Finding London PR Needle-in-a-Haystack from San Francisco & Richmond, VA
We’re always a bit more than ordinarily motivated when we can manage an International search. The good folks at Baidu came to us in late May this year looking for help – not in the US but in the UK. Baidu is China’s 1 search engine, answering more than 5 billion queries each day. Baidu’s international products are already in use by more than 120 million people outside of China, but brand recognition is relatively low. They came to AgencyFinder looking for a PR firm in London that could help to both establish their brand and drive downloads of their free products. Speaking of International, Baidu’s Director of International Marketing is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California on their Silicon Valley campus. Read about their plans here.
Baidu has developed a number of mobile (Android) and desktop (PC) applications available to the wide world. These consist predominantly of utility applications that have broad audiences. Currently, these products include: DU Battery Saver (Android) DU Speed Booster (Android) Baidu Browser (Android) Baidu PC Faster (PC) Baidu Antivirus (PC) Baidu Spark Browser (PC)
AgencyFinder had established “boots on the ground” in England beginning in 2008 using an in-place agent to represent our services. They aggressively enrolled some of England’s finest advertising and public relations firms for whom we’ve been able to secure new clients.
We started the Baidu search from Richmond, Virginia with 15 candidates but quickly narrowed that to 7. Because of distance and time zones, Baidu conducted initial telephone interviews and examined agency decks. They identified their semi-finalists and planned site visits – to tour agency offices and meet the staff. They identified four – eclat Marketing, Lightwater; Waggener Edstrom Communications, London, Sagon-Phior/Turnkey, Los Angeles/London; and Touchdown, London. Site visits began on a Wednesday and concluded Thursday. While still in London, the client made their decision and announced that same Friday. In a most efficient manner, the business was awarded to a lucky and pleased Waggener Edstrom.
