SendGrid
SendGrid had been a client for over three years and looked to LEWIS to take the company through a successful IPO in November 2017. SendGrid was traditionally known as an email sender, but to prepare for the IPO, the team worked to position the company as the world’s most trusted customer communication platform and establish itself as a category leader.
Strategy
- Leverage SendGrid’s executive team for thought leadership opportunities with business press to elevate the brand’s awareness
- Broaden the conversation and brand perception from email to customer communications
- Ensure a steady drumbeat of news announcements to show momentum
- Expand awards program to submit for product, business and workplace focused awards
- Identify key influencers and industry topics to drive Share of Conversation (SOC) in the marketing and developer space while building awareness amongst influencers
- Successfully take SendGrid through an IPO
Execution
- Positioned the company as a platform that goes beyond email sending by garnering interest from journalists to elevate the conversation around SendGrid’s unique approach to success and its ability to scale with the next generation of blue chip companies
- Created platforms for SendGrid executives to comment on industry topics including predictions, chatbots, Gmail updates, AI and machine learning
- Focused on CEO profiling opportunities with top tier business publications
- Utilized SendGrid’s data science team to pull data around different U.S. holidays to help provide marketers with email marketing best practices
- Identified and drafted winning submissions for awards like Great Places to Work, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Forbes Cloud 100, The Devies, among others
- Tracked trending industry conversations and articles on social media, delivering a weekly digest with key insights and actionable recommendations for news-jacking and content creation
Results
- Secured over 740 original articles in top tier business, tech and trade media
- Placed over 25 thought leadership byline articles
- Secured over 35 speaking engagements for SendGrid’s executive team
- Submitted for 13 product, business and workplace awards
- Secured #1 spot in Share of Voice (SOV) for Q4 2017 against main competitor
- Social channels achieved a 31.46% average growth, including 13% growth on Twitter, 38% on LinkedIn and 44% on Facebook
- SendGrid raised $131 million in successful IPO, and after pricing shares at $16, the company closed that day at $18.03, or up almost 13%