“We view Trainer Communications as a strategic partner that will help Aligo extend its leadership position as we deliver mobile applications that empower executives, sales teams and field force workers for Global 2000 companies with timely, reliable, secure data and integrated transaction capabilities needed to take productivity to new heights. Trainer's highly experienced team is not only extremely productive, but also among the most visionary in the industry. Trainer's forte is in helping its clients rise above the noise and establish a credible, lasting reputation that facilitates long-term success.”
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Vice President of Marketing, Aligo
DANVILLE, Calif.—Jan. 17, 2007 - Trainer Communications, a leading provider of strategic communications and public relations services for high-growth technology companies and start-up initiatives, today announced that it has won a Gold MarCom Creative Award in the category of Promotion Campaign: Special Event for its buzz event for online bookseller Alibris. The MarCom Creative Awards recognize the highest quality, creative excellence, and resourcefulness; Trainer was one of only 50 companies from a pool of 5,000 applicants to receive an award. An international competition for marketing and communications professionals, the MarCom Creative Awards is part of The Communicator Awards program, one of the largest, oldest, and most respected competitions in the communications field.
Online bookseller Alibris turned to Trainer Communications to generate awareness of its Internet-based textbook sales business and to incentivize students to switch to online textbook purchasing. Trainer conceived and executed an Alibris-sponsored mock protest on the University of California’s Berkeley campus to challenge publishers for inappropriately raising the costs of textbooks. College students were recruited to protest the high cost of textbooks and to distribute flyers and bookmarks advertising Alibris. The flyers and bookmarks included a textbook cost comparison chart and a $5 coupon. As a further incentive, Alibris donated 10 percent of total sales related to the event to a campus-affiliated, nonprofit, pro-literacy program called Bears United in Literacy Development (BUILD).
Trainer’s award-winning strategy generated significant press exposure for Alibris before, during, and after the mock protest. Outlets that covered the event included KTVU (FOX TV, Oakland), KGO (ABC TV, San Francisco), KTSF (Channel 26), KGO Radio, KQED radio, KPFA Youth Radio, Bay City News Wire, Ventura County Star (CA News), World News (a Cantonese newspaper), Student Resource Guide (a U.C. Berkeley publication), DallasNews.com, KRON.com, National Hispanic Corporate Council, PR Newswire, Yahoo!, RBC Dain Rauscher, and Quote.com.
“We were most impressed with Trainer’s ability to develop, in a very short time, a very creative event that drew attention to our online textbook service, received great coverage, and helped establish good rapport with Cal students,” said Jeanie Bunker, vice president of sales and marketing for Alibris.
“We are proud to have been selected for this honor from among a highly qualified field of 5,000 applicants. This award recognizes our expertise at applying out-of-the-box creativity to a promotional challenge to stimulate broad media interest in our clients,” said Susan Trainer, president of Trainer Communications. “With limited time to plan before the start of the school year, we leveraged U.C. Berkeley’s protest history to successfully throw a targeted event that created immediate attention for Alibris among the media and the student communities.”
All brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of, and are used to identify, products or services of their respective owners.
About Trainer CommunicationsTrainer Communications is the premier provider of integrated marketing and high-tech public relations services. Specializing in technology, the agency offers deep domain expertise across data infrastructure, information security, optical and wireless communications, enterprise software, networking, and consumer industries. Trainer represents emerging and high-growth technology companies that lack the market recognition and visibility needed to meet business objectives and is the only agency that guarantees quantifiable results with its Metrics Matter™ methodology. Established in 1995, Trainer has represented more than 200 companies including one-third that resulted in a positive liquidity event. Notable successes include Brocade, Cloudscape, CrossWorlds, G-Log, Itronix, ONStor, Oblix, Sygate, Trigo, Versata, and WhereNet. Based in Silicon Valley with nationwide coverage, the agency has received numerous awards, including: the 2008 Bulldog Award for PR Innovation of the Year, the 2008 Iron Sabre Certificate of Excellence for Product of the Year, the 2008 MarCom Gold Award for Best Publicity Campaign, and the 2007 PRSA Silver Anvil Award for Community Relations Campaign of the Year. For more information, visit www.trainercomm.com. All brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. www.trainercomm.com.
