The Goal: Juniper Networks wanted to raise its corporate profile in the business press. The company was mainly known for its products rather than the direction in which it was leading the Internet infrastructure industry. Juniper wanted more opportunities to define itself and address industry issues. Accomplishing this required positioning the company and its senior executives as thought leaders within the Internet infrastructure markets. A&R Edelman had to change the media dialogue taking place about Juniper and raise it to a macro level.
The Scenario: Juniper Networks has long been known for building products designed to manage the applications and traffic flow of tomorrow's Internet. In the three years since the California-based company started shipping its first product, Juniper built its share of the market for network-class routers to about 35%. Its core products are high-speed Internet protocol routers, used mainly by telecom carriers and Internet service providers. Juniper's products are generally considered the finest on the market. Their top-of the line router, the M160, is able to blast data through networks at speeds of up to 10 gigabits/sec. As a result of this and other products Juniper has consistently won core router market share away from market leader Cisco, at 6-7 percentage points per quarter. The company is steadfastly committed to the infrastructure router market, which has proved invaluable in keeping them on the leading edge.
The Challenge: Despite its product success, Juniper was given relatively little credit in the media for being one of the main shapers of the Internet infrastructure economy - and one of the only companies capable of providing the products necessary to handle the traffic flow and applications of the future. Much of the coverage surrounding Juniper focused on its high-end routers and their performance. The dialogue in the media was extremely detail-oriented. A common example described how Juniper's M160 router was technically superior to the other high-end routers in the market.
A second issue Juniper faced was that of continually being compared with Cisco. Juniper had a superior product but they were not generally recognized for being a market leader. It was necessary for the company to branch out and carve a distinct niche in the public consciousness. A&R Edelman needed to change public perceptions. Juniper had to be seen as more than Cisco's primary challenger, the public discussion about the company had to be taken to a more macro level and the company's executives needed to be viewed as thought-leaders in the Internet infrastructure market.
The Approach: As one of its first steps, A&R Edelman targeted the Churchill Club—Silicon Valley's premiere business and technology forum—for a corporate opportunity. The club is known as a pre-eminent venue for topical issues of concern to the entrepreneurial, technology, and business communities. Silicon Valley's business leaders attend the Churchill Club's events. This speaking engagement would provide Juniper's CEO Scott Kriens with an ideal platform for discussing the Internet infrastructure industry with his peers from other leading technology companies.
A&R Edelman drafted a compelling proposal for the Churchill Club, complete with the proposed topic, panel members and moderator—Seth Schiesel of the New York Times. The Churchill Club approved the proposed event, titled Broadband Revolution: Shaping the Future of the Internet. Since A&R Edelman had framed the issue around Juniper's strength - building next generation networks—the company had an ideal opportunity to discuss its vision for the market.
A&R Edelman secured the panelists and moderator and assisted with brainstorming topics for the panel. Additionally, A&R Edelman helped coordinate the press and industry analyst outreach for the event, securing press attendance at Juniper's sponsored tables.
The Results: The event was an overwhelming success. Initially, the Churchill Club expected about 500 people to attend the event. However, the final tally for the event blew away everyone's expectations - nearly 1,000 people attended. Panelists included:
Both of Juniper Networks' tables were packed with representatives from the press—the Financial Times, the Mercury News, CNET and the Industry Standard, as well as industry analysts from Gartner Group, Probe Research and Infonetics.
CEO Scott Kriens was delighted with the event. His astute observations on industry issues such as—where we are in the communication revolution, what the financial outlook for the industry is and what demand for broadband networking in the wake of an economic slowdown will be, drew many accolades and undeniably contributed to the event's overall success.
Subsequent coverage has accomplished the objective of positioning Juniper as a leading visionary of the IP infrastructure market. In various articles appearing after the event, Juniper CEO Scott Kriens has had countless opportunities to address his view of the Internet infrastructure market, the slumping economy and his philosophy for running a successful business in a demanding industry. Juniper has also received considerable attention for being one of the few technology companies that has managed to weather the economic downturn while increasing profits.