Aligning Technology With an Industry Leader

Sigma Designs is a leading fabless semiconductor provider of highly integrated system-on-chip (SoC) solutions that are used to deliver entertainment and control throughout the home. Sigma has been public for more than 25 years and offers SoC solutions for media processing, wired and wireless networking, video image processing and home control. It also provides system software to form the critical components of consumer electronic products that include Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) set-top boxes and gateways, Blu-ray players and media communication devices.

The Challenge

Sigma Designs is best known for its media processor line of products, but the company is also the provider of Z-Wave technology, which supports a consortium of more than 500 home control products, the largest group of interoperable products in the world.

Sigma Designs learned a scant few weeks before it would become public knowledge that Verizon was planning to offer its more than 4.5 million FiOS customers a new Verizon Home Monitoring and Control installation and service based on a series of Z-Wave products. Paying a recurring monthly fee, these customers would create a new market for the telecom giant.

This news presented an advantageous opportunity for Sigma Designs to align itself, through a growing product line, with a large organization and to showcase the importance and relevance of the Z-Wave home control solution to an industry leader.

The Strategy

Sterling Communications recommended moving quickly to get the news in front of as many targeted media and analysts as possible. Verizon was willing to work on a press release but hadn’t yet set a date for the announcement. Relying on previously established relationships with trustworthy media, Sterling was able to arrange interviews in advance of the public announcement without an explicit embargo date for the news.

Prior to the launch, Sterling crafted and initiated a highly-focused media plan that included:

• Identifying key and disparate editors and analysts for early briefings with an emphasis on energy, green, business and telecom sectors
• Establishing early outreach to these key media and analysts
• Targeting media and analysts with specific details on the relationship, the Verizon offering and Sigma’s role
• Highlighting the importance of this deployment as a basis for the expansion of home control solutions beyond first adopters to mainstream consumers

The Results

Sterling Communications secured briefings with:

• 13 media outlets, including Forbes, CNET, GreenTech Media
• 7 research firms, including ABI, Forrester, Parks Associates

The briefings were all held the week prior to the launch through the day of the announcement, proving media with the opportunity to synchronize the appearance of their articles with the publication of the news.

Coverage – 11 Unique Articles

Twitter Mentions – Over 500 Twitter Mentions