Client Successes

RSA Security:A Rapidly Expanding Company Outgrows Existing PR Infrastructure

Firm: McGrath/Power Public Relations & Communications -- San Jose
Client: RSA Security
Specialty Area: Media Relations
Date: 09/23/2003

RSA Security, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSAS)

With thousands of customers around the globe, RSA Security provides interoperable solutions for establishing online identities, access rights and privileges for people, applications and devices. Built to work seamlessly and transparently in complex environments, the Company’s comprehensive portfolio of identity and access management solutions - including authentication, Web access management and developer solutions - is designed to allow customers to confidently exploit new technologies for competitive advantage. RSA Security’s strong reputation is built on its history of ingenuity and leadership, proven technologies and long-standing relationships with more than 1,000 technology partners.

Over the course of 2000 and 2001, RSA Security rapidly climbed the ranks in the IT security industry, both through organic growth and M&A activity. The company was priming itself to achieve peer status with long-standing industry leaders, but the company’s existing PR infrastructure was not set up to sustain a broad, multi-division, aggressive PR program. RSA’s primary efforts were successful in promoting only two of four product groups on a consistent basis, and overarching company positioning and direction was difficult for the industry to understand. In short, the company was not being viewed as the sum of its parts, but rather known for the parts themselves, and the messages resonating within their target audiences reflected this. Xcert International, one of McGrath/Power’s clients, was acquired by RSA Security, and after comparing the results of the existing RSA program with the results achieved by Xcert, RSA made the decision to turn their program over to M/P.

The Solution: Maximizing The Parts To Position The Company

M/P immediately adjusted the program from a focus on primarily product PR, to a focus on strategic initiatives and issues that mapped the Company’s near term and long-term business objectives. M/P extended the media relations effort beyond the trade press to enable RSA executives to receive more visibility surrounding topical issues, ranging from national issues such as Homeland Security and Cyberterrorism, to important technology trends such as Identity and Access Manage. The Agency quickly moved to compartmentalize the program to achieve maximum exposure for each of the various business units, ensuring that the momentum of previous product PR efforts was not only maintained, but also expanded. M/P assigned subject matter experts from the Agency to each group to ensure that each unit’s needs were being understood, relayed to corporate communications, and acted upon.

RSA saw an immediate increase in exposure. Company Q&A’s were increased, a regular flow of speaking engagements was established, news announcements were maximized for coverage opportunities, and the overall profile of the company rose in the industry. M/P successfully strengthened existing relationships or created new ones with the media that have increased the amount of inbound media requests for interviews. Most importantly, M/P has delivered the type of notable successes the company was not previously receiving, such as The Internet World Interview CEO profile and a COMDEX keynote speech.

Having successfully created a core program that functioned on all cylinders, corporate communications was freed from worrying about day-to-day tactical implementation and could work with the agency on strategic programs such as overarching company positioning and PR direction.