Tech Transfer Marketing Metrics in the Digital Age: What’s Working and What’s Wasting Time and Money?Thursday, November 8, 2012

Teresa Fazio, PhDPortfolio AnalystColumbia Technology Ventures

Cara MichaliszynMarketing ManagerUniversity of New Mexico-STC

Margaret Elliott, MPHMarketing & Communications ManagerColumbia Technology Ventures

Outline• Branding:

• Why a brand is important• E-Marketing Mix• General Metrics for Tracking Brand Marketing• Marketing Videos

• Email marketing• Using student interns to prepare & launch marketing documents• Company lists and resources for targeted marketing• Email templates• Using e-Marketing for Faculty Outreach

• Keys to writing an Effective Web Brief • Optimizing Content for Search Engine Visibility• Leveraging Social Media • Lessons learned

Marketing by medium

Do you employ SEO metrics?

Survey Results

Using the power of the Digital Age to Build your Brand

• Why is brand important?• Brand increases awareness and recall – your technology transfer office

(TTO) is the source of technology• University inventions are generally not developed in response to

market need

• Brand increases familiarity/comfort level with TTO

• Brand motivates licensee diligence/ respect

• Brand creates the opportunity for pull marketing rather than push

• Brand expands outreach efforts locally, nationally and internationally for TTO’s technologies and the organization

E-marketing Mix• Website

– Flintbox (or other technology showcase site) contains technology briefs• Inquiries/established companies directly contact TTO

– Press releases/newsletters– Communication– Promotion

• Subscribe to profile alerts – (i.e. LifeSciencesLink, CommNexus, etc.)

• Webinars to entrepreneurs & investors• Utilize GoToMeeting, AdobeConnect, etc.

• Direct Marketing via Email– Solicit commercial interest and corporate relationships

• Social Media– Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Vimeo, Pinterest, Blog

Track Brand Marketing• TTO Website and Technology Portfolio (Flintbox,

iBridge, Nouvant, etc.)– Analytics

• Daily visitors• Pageviews• Social Media shares• Domain names

• Press releases – Create awareness that TTO is a source of innovative

technology– Create buzz around technology– Track inquiries based on press releases

• Newsletter E-mag– Track views, technology inquiries

• Blog – focused on all activities not just technology – Creating awareness– Track followers

Marketing Videos• Educate your constituencies about the research happening at your University and that

your TTO is the source of technology/patents• Use marketing videos to:

• Educate university researchers about TTO and inform them of how to disclose to the TTO• General outreach• Create additional promotional material that can be used in email marketing• Highlights prolific inventors and their success stories• Create awareness

• Start off with a cheap camera and do minimal editing. If see increased interest or a direct licensing deal as a result of videos, invest more.

Email Marketing Program• Average success rate with 400 campaigns sent 2008-2012:

• 21% click-through rate• 10% reply rate

• Reasons for doing email marketing:• Extend the reach of our licensing officers• Even if a technology isn’t licensed, the program can be helpful:• Get market feedback before a major patent decision• The PI knows we are putting the invention out there.

• Launches & responses monitored through a central Outlook mailbox• Salesforce can also be used• Metrics: Clicks, Bounces, Opens, Replies

Using Student Interns to Prepare E-Marketing

• One intern completes entire “marketing package” per technology• Launched from central mailbox

• 3 parts to a typical marketing assignment: 1. “Company List” of Potential Licensees (4 hours, $80)

- Compilation of email addresses using internal & external sources

2. Email Template (1 hour, $20)- Sent to companies with links to a Tech Brief

3. Tech Brief (4 hours, $80)- Posted on websites, both ours & external- Nonconfidential technology description- Use SEO best practices

•

Company Lists – Resources• Student interns search business databases to find

relevant companies • We maintain an internal contacts database• Full-text searchable by company names, keywords,

positions, etc. • “Constant gardening” is key!

• We include a section to note contacts’ specific fields of interest

• Database tips & tricks:

• Jigsaw & mailtester.com can help confirm

email addresses

Email Templates

Brief, non-confidential overview of the invention• Do not disclose anything that would enable someone

knowledgeable in the field to practice the invention• Just a sentence or two to distill the technology &

pique interest• Must align with corporate strategy

Needs to be compelling to a diverse audience• Initial reader may lack technical background• Come up with a memorable “tweet”• Enable auto-forward of replies to specific licensing

officer through centralized email inbox

Needs to make a quick and lasting impression • May be the only impression a company gets of

an invention

Show target how the invention can help a company and / or its products, e.g.

• Improve R&D efficiency / effectiveness• Save time• Decrease costs

Purely non-confidential information

Description and Objectives Key Lessons

Using Email Marketing for Faculty Outreach

• Scheduled email blasts :– Recently Issued Patent Notices:  Congratulatory e-mail to all named inventors

who are active employees, sent to relevant faculty weekly– Publications: E-mail to authors of publications, with a reminder to file an invention

report, sent to relevant faculty, monthly– Initial Commercial Assessment: Sent to all named potential inventors on the

invention disclosure form one week after invention report submission– New Faculty & Research Staff Welcome: A welcome/introductory e-mail to all

new faculty and research staff who have been hired within the preceding four-month term.

– Grant Proposals and Awards: An email to faculty who have submitted or been awarded a grant proposal, sent to relevant faculty monthly

• Effort to improve internal branding • Metrics tracked: Opens, bounces, responses

Technology Briefs: Posted on our website• Must be:

•Scientifically accurate•Detailed enough to elicit interest•Consistent with patent claims; don’t oversell!

• We implement search engine optimization• May be published in PR newsletter or on blog• One-page flyer can be shared with companies• Outline of sections:

• Headings• Descriptions• Inventor bio• Applications & Advantages• Patent Information• Publication Information

Write your Story: Ask “The Big Questions”

– What’s the technology? What does it do?– How does it do that? – How can we prove it does that? – Why would a licensee want it? – What are some similar products or technologies? – What makes it better or different from these? – How would you describe it to someone who doesn’t

know what it is ? – What do I get if I license it?

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION: What is it? • The process of making a webpage easily consumable for both humans and search engine

robots.• The SEO elements will draw potential customers to the technology page when they

search online (Google) for terms relevant to the technology.• The well-written content and information on the technology page will grab their interest

and hopefully compel them to license the technology.• SEO is not magic!• *Tell a great story*, then worry about optimization.

Source: SEOmoz: The Beginners’ Guide to SEO

SEO MechanicsBefore You Start Optimizing: Search the internet as you would for the technology you’re describing.

• Choose non-specific identifiers (i.e. NOT a proprietary name)

• Continue searching until your search yields pages that very closely resemble your topic

• Google highlights matching words

This gives hints on how to best describe your technology so it can be found by others ON THE WEB.

Where to use Keywords:

• Title, URL, Browser Tab• Headings• Early in the content (preferably in the first sentence)• Links • Bulleted lists• Image file names, "Alt text“ labels, and captions • Attachment file names

• Remember: Humans are your primary audience!. 

• SEO can draw a potential customer to the page. But only clear, understandable writing about the technology’s value will keep them reading and lead to a license!

Leveraging Social MediaSelect Platforms

Follow, Like, Engage

Track Metrics

• Interactions per number of fans/followers by month or week • Clicks to website via social media platforms• Integrating other resources:

Lessons Learned

– Digital marketing is only a tool– Use technology to drive services with greater

efficiency– Social media tools can help but don’t overly rely

on them– Track and analyze your metrics, use them to

inform how you direct your efforts– Keep learning, trying new platforms and engaging

with new audiences

Not everything has to be digital

• Other aspects of marketing just as important in the mix and just as important to track– Leads from Inventors– Research sponsorships– Mailing via USPS to industries not familiar with University TTOs– Events– Printed materials– Plus, too many email blasts can lead to TTO messages turning into spam

QUESTIONS?

Utilize the public chat at the bottom left of your screen to submit your

question. The panel will address them in the order they are received.

Thank You!

Thank you!• Any questions about the content of this talk?

Reach out to us:

Teresa Fazio, PhDPortfolio AnalystColumbia Technology Venturestaf2102@columbia.edu

Cara MichaliszynMarketing ManagerUniversity of New Mexico-STCcmichaliszyn@stc.unm.edu

Margaret Elliott, MPHMarketing & Communications ManagerColumbia Technology Venturesme2304@columbia.edu