Communicating about technology has become a far more strategic function for corporations, as executives seek to tie communications goals to business goals and integrate it with other marketing disciplines. NCR’s Bird, for example, wants to bring PR skills “to the whole product development process, so that when a product is being readied for its beta test and launch, we can help make it a stronger story, rather than scrambling and trying to spin it at the end.”

Tech companies also need good tactical implementation. But it’s now much harder to get a reporter’s or editor’s attention. Most are so busy they rarely do face-to-face meetings. And even if they do, “It takes three meetings and six months to get a reporter to write something,” says Sabrina Horn, president, CEO and chairman of New York and San Francisco-based Horn Group, an agency that specializes in technology clients.

Tech communications today has to reach not just the press, but “a whole ecosystem of influencers – professors, authors, analysts, media,” says Peter Harris, senior vice president of Ketchum’s corporate and tech practice. To Lark, the challenge is building communities and constituencies. “We have a huge amount to learn from the pharmaceutical industry – they have mastered the art of influencing the public through the doctor,” he says. “For us, the developer is our most important constituency – without them, you don’t get the CIO or IT manager.”

Influencers need to get a steady stream of news and information, and important announcements should be backed with phone calls. But issuing press releases for every new widget, possible widget or twiddle in a widget will no longer fly. As Jamie Parker, president, technology, Weber Shandwick, Cambridge, Mass., puts it: “PR does not stand for press release.”

Relating announcements to a reporter’s beat, or even building an information package for journalists, complete with a story line and sources, is one effective tactic. “Have your points and your analysts ready to use,” says Harris, adding, “You almost need to write the story for them.” Parker’s team does “cover-to-cover” strategies: “We’ll analyze whether there’s a relevant opportunity” in the different sections of the newspaper. But it can be hard to get them to assist with information that would help formulate and shape a story to be pitched. “You almost have to come up with a Chinese menu of options from which they can pick and choose,” Horn says.

SAP takes a two-tiered approach. Its product communications team talks to the technology trades and vertical publications, and the corporate media team talks to top tier global business media. Chris Sorek, senior vice president, public communications for SAP’s Walldorf, Germany headquarters, emphasizes that it is essential to have consistent, clear, one-voice messages.

Intel, which still maintains strong day-to-day communication with journalists, has been reaching out more to the mainstream consumer press over the past five or six years. The women’s magazine segment has been the hardest nut to crack, says Pam Pollace, Intel’s vice president of corporate communications in Santa Clara, Calif. “They don’t want to cover technology. It perplexes me, as their readers and their families want the information,” she says.

And if there’s a crisis, you or your client needs a structured, coordinated setup that will let you respond immediately – and it has to be ready before any crisis happens, says Dan Ginsburg, senior vice president & general manager of Environics Communications, Inc. in Stamford, Conn. But he acknowledges that making sure a response is smart, well thought out and vetted, can be a challenge.

“Senior PR people need a seat in the C-suite and with the legal team,” he says. Should an issue materialize, he recommends making sure vetted documents have been developed, and having a list of key contacts assembled. “If a product, for example, has a defect and you have two hours until the story comes out, you need to be able to determine, fast, if you want to put out a statement, and if so, to be able to get it cleared by legal in time.”

Ginsburg has even taken his clients through mock crisis drills to be sure all necessary elements are in place.

© 2004 Heyman Associates, Inc.