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The Challenge
NetPOS.com, Inc. created a Web-based point-of-sale (POS) system that allows users unparalleled levels of service, making current POS systems—such as cash registers and other computerized systems—obsolete.
Steven Heintz, founder and president had successfully launched and managed another technology-based company. Only 23 years old at the time of the NetPOS introduction, Mr. Heintz became a strong interview candidate for the media.
The NetPOS system was operational at a Chicago location of a national restaurant chain. The restaurant owners also wished to promote their business and tout their use of cutting-edge technology.
Franco's challenge was to launch NetPOS.com, Inc. and garner attention within the restaurant, retail, and business communities. The restaurant and retail industries are primary targets for buying and using POS technology, with restaurants traditionally being early adopters of new technology.
The Franco Strategy
Our strategy was to target journalists who specialize in covering technology trends, retail and restaurant business trends, and emerging businesses, using the intriguing story of Steven Heintz, founder and president, to present the NetPOS.com story.
We developed a targeted media list that included national retail and restaurant trade publications, technology industry publications, national dailies and weeklies.
We created a media kit that presented the cutting-edge technology in an approachable, reader-friendly manner. The kit contained a list of the services available to retailers/restaurateurs who employ the technology, a profile and photo of Steven Heintz, images of the system in use, and a services profile that presented the technology in laymen's terms.
We developed an online version of the media kit, and a separate press room page was created within the NetPOS.com Web site. All materials on the Web site were downloadable, including photographs.
Also included in the media kit was a news release from the restaurant. The release appeared on the restaurant's letterhead and spoke from its point of view. To create a credible voice within the business and restaurant industries, the CFO for the restaurant was quoted.
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We placed the news release and select photos on PR Newswire. The photos featured showed the NetPOS system being used within an actual restaurant, by restaurant employees who were currently using the system daily.
We provided media training to Mr. Heintz and others who we felt would be potential media interview subjects.
We then sent media kits to a select group of journalists, chosen based on their specific technology and restaurant beats. Other journalists were sent the news release, and the release was posted on the wire.
We initiated contact with all of the journalists on the list and followed up with media to those who expressed an interest in the technology or Mr. Heintz.
The Results
The NetPOS.com story was picked up in its entirety and posted on the Dow Jones Newswire. Part of the Dow Jones group of companies, the newswire is a resource in the financial, investment, and journalism sectors.
A lengthy and positive article ran on the Crain Tech Michigan Web site, which features technology news in the Michigan area.
Crain's Detroit Business published a feature article that focused on NetPOS.com and its technology, and the Ann Arbor News ran a feature article in its technology section.
The Digital Survival Guide, an internationally syndicated radio program, interviewed Mr. Heintz on one of its broadcasts, which was simulcast on the Web.
In Nation's Restaurant News, NetPOS.com appeared in an article regarding Internet-based POS being utilized in the restaurant industry. The article included positive commentary by the journalist (who is the technology writer) with quotes from a restaurant using the Net POS system.
In the Detroit News, a technology feature discussed NetPOS.com and its Web-based technology.
This extensive media coverage in the local market created a positive image for NetPOS.com within the business and investment communities. This coverage has helped the company attract investors, and NetPOS.com is in the process of closing its second round of capital funding.
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