Forging a New Path: The Netik Story

In the early 2000s, Netik, a leader in financial data management, faced a moment of truth. Following a period of corporate reorganization, the company needed to rebuild its brand and regain trust. Massing PR was chosen to lead this reboot.

Forging a New Path: The Netik Story

I. Executive Summary:

A leading financial data management platform vendor, Netik’s business and reputation were hit by management turmoil, product and market missteps and increased competition.

Despite developing leading technology platforms for data management and straight through processing, Netik needed to regain its confidence and the admiration of the industry in order to continue on its plan for growth*.

Massing PR’s strategy was to leverage the vendor’s strengths - technology, customer base and vision - through clear messaging and thought leadership.

This outreach included publicizing its returning leadership, new strategic partnerships and funding events as benchmarks of success.

Key Takeaways:

Netik needed a fresh marketing approach to kickstart its business evolution and re-energize marketing narratives.
The vendor possessed leading technology for data management and STP but marketing was falling short.
Massing PR’s campaign leveraging its leadership for thought leadership and emphasizing customer success and partnerships generated considerable media interest and coverage.
Media coverage helped Netik elevate its reputation and secure additional funding to fuel its growth.

* Note: Netik rebranded to CoreOne Technologies in 2012 and was acquired by Markit in 2015.

II. The Challenge: Restoring Leadership

Position and Growth

In 2002, Netik, an established financial data management platform vendor, faced a critical juncture. The company was in a period of crisis, with a significant reduction in staff and the return of co-founder John Wise as CEO.

To stabilize the company and prepare for future growth, Netik needed to restore confidence among stakeholders and build a strong corporate and brand identity.

III. The Strategy: Thought Leadership,

Alliances and Case Studies

Massing PR was engaged to navigate this challenging period and provide a plan to move forward and rebuild. The core of the strategy proposed was a Publicity-driven Branding approach, which focused on using public relations to achieve key business objectives.

Working closely with Netik’s executive team, Massing PR crafted and disseminated messages that highlighted the company's strengths and its vision for the future.

In particular, the messaging positioned Netik's executives, including John Wise and Colin Close, as thought leaders, addressing complex industry issues, such as data management and straight-through processing (STP).

The strategy focused on a "stick to the knitting" mentality by refocusing the company's direction back to its core competencies in securities data warehousing and information delivery solutions.

The plan involved:

Crisis Communications: Immediately addressing the crisis by providing a clear narrative for the return of John Wise and the company's reorganization.

Thought Leadership: Positioning executives like John Wise and Colin Close as industry leaders in data management and STP. In his article "No need to fly blind" in STP Magazine, Colin Close used a pilot analogy to illustrate how a dynamic enterprise data warehouse provides high-quality information for better business decisions.

Strategic Alliances: Forging and publicizing key partnerships, such as with Advent Software and Thomson Financial, to expand market reach and validate technology.

Customer Case Studies: Developing and promoting customer success stories, which served as tangible evidence of Netik's value and de-risked the outsourcing decision for potential clients. The Investec Asset Management deal, for example, was a competitive win, with a source close to the company confirming Netik's data model was "superior" to offerings from rivals.

IV. The Results: Funding Successes

and Significant Revenue Growth

By following Massing PR’s strategy, Netik achieved three key corporate funding and ownership events using public relations as the primary tool.

2004: Successful media outreach played a vital role in the Bank of New York acquiring a 51% majority equity stake in Netik. This investment validated Netik's technology and market position, with BNY incorporating Netik's InterView hub into its BNY SmartSource outsourcing solution.

2008: Netik, with continued support from Massing PR, acquired Capco Reference Data Services (CRDS) and completed a buyout with a strategic investment from Symphony Technology Group (STG).

Ongoing Success: Netik’s publicity campaigns resulted in a significant increase in sales and revenue for Netik, demonstrating the power of a strategic public relations approach. In 2005, Netik announced record sales growth of over 80% in the previous 12 months, with 10 new customer wins.

This success was driven in part by a strong alliance with Advent Software. The positive media coverage not only restored confidence but also helped the company effectively manage change with customers and prospects.

Through media relations and thought leadership campaigns, Massing PR successfully highlighted Netik's value, paving the way for significant corporate milestones. Our collaboration continued as Netik expanded, successfully publicizing its acquisition of Capco Reference Data Services and a strategic investment from Symphony Technology Group.

Publication	Date	Headline / Topic	Key Takeaway
VentureWire	December 2002	"Netik Co-founder Returns to CEO Post Amid Reorganization"	Confirms the start of the engagement and the crisis communications focus around John Wise's return. Mentions staff layoffs and the company's shift in focus.
IBS: International Banking Systems	Annual Report, 2003	"Netik Coverage within the report…	Details Netik's history, acquisitions, and restructuring, setting the stage for the company's new direction.
Securities Industry News	July 2004	"BNY Buys Controlling Interest in Netik"	Publicizes the pivotal 51% acquisition by Bank of New York, a major validation of Netik's technology and business model.
Global Custodian	July 2004	"Bank Of New York Buys 51% Stake In Netik"	Reinforces the BNY acquisition and highlights that Netik's technology would be used internally by BNY and offered to its clients.
Securities Industry News	September 2004	"Investec Picks Netik, Opens Doors"	Showcases a significant customer win with Investec Asset Management and positions Netik as a crucial partner for firms undertaking outsourcing.
Global Custodian	July 2005	"Netik Reports Record Sales Growth In Past Year"	Acknowledges Netik’s impressive 80%+ sales growth and connects it to the strategic alliance with Advent Software.
Finextra	July 2005	"Netik reports rising sales; promotes Rockett to COO and Adams to chief of staff"	Links business growth to the strengthening of the executive team and a focus on "operational control as the key success factor."
Reference Data Review	April 2007	"Netik InterView Central to SOA At Daiwa Securities GAS"	Details a major case study with Daiwa Securities Global Asset Services, demonstrating how Netik's platform replaced an old in-house system to improve operational efficiency and scalability.
The Trade News	May 2007	"Netik InterView and Thomson PORTIA join forces to provide... solution"	Highlights a strategic alliance with Thomson Financial, positioning the combined offering as a "viable alternative to in-house builds of data marts" for asset managers.
Securities Industry News	May 2007	"Thomson's Portia Is Linked to Netik Data Warehouse"	Reports on the alliance with Thomson, noting that it puts Netik on a "competitive playing field against Eagle" and its parent company, Mellon.
The Trade News	November 2008	"Netik acquires Capco Reference Data Services with private equity investment from Symphony Technology Group"	Marks a significant acquisition and a new private equity investment, demonstrating continued strategic growth and evolution of the company.

Netik Press Review

Want Your Success to
Be Validated?

Every case study here demonstrates the power of a narrative validated by publicity. It's time to build your proven path to growth.

Schedule Your Strategic PR Consultation

Forging a New Path: The Netik Story