Acronis

How Acronis Used Events and Sports to Create a New Category

The Case

Cybersecurity has for the last couple of years been a thorny issue around the globe, and to a certain extent the GCC region.

Acronis’ positioning was obviously not going to be easy mainly because the cybersecurity space was crowded, and the media already had their inboxes full of information from the existing players. So, how did Acronis finally manage to get the attention of the media and other stakeholders?

Objectives

We launched our first communication during GITEX with corresponding PR campaigns to:

Craft a unique image for Acronis

Popularize the term ‘Cyber Protection’

Create a distinct association with Sports and Acronis

Secure media and registrations for the Cyber Protection Summit

Challenges

The brand lacked a distinct identity in the region
Competitors had similar products
Competitors had a head start in the region
Acronis needed a water tight strategy to be positioned as a technology expert on matters cyber security and data backup

Research

Reviewed recent press releases, corporate and review websites to determine what the market was offering and what clients were saying.

1. Market intelligence revealed that no technology firm had emerged to claim the Cyber Protection specialist title.

2. It also emerged during research that women in the region were increasingly finding it challenging to excel in the industry.

3. Not many knew that Acronis had been awarded Unicorn status with a whopping US$147 million funding by Goldman Sachs.

Campaign Strategy

The annual GITEX Technology Week Expo, Formula 1 and a Cyber Protection Summit were identified as the perfect opportunities for Acronis to establish its distinct identity in the region.

The multi-pronged approach and strategy included:

Use Unicorn status as hook for media and potential leads

Directly associate Acronis sports teams and highlight the need to protect their data

3 events - GITEX, Cyber Protection Summit, Women in Sport & Technology panel
Cyber Security + Backup = Cyber Protection
Highlight US$147 million funding for Cyber Protection Specialists Acronis by Goldman Sachs

Execution & Tactics

Execution

GITEX

- Highlighted the unicorn status and Goldman Sachs funding
- A thought-provoking ‘Backup is Dead’ article released
- The team targeted all channels and business media that had written about the competitors
- Visitors & media were also given access to the registration for the Cyber Protection Summit and free product testing

Cyber Summit

- We strategically conducted the Cyber Protection Summit during Formula 1 week in Abu Dhabi
- Media played football with Inter Milan legend Dejan Stankovic for the Acronis Cyber Dragon Cup
- Secured live streaming with partners MENATECH (existing 100,000+ database) to cover the event

Other Tactics

- A day’s access to media at Abu Dhabi Formula 1 including a visit to the Williams Team pit
- Manchester City legend Joleon Lescott interview at Acronis Suite to talk about the importance of video in today’s training methods and cyber protection in sports
- The Women in Sport panel, with Susie Wolff, Claire Williams and Jamie Chadwick, was covered by key media