Transcript How to Become "Pitch Perfect" and Avoid Investor Turn-Offs

MARKETING WRITING WORKSHOP
FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
PROFESSIONALS
Live Webinar
May 15, 2013
GOAL OF TODAY’S WORKSHOP
Build your marketing skills and know-how
 Make you a better marketing copywriter
 Create promotions that gain the attention of:
- licensees
- partners
- investors
- entrepreneurs

PANEL OF EXPERTS

Margy Elliott, MPH, Marketing & Communications Manager
for Columbia Technology Ventures, manages CTV’s branding,
events, Fellows Program, web, and social media presence.

Nicole Nair, Senior Marketing Coordinator for the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Office of Technology
Management.

Nadim Shohdy, PhD, Business Venture Analyst for New York
University Office of Industrial Liaison.
WELCOME TOTAL ACCESS PASS ATTENDEES
Technology Transfer Tactics Distance Learning
Total Access Pass allows you to customize a
distance learning program for your staff and
faculty at a steeply discounted price with 4
convenient formats.
 You can get details on our website at
www.technologytransfertactics.com and click
on Tech Transfer University on the left sidebar.

WORKSHOP OUTLINE
Marketing: What is the point?
 Applying general marketing strategies to
marketing writing
 Tips and strategies to get noticed
 Questions

MARKETING: WHAT IS THE POINT?
Know your audience
 Communicating the value of a technology to a
potential partner to consider procuring it
 “The squeaky wheel gets the oil”
 Trying to get a secondary meeting
 It isn’t always about licensing (immediately)
 Generate interest in your brand/office

APPLYING GENERAL MARKETING STRATEGIES
TO MARKETING WRITING

Outline:
 Types
of marketing writing
 Platforms for utilizing written content
 Resources for generating content
TECHNOLOGY SUMMARY BASICS
Summaries are to pique the potential partner’s
interest to learn more
 Selling solutions to problems is more critical
than selling the technology
 Technology summaries are NOT scientific
abstracts

TECHNOLOGY SUMMARY BASICS (2)
Deciding which technologies to write
summaries for
 Fundamental communications building block
 Will be used in multiple ways
 Pitching an invention vs pitching the inventor

 Pros
& cons of including faculty information
TECHNOLOGY SUMMARY TIPS
 Do
 Write

for a broad audience
Follow up with more detailed information
 Keep
the title brief and catchy
 Be careful when using quantitative information about a
market or industry
 Be aware of your university’s style preferences
 Don’t
 Assume
your readers are experts in the field
 Use statistics that date
 Cut & paste from the disclosure or patent application
TECHNOLOGY SUMMARY TIPS (2)
Balance between being too vague and too
detailed is essential (Goldilocks Rule)
 Start with the problem and/or commercial
opportunity then describe your technology and
how it addresses such problem

COLUMBIA TECH BRIEF
COLUMBIA TECH BRIEF – ON WEB

All available Tech Briefs on
innovation.columbia.edu
PITCH PRESENTATIONS: LESS IS MORE
Level of detail must match the time and
audience
 Only show key data figures
 Importance of slide headlines to quickly sell
each slide’s take-home message
 Know the technology well, anticipate questions
and concerns

PLATFORMS FOR UTILIZING WRITTEN CONTENT






Web pages
Technology listings
Press releases
E-mail blasts
Slide decks
Blogs
WRITING FOR YOUR WEBSITE
Multiple audiences
 Relaxed tone allows some freedom
 Opportunity to showcase your office’s activities

 Press
releases
 Commercialization initiatives
 Other licensing/commercialization stories
 Event & tradeshow recaps
 Honors, awards & promotions
 Start-up successes
EXAMPLES
EXAMPLES (2)
TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE WEB CONTENT
Implementing Search Engine Optimization
strategies
 Tracking metrics
 Engaging users
 Connecting your content through various
platforms: web technology listings, social
media, etc.

EMAILING SUMMARIES
Know your target: Is this an opportunity in-line
with the potential partner’s business model
and interests?
 Carrot dangling: Hint in general terms about
any confidential data that makes the project
more attractive

EMAILING SUMMARIES: EXAMPLE
Dear Mr. Gardner,
I am writing you on behalf of New York University's Office of Industrial Liaison regarding
a partnership opportunity for PharmaCo’s oncology program. Dr. Alicia Smith in the Dept.
of Cell Biology has identified novel secreted factors that in both ex vivo and in
vivo models are critical for colon cancer progression. I have taken the liberty of attaching
a non-confidential packet containing a 1-page summary of the project and a published
paper. We also have newer, confidential data on the mechanism of action of the factors
described in the paper.
This may be an excellent opportunity for a partnership given PharmaCo’s interest in the
colon cancer space. Please let me know if this is of interest for a potential collaboration
discussion and if you need any further information.
Best Regards,
Nadim Shohdy, PhD
WRITING FOR A CAMPUS AUDIENCE

Informational pieces for faculty & students
have their own set of considerations
 Finding
the right tone & level of detail
 Pair a strong writer with a subject expert
 Layout considerations for text-heavy brochures
EXAMPLES
SHOULD STUDENTS WRITE YOUR COPY?

Different approaches at UIUC over 10 years
 Currently,
commercialization analysts write tech
summaries, communications interns write other
marketing copy

Columbia Technology Ventures’ Fellows
Program
 Team
of graduate students write technology
assessments, tech briefs, and prepare web and
email marketing materials
TO PRINT OR NOT TO PRINT
Value of printed material in a digital age
 Marketing basics still apply: know your
audience, and focus on quality
 Make all print materials easily translatable to
the web (web newsletters, web annual reports,
etc.)

QUESTIONS?
Utilize the public chat
at the bottom left of your screen to submit your
question. The panel will address them in the
order they are received.
Thank You!