Beau Vrolyk,

former President and CEO, 3ware, Inc.

Rock and Roll PR Campaign puts Rohati at top of charts!

Project:	Get Rohati Systems what it wanted and needed:  A rock and roll publicity campign that shook the market, established a product category, secured monumental recognition among traditional press, social media, bloggers, podcasters and analysts, and ultimately led to a successful second round of funding.
Challenge:	When unknown startup IT security solutions vendor Rohati Systems (Rohati is a Sanskrit work which means "to grow, to rise, to ascend") turned to Trainer Communications and asked it to successfully launch the company and product into the highly competitive IT security solutions market, Trainer accepted the challenge.  It was an uphill battle; the team would have to launch the unknown company, introduce its product, and create an entirely new security solutions category known as Network-Based Entitlement Control (NBEC) - and had just three months to complete the task.
Results:	Immediately following the launch, Trainer Communications secured more than 35 feature articles and video features that reflected the primary Network-Based Entitlement Control message in top-tier IT industry and business news publications and within influential blogs. Since the May launch, Trainer has secured Rohati more than 75 feature articles and mentions in top-tier IT industry and business news publications and within influential blogs, and has secured Rohati recognition in industry-leading analyst firm reports from Gartner and Forrester. The phenomenal success of the launch propelled Rohati into stardom and helped it secure $12 million in a second round of funding.

The global Information Technology security market is a hostile environment, overflowing with internationally recognized players that protect corporate data from attack as it flows across the network. Global juggernaut companies such as Juniper Networks and Cisco compete in this market and are locked in fierce competition for scarce budget dollars from prospective buyers. The security market, by its sheer nature, is tough on all vendors. Even established vendors can have a difficult time surviving.  This market rarely embraces new vendors with open arms – especially one offering a new product in a new solutions category. Startup Rohati took a chance and challenged the security market and giants! The executives knew they had a hit in the making, but needed a way to get the world to listen to their song.

Based on its solid 13 years of experience with successful launch campaigns, knowledge of the always-changing IT security market and deep domain expertise, Trainer developed a four-point strategy:

• Created a compelling story that clearly articulated why NBEC was a new solutions category, the business and technological benefits NBEC provided, why NBEC would change the way enterprises secure network accessed resources, and why Rohati would become the leading NBEC provider.
• Created a beta user, analyst, value-added reseller (VAR) and luminary reference network eager to support the story’s claims.
• Carried that story to a diverse, large community of traditional IT and business news publications, social media blogger outlets, top-tier analyst firms, and luminary thought leaders.
• Persuaded traditional IT and business news publications and social media blogger outlets, luminary thought leaders and top-tier analysts to positively portray Rohati’s NBEC solutions as the future of how enterprises will secure valuable resources accessed through global networks open to the Internet.
• Developed a launch theme that would create an “I can’t get this song out of my head” effect that would translate in to “keeping Rohati top of mind.”  Trainer chose the Rolling Stones’ song, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”— a timeless, cultural icon — to create the effect. Not only did it resonate with the target audience, it also reflected exactly what Rohati’s solution provides: restricted access to only data needed to do business but not necessarily what “they want” or shouldn’t have access to.

To kick off the campaign, Trainer Communications mailed a copy of the Rolling Stone’s ‘Let it Bleed’ CD, containing the song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”   The rest is history - the response was phenomenal and results exceeded all expectations.