McQ generates national headlines for little-known player in Bluetooth space. Client Challenge: In the spring of 2001, McQ client Pico Communications was an unknown start-up in an increasingly uncertain technology sector. Although it had innovative technology and a seasoned management team, the Bluetooth "access point" provider had to contend with a fast-emerging LAN competitor in Wi-Fi. Worse yet, several high-profile Bluetooth demonstrations at major trade shows revealed connectivity SNAFUs and slow processing times. Pico came to McQ with the daunting challenge of not only positioning itself as a dynamic and promising player, but also helping to re-communicate the original promise of Bluetooth as a user-friendly Personal Area Network -- one that delivered functionality that no other LAN or WAN technology could deliver. McQ Response: McQ's PR team knew it could not change industry perceptions overnight. We started with a building-block approach. Step one was to create a series of "communiques" that re-communicated Bluetooth's core attributes while overcoming the perceived objections of poor security and low bandwidth.We then went on to mount a proactive public relations campaign that introduced Pico's pre-emptive delivery of access componentry, along with its strong propriety position. Additionally, our long-standing relationships with key trade groups helped secure speaking engagements at the Bluetooth Developers Conference and Pocket PC Summit 2001. With editorial coverage from these events, Pico achieved a high-profile status that helped it forge subsequent joint-venture product launches with giants Palm and Microsoft. Results: During a period when even the global Bluetooth players had difficulty generating press, McQ successfully placed more than 90 articles in key business, investor and trade publications. Feature stories appeared in prominent publications such as Pocket PC, The New York Times and Silicon Valley's most important media outlet, the San Jose Mercury News. Additionally, 12 executive speaking engagements secured by McQ lead to discussions with 30 potential strategic partners. By positioning Pico Communications as a small but increasingly key player in a promising new networking category, McQ was able to help the company rise above the noise of the "wanna-be's" and be perceived as a solid industry expert with a bright future.