Berkeley Communications Group

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior vice president for sales and marketing at IDEX Biometrics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Berkeley Communications?

We needed help with renaming our company and branding.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There are other companies called IDEX, and as we were listed as IDEX, we had to make sure that we kept some of our old identity but made it clearer what it was we did. We also worked with them with a lot of collateral that we could use to explain how you’d use a biometric smart card in payment, in access control, in ID, and in IoT.

We specifically target card companies. We knew which companies we wanted to talk to. Berkeley Communications came up with subject matter they thought would interest those partners. This included education about cards, surveys about what the consumer thought about a biometric payment card, accessibility, privacy concerns, and more. 

When COVID-19 hit, we had a continuing but reduced engagement.

What is the team composition?

Caroline (Client Engagement) is our main contact.

How did you come to work with Berkeley Communications?

We spoke to about three companies. What resonated with us with Berkeley Communications was the storytelling ability they had. They were coming at it from a slightly different but more appealing way for us. That was backed up with thought leadership pieces and developing the collateral for our market. They felt in tune with what the company needed. We liked the people as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $100,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018 and the work is ongoing.  I’ve personally been involved with the project since June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

In May 2017, IDEX had about 1.1% of the share of biometric news stories in the UK. In April 2019, we made up 22% of the voice for biometrics in the UK. In the space of a couple of years, they helped us to transform us from having virtually no brand equity, coverage, or voice in the biometric industry to having over a ⅕ share of the voice in biometrics. 

How did Berkeley Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a quarterly face-to-face review where we look back at what we’ve achieved. They’ll propose thought leadership pieces for the coming quarter. We worked with them on what press coverage and media coverage we were gaining, what was important to us, and what our key targets were in the coming quarter. We basically worked with them to build a plan that we refined each quarter to get better coverage and to be clear about what we provided and to whom. There was always a clear plan. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

What I learned about Berkeley Communications is as things came up, it was just wonderful to be able to pick up the phone and ask an experienced person on the other end what I should do. A classic example of that would be that we have a very aggressive Twitter community that follows fingerprint biometrics. The way we responded to those tweets was with the guidance from Berkeley Communications. I could rely on them for good advice at the right time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

My mind jumps to price but they were competitive in their pricing. It was a good value for money.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The quarterly meetings and agreeing on a plan are important. Having experienced people on hand to guide you for unplanned activity helps you manage those emergency situations very well. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

About Zyxel: Focused on innovation and customer-centric technology and service, Zyxel has been connecting people to the Internet for over 30 years. Our ability to adapt and innovate with networking technology places us at the forefront of the drive to create connectivity for businesses and home users. I am Channel Director for the DACH region at Zyxel (Germany, Switzerland and Austria)

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Berkeley Communications?

Initially, we were looking for rock solid press office services.

What were your goals for this project?

Beeing supported quickly, efficiently and with zero fuss in all communcation issues we need for the German market - PR, text and social media.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

There are a lot of PR companies that work in our industry, which all seem to use the same strategies. We considered quite a few different agencies and held a competitive pitch. The decision came down to relationships. Berkeley Communications was on the same wavelength as us.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Initially, we were looking for rock solid press office services. Berkeley Communications delivered this quickly, efficiently and with zero fuss. They manage all media relations, content creation and product reviews for us in the DACH region and ensure we never miss an opportunity.

The team at Berkeley are also great at suggesting approaches we hadn’t considered as part of our PR programme such as social media strategies.

They manage our social media accounts such as LinkedIn to generate awareness with the right target audiences and to build relationship with potential customers.

What was the team composition?

On a given day, there are three members on the team but they also can bring on additional resource such as content creation, senior strategic support or media sellers when we have a big launch. I also appreciate that they hold regular brainstorms internally to come up with new and proactive ideas so I get the benefit of the creative ideas of everyone in their team, not just those working on my account.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Since Berkeley Communications came in, our LinkedIn followers have pretty much doubled. More and more people engage with our posts every month and follow our accounts.

Due to the posts and services their team provides, website visitors have also increased every month. We’re getting more traction with key press members.

Through our collaboration with Berkeley Communications, we have developed better relationships with crucial journalists who seem to publish most of what we put out.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have a weekly call to go through assignments, any deadlines or outstanding actions.

In addition, I know they are always at the end of the phone so can get regular updates should I need them outside of our scheduled calls. I like that they don’t just sit back and wait for me to send them information.

To move us forward, they never shy from chasing and prompting us so we don’t lose momentum or miss an opportunity.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their greatest quality is that they’re always pushing us. Berkeley Communications is always putting new ideas on the table. Rather than us going to them, their team is moving us forward constantly. We’re enjoy working with them because they keep delivering value.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can’t think of anything at the minute. As long as they keep pushing up, generating great results and coming up with creative approaches I’m happy.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity company founded in 1997. Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialized security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky technologies and we help 270,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. I am leading and responsible for the overall corporate communications for Kaspersky in the German speaking regions, which include Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Berkeley Communications?

Since its foundation in 1997 Kaspersky has always seen communication as a major business factor and hence has steadily grown its communicative outreach. Berkeley Communications has been the trusted partner and "right hand" of Kaspersky's corporate communications manager for B2C and B2B PR and corporate communications in the DACH region for several years already.

What were your goals for this project?

Country-specific qualitative and quantitative KPIs with regards to media coverage Extend company, B2B and B2C mindshare in the DACH region Future-driven B2B and B2C communication campaigns Solid external senior consultancy services

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Agency pitch

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Strategic, ongoing communications consultancy services Media relations DACH region Story telling Content production B2C and B2B campaign development and roll-out Event organisation Surveys Media monitoring Reporting Smaller graphic & layout tasks Translation services Support with issue management

What was the team composition?

3 permanent consultants, of which one senior consultant, plus ad-hoc support from other consultants, editors. specialists and freelancers whenever required.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Achieved country-specific qualitative and quantitative KPIs with regards to media coverage Achieved extension of company, B2B and B2C mindshare in the DACH region Received concepts for future-driven B2B and B2C communication campaigns Received solid external senior consultancy services

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Their proactive, flexible and positive "can-do" approach stood out. Good project management skills Practical, easy to implement solutions Effective and speedy communication Punctual delivery of tasks Positive response to feedback

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Proactive, flexible and positive "can-do" approach Practical, easy to implement solutions Effective and speedy communication

Are there any areas for improvement?

Enhancing power of B2C communications would be a plus