Overview: Polycom appointed new CEO Andy Miller in 2010, in the midst of bruising challenges: : continue to differentiate itself from competitors like Cisco and; establish itself as a market leader in video conferencing, moving beyond its legacy association as the provider of “triangle phones” . As the former CEOof a company recently acquired by Cisco, Andy’s arrival at Polycom stirred further speculation about continued consolidation in the unified communications market and Polycom as a potential Cisco takeover target.

The Plan: Polycom needed to develop and quickly go-to-market with a strong and clearly articulated executive communications point of view to ensure perception and buzz around the company moved from potential acquisition target to emergent category leader in unified communications. To achieve this, the Polycom and Access teams launched a ”100 Day Communications Blitz,” with three strategic objectives: Define Polycom, building a better core story; Instill confidence in the market that Polycom was more than just a takeover target; Leverage new CEO Andy Miller to tell the right story, in the right place through aggressive media relations. By capitalizing on the moment and leadership taking over the company, the team looked to effectively insert Polycom into the video conferencing and telepresence dialogue.

Execution: The ”100 Day Communications Blitz” was executed immediately after the official announcement of Andy’s appointment, and was built on aggressive media relations outreach to leading business and technology press, and engagement with key, third party influencers. The team built a platform as follows:

• Media Engagement: Focusing coverage on Andy’s strategy and vision, highlighting key additions to the executive team, plans for growth into new, hot markets with media heat such as the tablet news cycle, new strategic partnerships, and clearly defining Polycom’s value proposition beyond the enterprise customer. . The team also crafted a a broadcast personality for Andy and media trained him to leverage his on-air credibility and effectiveness, , honing smart messages tailored to specific news and business broadcast outlets including CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and FOX Business.
• Connecting with Influencers: In order to strengthen Andy and Polycom’s position in the market, the team needed to go beyond media results: Andy also needed exposure to key influencers in the technology and enterprise sectors, reaching C-level decision-makers at big companies. Access’ engagement strategy was predicated on three pillars: leveraging business press media coverage to “introduce” Andy to his peers, tap Access’ broad range of C-level contacts at companies including eBay and Adobe, and identifying and then securing platforms and venues for Andy to attend and participate in, including the World Economic Forum, held annually in Davos, Switzerland.

Success Metrics: Polycom achieved measurable success against three distinct media relations objectives, definitively driving and elevating perception and awareness of the company within key constituenciesand among the coverage highlights were Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. Strategic Media Impressions: 2009 coverage vs. 2010 coverage increased 10%.

• Coverage Tone: business press coverage in early 2010 in outlets like ZDNet and MarketWatch called into question the company’s longterm viability; within six months, MarketWatch was referring to Polycom as a “Wall Street darling” stealing share from Cisco
• Financial performance: The company is now experiencing record quarterly growth, and the stock price has nearly doubled since Andy was announced as CEO.