BearingPoint Social Media Marketing Case Study

Last Monday, I shared one of Strategic's new social media case studies (British Telecom) for marketers in the B2B and B2G area. It was a great example of how to use social media for business applications like supporting the large enterprise sales cycle and establishing a thought leadership position.

This week, I'd like to shine a spotlight on BearingPoint and its work in the Business-to-Government (B2G) market.

What do you think? I'd love hear your thoughts- leave a comment if you have a moment...

Situation

A large management consulting firm, BearingPoint had $1.3B in public services business alone. Yet competitors were even larger, with more sales reps and more resources.

Goal

BearingPoint wanted to align itself with Government 2.0, the U.S. government’s ongoing initiative to provide more services online. Ultimately, the company sought to penetrate new agencies for its consulting business.

Solution

Strategic helped BearingPoint develop a “New Thinking in Government” program that demonstrated leadership. Tactics included GovTwit, a directory of government executives using social media, which quickly became the “go to” site for finding such savvy execs.

In addition, a series of “New Thinking” videos featured BearingPoint executives in Washington D.C. locations familiar to the audience. Strategic linked viewership of the videos with a telemarketing campaign to key prospects.

Results

GovTwit quickly grew so popular that it became a traditional PR story in its own right, further boosting awareness of BearingPoint.

The “New Thinking” videos and telemarketing follow-up achieved their goal of opening doors to new prospects. The resulting business lunches yielded new relationships and new sales. The New Thinking video campaign has also been recognized as a finalist in three award categories by the Information Technology Services Marketing Association (ITSMA).

Here is a link to the whole case study, along with links to the various web sites: http://gotostrategic.com/site/index.php/site/cases/bearingpoint/

Social Media and Government Marketing Best Practices from Steve Lunceford

One of the best parts of my job is that I get to talk every single day with talented marketers. Talking shop with these experts is a joy and I could do it all day long. Over the past few years, marketing and PR have undergone the most significant transformation since the mass adoption of the Internet, and possibly since the invention of advertising funded mass media in the 19th century.

Most amazing to me is that the whole industry has seemingly embraced change in the space of two to three years. Given the poor reputation of PR flacks and marketing people, you'd think that we'd be stuck in our ways with our heads in the sand. But no, nothing but continual innovation. Look at the auto industry for an example of folks that just can't quite admit the world has changed- something they've known for decades.

One of the most innovative marketers out there is Steve Lunceford, the Director of Global Communications for BearingPoint. Steve's main responsibility is to support BearingPoint's engagements with government agencies. "Business to Government" marketing has always been one of the areas of marketing most resistant to innovation. But even here, under the leadership of people like Steve, social media is being used to generate real, measurable results.

I sat down Steve to learn first hand how he is integrating social media into his successful government marketing program.

Please listen to the podcast interview we recorded last week.

Related links:
http://GovTwit.com – BearingPoint’s government Twitter directory
http://BearingPoint.com/GovTube - New Thinking In Government video series
http://Twitter.com/dslunceford - Follow Steve on Twitter
http://ProReporterTips.com – Steve’s personal blog

What do you think of Steve's strategy and tactics? Would you do the same thing or do you have a different approach to government marketing? I'd love to hear what you have to say! Please leave a comment...

(...and full disclosure, BearingPoint is a client of my employer, Strategic Communications Group)

The Changing Landscape: Enterprise

I've been busy over the last few weeks developing a series of events in partnership with the Software and Information Industry Association (www.siia.net) that will take a look at the transformations occurring right now in three critical areas. Each of these areas (enterprise, mobile and security) are wrestling with dramatic change that is raising technology, regulatory, and cultural issues while generating tremendous business opportunities and creating real value for customers. Each of these events will feature insight from panelists with differing perspectives on all of these issues as well as peek into what the future might look like given today’s trends.

The first panel discussion (scheduled for next Tuesday morning) will cover the issues and trends in the changing landscape of enterprise software. Such issues include SaaS, outsourcing, integration complexity, Oracle's acquisition spree, Google's new SaaS app package, etc. A special focus will also be on the impact of change among government enterprises.

If you are going to be around the DC area, please click on the link below and register!

The SIIA Changing Landscape Series: Enterprise

Panelists: Tony DeSomma, Vice President, Oracle Public Sector Practice, BearingPoint
Tom Mazur, VP Government Sales, Lagan
Gary Golding, Edison Venture Fund
Moderator: Jeff Majka, Director of Marketing and Business Development, Strategic Communications Group
Date: July 31, 2007
Time: 8am to 10am
Location: SIIA DC office, 1090 Vermont Avenue, 6^th Floor, Washington DC
Attendees: 50 people
Registration Fee: SIIA members $20/non-members $40

Please register here: http://www.siia.net/events/prereg.asp?eventid=756