GlobeXplorer

The Challenge

To position GlobeXplorer in both the U.S. and European media as the sole provider of the world's largest commercial online archive of earth imagery, increase visibility among its target audiences, and ensure the company's messages were delivered consistently and accurately to industry analysts and customer audiences.

The Solution

APCO designed a comprehensive U.S. and European media relations strategy and outreach plan surrounding GlobeXplorer's corporate and Internet launch. APCO developed an international media list of technology reporters and correspondents within the "mainstream" media (newspapers, wires, national radio, network TV), as well as editors and reporters within the hi-tech and vertical trades in the travel and leisure, real estate, media business, agriculture and insurance industries.

APCO worked in concert with GlobeXplorer, Sun Microsystems and MapQuest.com to organize launch events in the U.S. and the UK, leveraging Sun's involvement in developing the GlobeXplorer technology. Both events were complemented by a two-day media and analyst tour in New York.

APCO successfully pitched an "exclusive" opportunity to The Wall Street Journal prior to the U.S. launch while advance opportunities were pitched to prominent morning news programs in the UK. To promote the launch itself, APCO distributed special VIP invitations to key media and issued news advisories and press releases to our media list via fax and email. APCO also worked with GlobeXplorer to develop a complete collateral kit, including a corporate brochure with fact sheet inserts and a CD-ROM, designed in-house by APCO.

The Result

The GlobeXplorer launch program exceeded all program objectives. Among the highlights: effective media outreach generated feature coverage in major national and international media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, CNNfn, ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, CNBC's Pan-European Power Lunch, Time magazine, Time Digital and the BBC. The value of all coverage was estimated at more than $1.5 million – a 500% return on investment.

Based on media figures, coverage resulted in more than 367 million people worldwide learning about GlobeXplorer, a quantity reflected in the fact that GlobeXplorer's Web site, www.globexplorer.com, received an average of 3.5 million hits per day, every day, for more than a month following launch. GlobeXplorer was effectively positioned as the world's only online commercial provider of earth imagery, thus cornering the market.

Services Provided

• Branding
• Creative services
• Internal communication
• Issue management
• Market entry & investment strategy
• Media relations
• Online communication
• Positioning

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