Case Study | PR and Content Marketing

We created an editorial planning calendar that identified the topics around which OneAffiniti would both create content for its own blog and pitch content to the media. The content ideation was fully integrated in that our approach to both the PR and blog content tracks were in synch where and when practical. Keeping an integrated approach and unified messaging strategy meant ideating certain blog posts that we could then share as either contributed articles or paid placements in trade news outlets.

OneAffiniti already ran surveys on different subject matter tracks. One such survey was a monthly “Pulse of the Channel” survey it used to obtain feedback from over the over 1,000 channel partners. The company also ran an annual “Business IT Trends Report,” which measured spending intent with IT decision makers. We counseled OneAffiniti on how to communicate the findings from its surveys in both its blog posts and to the media in a fashion that would bolster OneAffiniti thought leadership to the fullest.

During our engagement, we produced one blog post weekly. We made sure to apply the brand voice we co-developed with OneAffiniti across all content. The blog posts were between 800 and 1,200 words long and written in a manner that was informative, engaging, and optimized for SEO.

We helped the company practice what it preached by taking findings from surveys and other sources and putting them into infographics. In one example, we illustrated key findings from a Forrester report on platform utilization that OneAffiniti had commissioned in order to make it easier to comprehend and share on social media.

Swyft held quarterly calls with key regional managers throughout the world to better align company communication objectives with actual media outreach. With the support of members of First PR Alliance, our worldwide partner agency network, we executed the media outreach across all key markets and managed media relations in Australia, the UK and the U.S.

Prior to its arrival to the U.S. in 2015, OneAffiniti had not communicated to the American trade press. In the early stages of our media outreach, a lot of effort was spent on explaining to journalists what TCMA was really about and what the positioning of OneAffiniti in that market was. Within a two-year time span, we managed to develop relationships with all the trade journalists that mattered. Eventually, journalists proactively began reaching out to OneAffiniti for input on different industry stories.

In order to stay relevant and in front of the trade press, Swyft developed a regular cadence of press releases covering both milestones announcements (high-profile new hires, a new service, a client win, etc.) and its industry survey results. A continuous drum beat of proactive media outreach kept OneAffiniti visible and created a demand for insider knowledge about marketing trends pertaining to IT vendors and IT channel sales.

Contributed articles are a great way to project thought leadership. We wrote a total of four exclusive articles for two tier-one media outlets: Channel Futures and Channel Marketing Journal. These contributed articles all received dofollow backlinks to the website, which was a boon to OneAffiniti’s SEO.

Swyft helped prepare OneAffiniti spokespeople for every interview, staffed the interview, and took care of follow-up items to ensure nothing was left to chance and influential media were treated professionally.