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Trend Micro: Re-Launching Virus Protection for Consumers

The Challenge:

Trend Micro, a global leader in corporate network AntiVirus protection, struggled to take mindshare and marketshare from their US-based competitors, Symantec and McAfee, who led the desktop AntiVirus market, and enjoyed better brand recognition in the United States.

As Trend Micro prepared to launch the 2003 version of their desktop AntiVirus product, PC-cillin, the company faced additional hurdles because the earlier version of the product had garnered less than stellar reviews, and was considered by some US-based reviewers to be a second- or third-tier product.

The Solution:

Access developed a three-pronged approach that would most successfully launch PC-cillin 2003 and put Trend Micro back on map in the US desktop AntiVirus market.

The first phase was a nationwide media tour targeting business, security and IT press. Messages highlighted the product's competitive advantages, including wireless AntiVirus protection, a 24/7 virus lab that's constantly checking for new viruses and building fixes for immediate response to any outbreak, as well as free telephone support and a competitive price point.

To ensure positive reviews Access recommended a staggered approach, delivering PC-cillin software to "First Looks" reviewers before sending it out for general reviews. As the grand finale for the campaign, because the launch of PC-cillin 2003 occurred at the height of flu season, the agency developed a "Complete AntiVirus Kit," which contained Echinacea, herbal tea, vitamin-C, a Trend Micro-branded scarf and a "prescription" bottle of branded PC-cillin jellybeans, along with a copy of the software, to consumer technology and SOHO reporters.

The Results:

The PC-cillin launch campaign resulted in meetings with top-tier outlets including BusinessWeek, the New York Times, Reuters, InfoWorld and PCWorld, and generated more than twice the coverage of a competitor's recent desktop product launch. Coverage included more than 2.5 million impressions and featured a New York Times Circuits story with box shot, which was picked up in daily papers throughout the country.

Access' staggered reviews approach helped ensure positive reviews for PC-cillin. The software earned CNET's highest rating for a desktop AntiVirus product, beating out both Symantec's Norton AntiVirus and Network Associate's McAfee.

"With its new 2003 version, Trend Micro's PC-cillin regains its rank among the top three AntiVirus programs on the market…PC-cillin 2003 not only matches McAfee and Norton feature for feature, it offers a few neat tricks of its own." CNET

"In the same way that an annual flu shot can help ward off a nasty illness, keeping the computer inoculated can help it resist new viruses, worms and Trojan horses...PC-cillin 2003 is designed to ward of threats no matter where they come from, and includes features to provide automatic protection." The New York Times