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• Public Relations
• Capture Communications
• Branding & Messaging
• Graphic & Web Design

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Case Studies

NCI

An 8(a) graduate hits the big time

Situation

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NCI Information Systems, Inc. (NCI) is one of the fastest growing IT organizations in the United States. Since its inception, NCI has earned clients’ trust by understanding their dynamic technical environments and responding to their needs with innovation and excellence.

NCI’s core competencies — which include enterprise services, IT security, systems development and integration, engineering and technical services, and information management — have been the staple of its ongoing success. Systems integrators and federal, civilian and Department of Defense (DoD) customers have turned to NCI to do more than manage, move and manipulate large amounts of data. They also look to NCI and its management team to provide consultation and guidance when it comes to selecting and providing the industry’s most advanced technologies for practical and cost-effective, long-term solutions.

A few years after graduating from the 8(a) program, NCI’s management realized the need for an outside marketing and public relations firm that understood the federal IT industry and could help promote and enhance NCI’s already excellent reputation. To continue to be successful, NCI knew it had to go beyond their existing client base to give them leads and new opportunities. Its executives brought in Boscobel to refine and strengthen NCI’s overall brand, manage its public and media relations and to establish a graphic brand identity.

Objectives

• Refine and strengthen the company’s brand.
• Increase news coverage and visibility in the government trade press as well as the local news media.
• Establish a graphic brand identity.

Tactics

First, Boscobel conducted an internal survey of management to learn what they viewed to be the strengths of NCI, then conducted an external survey of their clients to receive their input on NCI’s strengths and weaknesses. Results showed that NCI’s perceived strengths were its excellent customer service and its ability to partner with larger area systems integrators.

With results in hand, Boscobel developed positioning that focused on NCI’s core competencies and solutions. Additionally, Boscobel added the phrase “Partner of Choice” to help distinguish NCI from other systems integrators.

Armed with this new branding direction, Boscobel rolled out a public relations strategy in the federal IT arena. To establish NCI as the “partner of choice” for government customers and systems integrators, Boscobel established NCI as a trusted source for Federal Computer Week, Washington Technology, and other key publications. By peppering the press with contract and hiring announcements, and offers to give the company’s opinion in round-up features, Boscobel positioned NCI as a reliable source for stories that focused on industry and technology trends. The visibility gained by the public relations push was intended to raise awareness of NCI in the systems integrator community for future teaming opportunities and government (DoD and civilian) business.

NCI also needed to establish its visual identity by updating its look and feel and creating branded collateral material to serve as the cornerstone. Working with the existing logo and color palette, Boscobel created a fourfold brochure that would act as the look-and-feel template for all subsequent collateral material. This updated brand identity was then incorporated into NCI’s website, 10' × 20' tradeshow booth and product/cut sheets.