Parker Communications provides strategic marketing, PR, and social media services. They help increase awareness, engagement, and sales for B2B software, IT, internet and services companies. Their team of senior professionals develops content and campaigns to position clients competitively and get their story told. Client success stories include helping companies reposition in changing markets, launch new categories, and leverage industry analysts, resulting in significant media coverage, growth, and acquisition.

1. Overview of Professional
Experience & Capabilities
Updated:
March 2010
We Get Your Story Told.
www.parkercomms.com
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2. Where's B2B selling headed?
The world of marketing for B2B
companies in the software, IT,
Internet and services sectors is
changing
Selling is becoming a customer-
driven buying process
Social media offer new ways to
enhance and enable that process
Increasingly, new online communities
are playing a key role in buying
A whole new basis for aligning
marketing and sales
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3. How Do You Get There?
Our mission: guiding you to your future, with the
marketing, PR and social media services you need to
augment your internal team
A balance of sound strategy, effective content, inbound
marketing and outreach tactics
Using the right tools and metrics for results
We help increase awareness, foster conversation, engage
your audiences and influencers, enhance your brand and
build a strong, competitive positioning for your
organization
Ultimately, this will increase and accelerate sales by
helping your customers to find you and then buy
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4. What We Do
We create marketing programs that focus on
Content, Community and Connection.
Hone your positioning and messages to a
razor’s edge that lets you cut through clutter
Develop original, high quality content that
gets your story told
Provide senior strategic marketing/PR
counsel and expert tactical execution
Apply our experience to your challenges
Understand your business and how you fit in
to your market to help you set priorities
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5. Who We Are
We're a group of senior marketing and communications
professionals dedicated to helping you achieve your
business goals
An agency where you only work with the principal and
senior professionals with many years working as a team
Founded in 2002, with a core staff of 8 plus an extended
national network and European partners
A strategic, creative and effective firm where strategy
and tactics balance and everyone is hands-on
Formed by the principal and key staff of The Launch
Company, for 10 years one of the top 25 independent
high tech PR agencies in the U.S.
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6. Our Principal
Steve Parker, CEO
30+ years as a journalist, agency principal, and in-house
marketing communications director
2nd marketing hire at two fast-growth software startups:
Phoenix Technologies pre-IPO phase and Object Design,
#1 on the Inc. 500: fastest growing private co. in the U.S.
Key strategist and consultant for AT&T, IBM, Lotus,
Digital, Xerox, BBN, Open Software Foundation
VP/Senior Consultant - Hill & Knowlton tech unit
Co-Founder/CEO of The Launch Company
Winner of PRSA Silver Anvil (the PR "Emmy")
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7. Marketing Deliverables
Strategic Marketing Consulting
Market Research
- Focus Groups
- Online Surveys
- Competitive Analysis
Business/Channel Partner Programs
Sales/Marketing Collateral Copywriting
Advertising Program Development
Marcom, Social Media & PR Training
Blog Creative, Editing, Coaching
Web Site Copywriting & Creative
Podcast & Video Production
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8. PR Deliverables
Strategic Positioning & Message Development
Editorial Research
Proactive Media & Blogger Relations
Industry Analyst Relations
Press Kit Research & Writing
By-Lined & Technical Articles
Executive Thought Leadership
Customer Caselets & White Papers
Social Media Outreach & Monitoring
Webinars & Teleconferences
Awards, Speaking Opportunities
Trade Shows and Event Management
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9. Parker “By the Numbers”
Years in Business as Parker: 7
Longest Relationship: 6 years
Experience: Average 22 years
Clients: 154*
Campaigns: 524*
Staff: core team of 8 (plus extended network)
Award-Winning Results:
Best Start-Up PR Campaign Nationwide
- Software Marketing Journal, NetBalance
*Includes work at our prior agency, Launch Co.
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10. Track Record
PR traction we created helped to drive over $5 Billion
of client shareholder value in 30 acquisitions:
AppNet/CommerceOne Early, Cloud/IBM
AXENT/Symantec Amber Wave/3Com
BBN/GTE OLiVR/Live Pictures
Torrent/Ericsson FutureTense/Open Market
Omnia/CIENA Haley/Oracle
SALIX/Tellabs Compete/TNS
EpiCON/Nortel NetBalance/Tally
Vermeer/Microsoft NxN/Avid
LightStream/Cisco RiverSoft/MicroMUSE
Quadritek/Lucent UltraDNS/Neustar
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11. Recent Clients
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12. Software Industry Experience
Enterprise Software Risk Management
Web Content Mgmt. Regulatory Compliance
Web Analytics IT Asset Management
Security DNS Infrastructure
BPM & Decision Support Application Dev. Tools
SOA Programming Languages
Call Center/CRM Media/Publishing Systems
Business Rules Mgmt. Web Dev. Tools
Network Management Help Desk/Service Desk
Knowledge Management Utilities
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13. Differentiation via PR
Effective PR tells your story in a clear and compelling way.
What is truly unique about your product or service?
How can it best be articulated via the media?
- How can you make it newsworthy?
- What must your target audiences know to “get it”?
- How can you make it “pop” and be memorable?
- What trends support you? Which must be overcome?
- How can you activate and engage social media?
- How can you best get your story told by others?
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14. For Impact, Target All Media
Targeting social and Mainstream
mainstream media
is not an "either/or."
Business/Trade
Business/Trade Industry
Industry
Target both to Media
Media Analysts
Analysts
leverage each
against the other
and achieve the
results you need.
Social media best
practices for B2B
are just emerging Social Content: Social Networks:
Social Content: Social Networks:
and are highly Blogs, Podcasts, FaceBook,
Blogs, Podcasts, FaceBook,
dependent on your Twitter, Tags, LinkedIn, Ning
Twitter, Tags, LinkedIn, Ning
objectives. UGC many more
UGC many more
Social Media
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15. The Parker Difference
Traditional Agencies vs. Parker Communications
• Formulaic Thinking • Inventive, Original, Firsts
• “Full Service” • Focused Capabilities
• Do It Our Way • Virtual Team Flexibility
• Do What Client Does • Do What Client Can’t
• Chaotic Impact of Churn • Bring Order to Chaos
• Fudge the Hard Stuff • Excel at the Hard Stuff
• Junior Account Staff • All Senior Professionals
• Usually Tactical • Always Strategic
• Shallow Understanding • Deep Knowledge
• Low Impact/High Risk • High Impact/Low Risk
• Retainer Model • Project Model
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16. Client Success Stories …
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17. BBN Planet
Rolling Out a Major Business Partnership:
Developed strategy, rebranded unit, launched
Produced major joint event with AT&T – satellite video,
audio broadcast to 180 participants in 3 locations
Successfully established BBN as premium national brand
commercial broadband provider with AT&T as partner
Spiked 83 Million media impressions in 2 weeks
Wall Street Journal, NY Times, major IT trades
Unit grew from 14 to 450+ employees in 2 years
Acquired by GTE for $660 Million, rebranded as Genuity
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18. Repositioning in changing markets:
CMS vendor aiming for growth
1st goal: reposition into ECM market
Achieved ECM goal in first year—working with analysts
Second challenge: move to differentiation in WCM space
Final repositioning was into the Web 2.0 space; also
handled successful spin-off of Notes tools unit
Major coverage in trades and verticals at each stage;
many awards; added and deepened analyst relationships
Successfully repositioned company and product 3 times
in 6 years as market changes required
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19. Launching a true “first-of-a-kind” product:
Vermeer was unknown Cambridge/MIT start-up
First commercial HTML authoring tool on market
Successfully introduced product at beta stage
Pioneered the market category, educated media
and analysts on category and the need for the tool
Coined “Webtop Publishing” and received
significant coverage and analyst interest
Acquired by Microsoft for $140M
Product became FrontPage (CEO wrote a book)
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20. IT Asset Cost Analysis
Promoting a Little-Known Problem ...
Renamed company (was Netsolv) to fit
product/market category
Produced teleconference that combined
customers, partners, press, analysts, prospects
Successfully positioned IT Ledger as leader in IT asset
management category; tied to TCO trend in media
Achieved 18 Million trade impressions within 6 months:
InformationWEEK, Computerworld, Internet Week,
InfoWorld, LAN Times, online portals, etc.
Software Marketing Journal’s
“Best Start-Up PR Campaign of the Year”
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21. Leveraging top industry analysts:
Well established but tiny start-up --
roots in AI at Carnegie Mellon
Technically superior business rules system competing
against much larger vendors
Successfully introduced company to top analysts at
Gartner, Forrester, IDC, Burton, Insights, Yankee, others
Educated media and analysts on Haley solutions and
their technical edge
Significant vertical media coverage: case studies, bylines
Acquired by RuleBurst, then Oracle – now the Haley
unit of Oracle
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22. Productizing Call Center Services:
Launched Early, Cloud & Co. and its product
into message-oriented middleware market
Leveraged customers with breakthrough
press testimonials and customer events
Developed PR strategy based on acquisition plan
Developed, placed Chase Manhattan Bank story in:
Computerworld, American Banker, US Banker, Bank
Systems & Technology, Call Center, etc.
Acquired by IBM after successful 3-year AOR
relationship; account continued with IBM 2 more years
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23. What Our Clients Say …
"Steve Parker has a gift for articulating and communicating a
company's positioning in a powerful and direct manner. I've
seen him weave his magic for many companies. He's a true
professional who brings passion and vision to his work."
--Eugene A. Bonte, Co-Founder,
Object Design, Inc. & SVP, Pegasystems
"Parker Communications really excels at messaging and
positioning. They provided strong strategic counsel and
added value in many other ways, including our Web site,
market research, white papers and our blog."
--Linda Stewart, Founder & CEO
EPOCH Partners
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24. What Our Clients Say …
"…One of the few PR firms I've seen who truly excel at
both the strategic and tactical aspects of PR - due to the
diverse mix of skills and strengths of each team member.
This is the first time in my career that my PR firm has
exceeded my expectations."
--Susan Challenger, VP of Marketing
Percussion Software
"In less than nine months we gained invaluable media
exposure and achieved top rankings by key industry
analysts."
--Joan Tesla, Director of Marketing
Haley Systems
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25. What Our Clients Say …
"Their team got up to speed quickly, helped refine our
messaging and added value with executive coaching and
bylined article development and placements. I recommend
them highly."
--Su Doyle, V.P. of Marketing
Providus Software
"Parker helped us to redefine our category and articulate
Compete’s unique, compelling vision of predictive analytics
services. They have helped put Compete back on the map."
--Man Jit Singh, Director and Former CEO
Compete, Inc.
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26. Why Parker?
We do our homework to understand your
business and your goals
We offer strategic counsel informed by
research and years of experience
We’re a senior team that sweats the details
on both tactics and strategy
We intentionally over-service you and
become an extension of your staff
We're creative, learn quickly and always tell
it like it is
We deliver results with market impact to help
you grow your business
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27. We Get Your Story Told.
www.parkercomms.com
Parker Communications
P.O. Box 802
North Andover, MA 01845-0802
T 978-975-7339
Steve's blog:
@sparker9 www.marketingdissector.com Thank You.
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