gain attention from the industry’s high-profile Hollywood studios, advertising agencies, media companies, TV networks, cable companies, and TV manufacturers, and prove that Flingo’s business model would help them flourish in the changing TV industry. Complicating the challenge was the sheer amount of competitors with the same goal. 

To achieve this, Vantage first distinguished Flingo’s vision from industry giants Google and Apple: Flingo wanted to unite the TV industry around apps that enhance existing TV programming instead of keep TV apps on a separate platform. Vantage knew that taking a unique and controversial approach would attract the attention of the major media companies, TV executives and networks. To broadcast this vision, Vantage garnered opportunities that positioned CEO Ashwin Navin as a thought leader on the future of TV. As a result, he was quoted as an expert in publications followed closely by Flingo’s targets, including Xconomy, TWICE, Reuters, BYTE and Engadget (see full articles attached). Ashwin was also invited to contribute his thoughts on the future of the TV industry in a guest post on AllThingsDigital (see attached).

As part of this thought leadership strategy, Vantage also leveraged speaking at high-profile industry events to cement Ashwin’s role. As a result, Vantage secured over 20 speaking opportunities at top industry events including CES, the NAB Show, TV of Tomorrow and the CEA Industry Forum. Speaking alongside industry giants like A+E, NBC, FOX, and Sony helped Ashwin build his business relationships as well as strengthen his presence. In fact, when Ashwin gave a keynote presentation at CEA’s SinoCES in China that Vantage secured, he met with two leading TV manufacturers, Haier and Hisense, which resulted in contracts with both companies.

Finally, Vantage knew that garnering coverage for Flingo’s news was just as important for attracting potential customers and partners. As such, the team built consistent, ongoing relationships with top-tier tech, mainstream and industry publications. This involved consistent ‘touches’ (a comment on Twitter, or a short email asking about an article, or commenting on a recent article) each week, to discuss the TV industry but not necessarily Flingo. Due to this outreach, editors were always willing to talk to Vantage about Flingo when there was news, resulting in Flingo being consistently featured in top-tier publications including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CNET, VentureBeat, TheWrap and more (see attached).

As a result of Vantage’s campaign, Flingo is widely considered an expert on the TV industry and its products stand out among competitors. It has opened the door to many important business partnerships and customers that would not have been previously feasible. Since January 1, 2012, Flingo announced $8M Series A funding, including investment from well-known industry buff and supporter, Mark Cuban; and has signed 10 partnerships with companies including set-top-box manufacturers Roku and TiVo, and rapidly growing TV manufacturer, Changhong, ultimately increasing the number of screens that Flingo is on from 8M to 20M in one year alone.

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Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that carried out this campaign:

Rob Adler is senior vice president of Vantage Communications and manages Vantage’s mobile, telecom, and enterprise/SMB practices. Rob delves deeply into clients’ technology using his business experience to find the key customer benefits in order to craft targeted messaging. He drives strategic positioning for Vantage’s accounts, and clients appreciate his ability to quickly assess their marketplace. Rob has successfully led award-winning campaigns that have been recognized by The Holmes Report, MobileStar, Ragan’s PR News, and Bulldog Reporter. He has been quoted in leading publications such as CNET on mobile marketing, and was named as one of the Top 100 San Francisco PR Firms and Pros.

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