We are thrilled to announce that SourceCode has earned an Honorable Mention in the PR News Platinum Awards in the Branding Category for our outstanding work with DataBank. Our enterprise team was able to implement strategic efforts to elevate DataBank’s brand awareness and credibility, particularly within the competitive landscape of national media. The Databank campaign effectively re-invented the brand and made DataBank a highly recognized organization by its target audience.

Breaking Into Mainstream Conversations

DataBank, a leading provider of enterprise-class colocation, connectivity, and managed services, had already established a strong presence within its target data center media publications. However, the company sought to break into the broader national conversation, reaching beyond the confines of industry-specific media and into mainstream publications. The goal of our PR campaign was clear: increase DataBank’s brand awareness and establish its credibility with top-tier media outlets.

Strategic Approach: Building Thought Leadership

Our campaign focused on positioning DataBank’s CEO, Raul Martynek, as a thought leader in tech innovation. By building a thought leadership platform for Raul, we aimed to elevate him as a go-to source for top-tier reporters, particularly those covering AI and emerging technologies. Central to our messaging was the potential data center bottleneck—a lack of power utilities—that could hinder AI development. This angle allowed us to enter the AI conversation, a hot topic among our target media contacts, by highlighting a relevant issue tied directly to DataBank’s expertise.

Metrics of Success: Measuring Impact and Relationships

To gauge the success of our efforts, we closely monitored the relationships we were building with our target media contacts. Using a media heat map, we tracked our progress over time, establishing a baseline of 12 media opportunities per quarter as our initial target. Beyond just counting opportunities, we developed an impact score for each piece of coverage, considering factors like feature level, key message pull-through, and the inclusion of backlinks. This scoring system enabled us to assess how our media coverage was resonating with top-tier outlets and moving the needle in terms of brand recognition.

Overcoming Challenges: Standing Out in a Crowded AI Conversation

With AI dominating nearly every tech conversation, breaking through the noise was no small feat. We identified a unique angle that set DataBank apart: the potential shortage of data center space to host supercomputing chips, a critical issue that no one else was addressing. By focusing on this “hidden bottleneck,” we captured the attention of AI reporters at top-tier publications while maintaining strong relationships with key trade media.

Results: Expanding DataBank’s Media Presence

Our campaign’s success is evident in the impressive results we achieved. We consistently exceeded our quarterly media opportunity goals, securing 16 opportunities in April alone. These opportunities spanned both core industry trade publications like Datacenter Dynamics and top-tier outlets such as Reuters, Bloomberg, Fortune, and the Wall Street Journal. 

In 2023, we secured a total of 77 pieces of coverage for DataBank. So far in 2024, we’ve already secured 34 pieces of coverage on the topic, demonstrating the ongoing impact of our efforts. Notably, our expanded media presence and the positioning of Raul as a true industry expert has led to inbound requests from reporters at tier-1 outlets like Bloomberg and Reuters, further solidifying DataBank’s position as a leader and go-to source in the data center industry.

Our work with DataBank is a prime example of how strategic PR can elevate a brand’s presence in highly competitive markets, and we are proud to have been part of their journey to greater visibility and recognition.