Apps Associates: A Big Bold Approach to Building Pipeline
Introduction
Raising Awareness to Scale Revenue and Generate New Business
Apps Associates was known well in the Northeast and had grown through word of mouth as a strong channel partner for Oracle, AWS and Salesforce. Apps Associate’s private equity partner charged Apps with scaling the company. That would require expanding opportunity creation beyond these long-standing premium partnerships.
We’re an organization with deep Oracle expertise focused on helping clients manage enterprise databases and applications. Right now, that means helping clients migrate to the cloud. With PAN’s strategic support, we’re leveraging unique marketing approaches to dispel concerns about Oracle cloud migration and reach IT professionals gearing up for the move to the cloud – SaaS, private or public.
The Challenge
Apps Associates was faced with a double whammy. There was widespread confusion in the marketplace about what can and cannot be done with Oracle in the cloud. And there was a low awareness of the brand and the full scope of services they offer.
While there existed a large installed Oracle base, they didn’t realize they had options, and therefore they weren’t looking for them. PAN had to build awareness around Oracle Cloud Migration in general and connect Apps Associates to that story. We did that by building the need, building awareness, then teaching their audience about their options.
The Solution
PAN started by refreshing the brand in terms of its narrative as well its visuals. With a strong legacy, Apps Associates wasn’t looking for a rebranding, but they needed to be discoverable.
Messaging and Positioning
PAN addressed their brand messaging, taking the strength of their reputation and updating the narrative and the visual to increase discoverability. The “Yes, You Can” campaign messaging helped raise awareness around their cloud migration services.
Demand Generation
PAN took a targeted account approach and built paid social programs to increase awareness and demand. For demand, we conducted primary research and built an e-book on the top 5 myths on migrating oracle to the cloud. It was a bold decision in that you don’t typically ask a client to start with primary research, but the cloud conversation is so loud and noisy that we made it a way for them to enter the conversation. We needed a way to cut through that clutter and have an ownable story. We set out to add relevant content to the conversation.
Creative Services
PAN oversaw the Apps Associates website redesign, updated their logo, created new brand guidelines, photography guidelines, business cards, templates and sales enablement. We aimed high, positioning them alongside Oracle, Amazon, Google and Microsoft. We asked, “How can you visually belong in that company?” It’s the company you keep. We knew from the beginning we were designing to be a leader along with those companies.
Thought Leadership
Apps Associates has more experience migrating Oracle to AWS than anybody else. They have had so many successes. We had to amplify their credentials and ensure their client success laddered up to “we’ve been there, we’ve done that, let us show you how.” Our job was to mine the successes they had migrating Oracle to private, public and Oracle SaaS and use that as their bedrock. It was an aggressive earned media program with the business and trade press and within Oracle and AWS communities.
Social Media Strategy
PAN integrated social into the larger awareness to consideration framework. It had been in its own silo and we turned it around to be a top website driver for conversion. It was doing a good job but it was a lower volume/high quality audience. We had the upside of a higher quality audience. We had a responsibility to ensure that the content we were sharing would help the followers take the right next step in their Oracle to the Cloud journey.
The Impact
Enlarging their pipeline beyond the channel partner ecosystem
PAN created a pipeline independent of Oracle and AWS channel referrals, something Apps Associates did not have in place previously. We are now identifying and originating opportunities. It was growth, and for the first time ever they were enlarging their pipeline beyond the channel partner ecosystem. That’s the seismic shift.
63% of coverage around Apps Associates included Oracle or AWS. That’s good company to be in – and that was the goal.
We conducted primary research and identified an ownable position for Apps amongst the crowded and foggy Oracle to the cloud migration story. This allowed us to punch above their weight in terms of earned media coverage and placed them squarely as a go-to leader on the topic. It was a big bold approach and a bold entry given how competitive the stage is.
