Launching a New Product
Siemens AG Austria and Siemens AG

When Siemens Austria and its parent company, Siemens AG, developed a revolutionary, biometric-based fingerprint scanner—the ID Mouse—they turned to Sequent Consulting to help them refine their marketing strategy and develop a communications strategy for the U.S. launch of this product at Comdex 2000.

Sequent began by conducting extensive field research throughout the United States. This included a series of focus groups held in three major urban areas, which tested some of the assumptions made by the company in devising its original U.S. marketing strategy. The research helped the marketing team narrow their focus and place greater emphasis on penetrating the health and insurance sectors. As a first step, however, the research also indicated that Siemens would need to identify and cultivate partners in the value-added resellers and systems integrators industry to speed sales of the ID Mouse.

Sequent then developed a communications strategy designed to place key messages and product information before potential customers. The centerpiece of the ID Mouse product launch was the 2000 Comdex trade show in Las Vegas. Sequent took charge of ensuring that Siemens got the greatest possible return for its investment in this show. Sequent’s efforts resulted in a highly visible U.S. launch, generating strong coverage by media in five countries. For this phase, Sequent hired and directed New York-based Excite PR, developed media kits, press releases, and media lists, scheduled interviews, and performed necessary media follow-ups.

During the course of the week-long Comdex show, Sequent founder Thomas Tesluk personally briefed more than two dozen print and television journalists representing news media from the United States, Korea, Germany, Taiwan, and Canada. Stories appeared in Business 2.0, Time magazine, Time.com, and CNET, among other publications. The event and the attending media coverage gave the ID Mouse a highly visible launch in the United States and helped to generate considerable early interest among Siemen’s prime target audiences.