Weber Shandwick and United Defense Build Electronic Press Kit To Communicate Complex Cannon Technology

V2C2 – As of 2004, over 210 rounds from this Variable Volume Chamber Cannon have been fired through all propelling charge zones, chamber volume configurations and temperature extremes, achieving a maximum muzzle velocity over 1000/m/ sec…wait, what was that again? How does a public relations firm with a client in a highly-technical, specialized industry convey an incredibly technologically advanced system developed in a laboratory to the rest of us, and more importantly, media reporters and key decision-makers? If you’re Weber Shandwick, you creatively develop a means of communication focused on graphics, videos and language not beset with engineer jargon. In this case, an electronic press kit (EPK). Here’s our story:

Understanding the Mission

In February 2004, engineers at United Defense, LP (UDLP) introduced to the U.S. Army and Marine Corps a revolutionary new cannon system called V2C2 (105-mm Variable Volume Chamber Cannon). Because the V2C2 was a research and development initiative, UDLP’s challenge was to build awareness of and support for this revolutionary new system – one that would significantly reduce logistics for soldiers on the battlefield.

The U.S. Army needed a new lightweight cannon, and United Defense wanted to capitalize on that need as soon as possible. United Defense teamed up with Weber Shandwick and committed itself to demonstrating that the V2C2 was ushering in a new era of lighter, more lethal indirect fire support for today’s U.S. ground forces.

Additionally, United Defense faced a very real challenge – staying ahead of another major defense contractor that was offering the Army a competing 105-mm cannon. With limited time and focusing on the end-viewer, Weber Shandwick’s creation of an electronic press kit allowed us to achieve significant desired client outcomes – impressive media relations, increased awareness and support, and key positioning of the system in the defense industry.

Coordinating the Targets

Coordinating with the client every step of the way, in May 2004 we developed and distributed a comprehensive EPK designed to educate reporters and editors at leading defense trade media on the V2C2 system and its benefits. Part of an innovative media relations effort, it was this EPK that would be the means through which the V2C2 story was told.

Loading the Ammunition

So why tell the story with a web site? Reporters and key influencers, as busy as they are, have very little time to understand highly-technological programs. We understood the need for this story to be told with images and graphics. How better to understand how something works than to see it with your very own eyes? Using the power of technology as its medium, a high-tech company like United Defense was able to communicate and make a revolutionary system that existed only in a laboratory real to its audience – and receive revolutionary results in return.

Additionally, Weber Shandwick knew that choosing an EPK as the primary channel of communication in an industry that still uses paperwork for much of its media relations would further strengthen United Defense’s image as a high-tech company and premier cannon developer for the U.S. Department of Defense and its allies worldwide.

Landing Right on Target

We were committed to having this EPK make an impressive impact. And it did. To date, the EPK has led to significant V2C2 placements in more than one dozen of the leading U.S. and international defense trade publications – double the number of UDLP’s competitor. Additionally, an article on V2C2 could be found on CNNMoney’s IndustryWatch web site, which receives more than 4.1 million unique visitors each month. It has also created buzz in military websites, such as www.strategypage.com. While the amount of coverage V2C2 received was notable, more important was the content of that coverage. In some cases, content and photos were pulled directly from the EPK and used nearly verbatim in the stories. Furthermore, after trade media saw the V2C2 EPK, from that point forward, almost any time the development of future 105-mm howitzers is discussed in the media, V2C2 is mentioned or featured.

Without encountering any technical issues from reporters or trade writers, United Defense clearly made the case for V2C2 by positioning it as a top contender for any new cannon systems being considered by the Army. Able to beat out the competitor’s media coverage in a matter of weeks, United Defense, subsequently, continued to prove itself an industry leader. A technical innovation like V2C2 was revolutionary to a broader audience and talked about because a V2C2-educated media could look at the web site and have V2C2 make sense.

For 2005, as technology continues to evolve and the U.S. Army further understands its need for V2C2, this Weber Shandwick-built web site remains an ideal go-to source for any V2C2 information, without the usual paperwork. And with that in mind, we, along with United Defense, graciously accepted the Web Marketing Association’s 2004 WebAward for “Best Military Website.”