The challenge
Permasense Limited is a rapidly growing developer and manufacturer of permanently-installed sensor-based monitoring systems. The company was initially spun out of research work at Imperial College London by the technology transfer company Imperial Innovations.
Led by a highly qualified team with many years’ experience supplying technology to the oil industry, Permasense was first to market with its robust continuous corrosion monitoring system. It needed to make the most of this first mover advantage.
Based on a patented, waveguide-mounted ultrasonic sensor that can be permanently fitted to pipework operating under extreme conditions, the system was been proven in application at BP refineries in Germany and the US as part of BP’s Refining & Logistics Technology programme. Such monitoring was usually conducted by manual inspection, with resultant Health & Safety and cost implications.
The challenge was launch a new company and product to the risk-adverse oil and gas sector as the technology became commercially available.
The solution
The PR aspect of the campaign was initiated once branding and a positioning statement had been developed and agreed. Collateral produced in advance included a website and overview brochure, both in print form and as a pdf, so those reading about the innovation could search for and download more information online.
A joint press release was then agreed with both BP and Imperial Innovations which formed the basis for communications, and The Think Tank compiled a list of core magazines and correspondents to target.
The Press Relations campaign was aimed initially at titles whose readership consisted of inspectors, refinery managers and production planners at oil and gas facilities. The campaign focused on opening a dialogue with the global oil and gas press, securing press interviews for Permasense’s CEO and developing feature articles that discussed the issues addressed by the product.
The positioning of the Permasense solution was that it could assist with making more informed business and safety decisions, based on real-time information, assist with health and safety considerations, and help reduce the overall cost of corrosion and erosion monitoring.
The PR was amplified by e-DM, and participation at targeted industry events such as the NACE Corrosion Conferences & Expo.
A LinkedIn profile was also launched for the company which was updated with news and a quarterly newsletter was also developed to invite visitors to come and see Permasense exhibiting at industry events, and update recipients of other news and developments.
Results
The campaign delivered rapid awareness for the company and product on a global scale within core markets, delivering enquiries to the client from both target and periphery audiences, that resulted in orders of the Permasense system.
Permasense brought in Rapid Innovation Group (a specialist strategy and execution firm for technology-based companies with high growth potential) to assist with sales support, and the campaign opened doors with contacts at the main refinery operators who had read about the technology.
Initial coverage achieved around the announcement included:
Oil & Gas Journal (US), Oil & Gas Petrochemical Equipment (US), NACE: Materials Performance (US), ASME: Mechanical Engineering (US), ASNT: Materials Evaluation (US)
International Oil & Gas Engineer (US),Downstream Today (US),New Technology Magazine (Canada), Industrial Fuels and Power (UK), Platform, Oil, Gas & Renewable Technology Review (UK),Tank Storage Magazine (UK), Oil & Gas Eurasia (UK & Russia),International Petroleum Refining (India), The Economist (UK).
Activity going forward
Eighteen months since it was first marketed, more than 3000 sensors were in live operation, installed at 27 facilities in 11 countries illustrating the rapid acceptance of the system by the oil & gas industry.
In the past year a new long-range solution has been developed and marketed for upstream facilities and ongoing press coverage has been achieved around this. Permasense representatives continued to participate in industry events around the world, speaking and the CEO participated in a webinar organised by industry-leading publication World Oil.
More than 4000 sensors are currently in live operation installed at 40 facilities in 11 countries. To date 12 super-major and privately held oil operators have adopted the system. The system has been deployed in refineries and upstream facilities, including offshore platforms. The Permasense continuous corrosion monitoring systems can now be found in the US, Canada, Germany, Australia, China and a number of other countries.
Client Testimonial
“The Think Tank has delivered and continues to deliver a complete promotional campaign for us including website, printed collateral and trade press articles.
“After a period of eight months into this campaign we have already secured orders from some of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies, in sectors where 1-2 year sales cycles are the norm.
“The image The Think Tank has created for us has undoubtedly been key to reinforcing our credibility to these customers, despite our status as a start up business.
“The awareness generated by significant articles in leading trade press channels has also led to orders from sectors we had considered difficult to penetrate, and thus has helped to grow our business quickly through unexpected channels.
“The awareness generated is very great for our size because effort has been effectively targeted: a leading competitor has approached us to explore collaboration because we are mentioned to them by every customer they talk to, demonstrating the depth of penetration achieved by the work of The Think Tank team.”
