Engage PR - Technology Campaign of the Year

Company: Engage PR
Company Description: Engage PR is the communications for tech brands that need to outpace their competitors, drive sales and expand their business. We have built a reputation based on decades of work with the most innovative technology companies that have shaped how we communicate and engage today.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Technology

Nomination Title: Bridging Borders: Driving Awareness of Telia Carrier’s Expansion into Mexico

Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:

The preparation for this campaign, "Bridging Borders," started in July 2020 and officially launched on August 26, 2020. This campaign's developments and excitement continued through this year, with more campaign activity taking place on February 3, 2021. We are continuing to grow with more planned announcements planned for later this year.

Mexico emerged as a strategic business and technology hub for many international businesses in 2014 when the Mexican market reforms helped boost competition and stimulate innovation. Telia Carrier was the first major international telecom company to support Mexico’s market growth with the addition of three PoPs (the infrastructure that allows users to connect to the Internet) in Monterrey and Querétaro, Mexico and El Paso, Texas–a city that has recently become a major traffic hub for data-center operators connecting the U.S. into Northern Mexico. Telia Carrier’s strategic expansion in 2020 and 2021 into these rapidly growing areas reflects the growing demand for business services in Mexico and Telia Carrier’s services, especially during a time when the need for quality virtual connection is amplified.

From both a business and people standpoint, it was important to Telia Carrier to generate awareness of the expansion and its implications.

-Regional markets were unaware of the implications of the new-and-improved backend connectivity, allowing users to connect locally while still being directly connected to the Telia Carrier backbone in nearby regions. Because Telia Carrier believes that the power of the Internet starts with its users, this news needed to hit the specific regions where the expansion was taking place.

-Telia Carrier’s network expansion also provided opportunities for international businesses, making it important to reach American stakeholders.

Since Engage PR assists Telia Carrier with PR efforts in North America, we developed and executed a campaign to drive awareness to these target audiences

Regional efforts:

Engage PR took the lead to collaborate and connect in local dialect with the regional expansion technology partners–Equinix, Neutral Networks, MDC. We uncovered fascinating insights about the local regions and markets that added a dimension to the story through these conversations. We worked with the partners throughout the campaign, supporting them with everything from press release assistance to local media outreach.

U.S. efforts:

We felt it was important to set the stage of the Mexican market properly so that U.S. journalists could understand how Telia Carrier was solving an integral connectivity need by expanding the region’s backend connectivity capacity. Before publishing any press releases about expansion into the specific cities, we strategized to first publish an umbrella release in August 2020 that set the stage for Telia Carrier’s expansion into Mexico. In the following weeks, we published separate and more detailed releases about network expansions into Monterrey, Querétaro and eventually El Paso in 2021.

Our meetings with the regional partners provided us with insights that helped capture the attention of U.S. media. To help American journalists write a multi-faceted story that would reflect the full color and diversity in the region, we packaged the news release with fact sheets about Mexico history, market and population data, pronunciation tips, and local images. We also offered pre-briefing opportunities for any media contacts that wanted to learn more.

Engage PR's outreach efforts for this campaign generated nearly 40 unique international stories about Telia Carrier’s expansion in Mexico, spotlighting Telia Carrier and partners in the Mexico market. The coverage reached key businesses in Mexico and US-based businesses looking to expand their reach into the region. Creating added visibility and awareness of Telia Carrier’s presence in Mexico has also resulted in numerous inquiries from new potential partners who have contacted Telia Carrier directly from the press release. It also improved business relations, and confidence with current partners Equinix, Neutral Networks, Queretaro and MDC, and there are ongoing plans for expansion into Mexico from the US.

Behind the scenes, Engage PR drove the PR activities for this campaign, including conducting regular meetings with the client and partners, contacting the media before the announcement of Telia Carrier’s expansion into Mexico release date, and developing key messages, press material and a media FAQ sheet. For our media strategy, we approached media that had been regularly covering Telia Carrier and offered those reporters an exclusive on the news—giving reporters ample time to review the materials. We offered a handful of reporters an opportunity to speak with Telia Carrier’s key spokesperson for this announcement, who provided more color about the news. We also contacted international media and worked with local partners to develop a localized Spanish version of the press release to share with their contacts.

The "Bridging Borders" campaign with Telia Carrier has profoundly affected the client, the client's partners, businesses, and people in Mexico. We created a visual (PowerPoint slides) to provide more visuals about the significance and impact of the campaign. The slides also provide an easy-to-understand map and definitions of the Internet and how Telia Carrier provides critical connectivity to Mexico's much-needed region.