Case Study
NCR SILVER
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INDUSTRY

Retail and hospitality technology

EXPERTISE

Public relations

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHTS NCR SILVER EXECUTIVE

There’s no shortage of small business technology experts doling out advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. Just visit Twitter or YouTube for a sampling.

NCR Silver, the former small business division of point-of-sale giant NCR, recognized its president had a unique background and expertise that would set him apart from the crowd. The challenge? How to make his voice heard above the noise generated by numerous other POS vendors and startups.

Enter Arketi Group. NCR Silver challenged Arketi’s public relations team to develop a thought leadership campaign spotlighting Poelma’s years of entrepreneurial experience with new and emerging small business technologies. Rather than directly promoting NCR Silver’s POS devices, Poelma would become a trusted partner and resource for small businesses throughout America.

HOW WE DID IT

THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE

With a sea of potential media outlets and a competitive industry to consider, we immediately set out to develop a highly targeted media relations strategy. Our goal was to make Poelma a recognizable face among entrepreneurs – no small task.

We first conducted a media analysis to understand how competitors were positioning their executives with media outlets catering to small businesses and the payments industry. We also spoke at length with Poelma himself to understand which trends and issues he was passionate about and could speak to.

Putting our research to work, we engaged print and broadcast outlets, developed an extensive content calendar to track monthly editorial opportunities, and followed reporters focused on the payments and small business arenas. We built relationships with target publications to pitch Poelma as a source for technology and entrepreneur-focused stories and thought leadership angles.

As the placement opportunities came in, the team supported Poelma by developing briefing guides to prepare him for calls with reporters, in addition to joining them ourselves. For bylined opportunities, we often ghostwrote the article on Poelma’s behalf, allowing him to review and add his own touch to drafts before submission.

Still, Arketi wasn’t interested in putting Poelma in a corner. To take it up a notch, we organized a media tour, bringing Poelma deskside with national, small business and payments reporters up and down the East Coast.

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CONSUMERS REACHED

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PRINT AND BROADCAST PLACEMENTS

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VIEWERS FROM CNN ALONE

IMPACT
NCR is a powerful name in point-of-sale technology, but there’s no denying we’re in a competitive space. Through Arketi, we’ve worked with some of the most highly regarded small business and payments outlets. We’ve been able to cut through the noise and demonstrate how our expertise makes a difference.

CHRIS POELMA

President

NCR Small Business

In the first year, this executive thought leadership program netted more than 50 media placements, including some of the nation’s most respected outlets. As a result, more than 250 million people had an opportunity to learn about Chris Poelma and his technology background, as well as his unique insights as an entrepreneur and successful executive.

On TV, Poelma appeared during four separate segments of MSNBC’s Your Business, each positioning him as an expert on small business technology. And, on CNN alone, Poelma shared his passion for competitive running in a feature story that attracted more than 20 million viewers. Arketi also leveraged Poelma’s training story as an opportunity with CNBC’s Make It, reaching nearly 15 million people.

Poelma also became an ongoing contributor with Entrepreneur magazine, where his articles boast a high volume of web traffic and are regularly picked up by national outlets such as Fox Business. Arketi secured multiple interviews and bylined articles in leading trade publications such as Mobile Payments Today, PaymentsSource, Retail Customer Experience and Digital Transactions. During the media tour, Poelma visited with reporters from national outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Quartz, Bloomberg and Business Insider.

Today, Chris Poelma is regularly sought out by small business and payments reporters for his expertise, and speaks at national conferences such as Money20/20, sometimes even sharing the stage with executives from competitive platforms.

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