CASE STUDY

Challenge

Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: NCI) a management consulting firm that generated more than $1 billion in revenue in 2016, hired DLPR in 2015 to increase visibility for its Financial Services Advisory and Compliance (FSA&C) business segment. The challenge was to showcase the FSA&C partners’ insights and expertise, thus helping the firm to compete against Big Four accounting and better-known consulting firms, such as McKinsey and BCG. Of paramount importance to Navigant, and a challenge for DLPR, was a strict prohibition on discussing Navigant’s clients or specific consulting projects.

Strategy/Tactics

DLPR’s program positioned FSA&C consultants as thought leaders in financial services. We arranged regular meetings reporters to establish executives as experts in compliance, regulatory, risk management, and operations. Specifically, we targeted reporters who regularly quoted Navigant peers and secured regular top-tier global broadcast interviews in outlets such as Bloomberg and CNBC. We also arranged consultant speaking opportunities at financial services industry events, as well as podcasts by trade publications.

Results

By focusing on competitive news topics—such as governance, risk management, compliance and the M&A market, Navigant credited DLPR with boosting its “share of voice” from 1% to 5% in the first year of the program. DLPR drove overall media coverage of FSA&C an additional 50% higher in the second year of the program, while establishing Navigant spokespeople as authoritative experts who regularly appear in the media alongside peers from larger competitors.