PQChat launch: Mastering the art of story-telling in tech PR
By Ana
Following on from Tris’s blog post on the importance of story-telling, a recent launch we did for SRD Wireless demonstrated just how important this is. We were approached by SRD earlier this year, as it wanted help launching a consumer messaging app called PQChat. Unlike WhatsApp and Snapchat, PQChat is much more secure and doesn’t mine users’ data. On the surface a very simple story, but as always there is much more to it than meets the eye. We therefore started the campaign by carrying out a messaging session to draw out the different stories and educate people on the need for secure communications.
For starters, the founders aren’t your usual start-up types but self-confessed grey-haired serious types with links into the intelligence sector. Their end game is not to sell the app or make use of the data of any potential customers, in fact quite the opposite; they won’t be storing any of their users’ data. So we set about building a story around the app and the drivers for it. The purpose of the app is two-fold, first and foremost to educate on the need for secure communications. The message being that all apps currently are insecure, but also so are most modern forms of communication, including email. Our angle was that in the wake of the Snowden revelations people need to wake up to the need to secure their personal data from governments, data mining companies and criminals, who are all attempting to access personal and corporate data for their own purposes. Failing to secure personal data places the privacy of consumers and businesses at risk; leaking confidential business data; flooding with spam; identity theft; or worse.
Beyond education, the second purpose of the app is to demonstrate what its patented encryption technology NTS (Never The Same) can bring to businesses specifically, and how SRD Wireless can provide them with customised apps. So there were two very distinct audiences to target and many different messages to communicate. Based on the messaging we had developed we put together a launch release and targeted media approach. We pre-sold the announcement to national, consumer and business media, setting up a number of briefings ahead of the launch.
Some launch coverage highlights included:
Consumer coverage
The Telegraph: WhatsApp rival PQchat claims to be 'world's most secure' messaging app
Cosmopolitan: Drunk-texting can almost be REVERSIBLE with this wonderful technology development
Trusted Reviews: PQChat lands as secure WhatsApp alternative
Business coverage
International Business Times: PQChat: The 'World's Most Secure' Messaging App Unbreakable by Quantum Computing
CBR: This app could offer businesses the most secure method of communication yet
V3: PQChat app offers firms top-grade security with Whatsapp and Snapchat features
TechWeek Europe: Secure Messaging App PQChat Promises ‘Future Proof’ Encryption
Ultimately, a well told story enabled us to have a very successful launch that communicated core messages and secured coverage in both business and consumer media. Here’s to the next chapter in the book :)