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Case Study: New Product Introduction Paves Way for $133M Acquisition
Like most pre-revenue, preproduction startups, Resonext Communications kept a close eye on expenses. It was one of a dozen emerging companies competing against the giant semiconductor corporations to be the first to develop a wireless chipset that could accommodate new 5MHz wireless applications. Fortunately, Resonext's founders and marketing executives believed in the power of public relations and invested in developing good content.
While
many of its better-known competitors had already announced
that they had 5MHz technology, it was Resonext's 802.11a chipset
that was recognized in the press as a superior solution. The
well-written product and public relations materials were instrumental
in securing the coveted "Editor's Choice Product of the Month"
award from RF Design Magazine.
Six months after Resonext introduced its first new product, a handful of startups and two major chipmakers leapfrogged the company by introducing dual-band chipsets (802.11abg) that were as fast as Resonext's chip AND compatible with the large existing customer base of wireless products. Despite the fact that the majority of these competitors couldn't prove that their products actually worked, they were getting press. Not quite ready to announce its own dual-band chipset, Resonext quickly dropped off the editors' radar screens.
CommPros Group Associate Partner Mar Junge worked with Resonext and its VC firm, Norwest Venture Partners, to form a strategy and create compelling content that positioned Resonext as a solid technology leader. It was essential that when Resonext introduced its next product, it did not look like an "also ran, me-too" startup.
With no hard news to promote, Junge created public relations content that explained to editors and investors why Resonext was in "stealth mode," and noted that not one of the major players who claimed that they had dual-band products could produce an actual working chipset. The competitors' announcements were design theory of what they intended to produce at best, or "smoke-and-mirrors" at worst. Resonext, on the other hand, had taken the high road, choosing not to make an official new product introduction until it could demonstrate that it had produced a chipset that could be used to make a call from one wireless handset to another, thus proving its functionality.
Editors appreciated the company's candor and honesty. The campaign also bought more time for Resonext to perfect its new product, without losing editorial mindshare. While the company waited anxiously for the first sample chipset from the foundry in Taiwan, Junge and Marketing VP Robert Fan released a steady stream of media advisories highlighting Resonext's progress toward sampling its 802.11abg chipset, and issued position papers reiterating the fact that, despite the many announcements being made by startups and established companies alike, not one could demonstrate 5MHz capability.
As soon as the first sample arrived, the marketing/PR team visited industry analysts in San Jose, California and Phoenix, Arizona, with chipset in hand. While Fan conducted the demonstrations, Junge took note of every favorable analyst comment, and with their permission, was able to weave these valuable endorsements into the new releases in the product introduction press kits.
With only a few weeks to go before the new chipset was to be unveiled at Comdex, Junge developed and produced a wealth of support materials and exhibit graphics that positioned Resonext as the ONLY company with a working 802.11ab wireless chipset. Truthful, well-written press materials and comprehensive editorial follow-up resulted in major pre- and post-show coverage in top-tier industry publications such as EE Times, and on every online wireless technology news site as well.
Even though they were competing against corporations ten times their size with budgets to match, Resonext Communications was the buzz of the Wireless Pavilion at Comdex. Two weeks after the company's new 802.11abg chipset was announced, the startup was acquired for $133 million by RF Micro Devices.
The former Resonext CEO and Marketing VP have since joined another startup, Berkäna Wireless, and are working with Junge to recreate the same magic for their single-chip CMOS RF Transciever. Does good content really make a difference? The investors and founders of Resonext Communications would answer with a resounding "YES."
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