Digital engineering, human interaction
Automated press systems are great at distributing information, not so great at understanding human psychology.
When Hexagon Geosystems approached us in June 2021, perplexed by a lack of coverage for their pioneering digital positioning, guiding and visualisation systems, we recommended a return to basics: personalised human interaction.
Automated emails were being ignored. Junked. Journalists, bombarded by data, were not seeing the bigger picture.
We love technology. But we also know that developing meaningful relationships with influential people demands more than a scattergun approach. Hit and hope is no match for precise dialogue and storytelling.
We defined Tier 1 media targets and built relationships with editorial and commercial teams through a series of in-depth conversations.
We also set up a global press office and gave journalists a single point of contact – previously enquiries had all too often been lost between multiple contacts across the Hexagon organization – so that now, when Hexagon has news to share or content to pitch, journalists receive it from a real human being.
Did it work?
From June to December 2021, TFD generated 114 articles in the agreed set of Tier 1 media titles, which equates to 31% of coverage overall (compared to 9% for the full year 2020).
Our proactive approach was proven with one particular announcement when Hexagon announced a significant partnership with Airbus. The announcement was issued via automated email with a generic email and no coverage was picked up in the four days following.
At that point TFD was asked to contact journalists to highlight the news, share assets and push for coverage. Within two days, we had generated 10 articles within the Tier 1 media list (which rose to 15 over the next few weeks), as well as an email interview for an in-depth article in GeoWeek News.
