What we did
Media Relations
Message Development
Events
Crisis Communications
Industry
Background
NICE Systems is an Israeli technology company listed on NASDAQ. It sells analytics software for customer service and fraud prevention. For years, it also ran a public safety division that served law enforcement and governments. Elbit Systems, the Israeli defense company, bought that division in 2015 for up to $157.9 million
NICE came to Gregory for a stronger media partner. It wanted national business and technology reporters to cover its story and the divisions within the business, as well as to quote its executives and subject matter experts.
Challenge
NICE sold to very different buyers, from government agencies to airports and bank call centers, and much of its technology worked out of sight. Coverage sat mostly in specialist trade outlets. General business reporters had little reason to write about analytics software, and the company’s public safety work came with limits on what could be said in public.
The program also had to work from Israel across many markets and time zones.
Solution
Gregory ran proactive media relations and business messaging for NICE, along with crisis communications. In-depth media training prepared company and business unit leaders with the tools to deliver the message and connect to stories in the news cycle. When a major story touched NICE’s expertise, the team had an executive ready to comment and got the offer to reporters quickly.
Creative storytelling carried the program past the trade press. Gregory worked with NICE and producers at CNN to develop a story about voice biometrics that showcased what NICE’s technology could do in a real setting. The Gregory team knew that a high profile tech producer and on-air talent had an identical twin brother, and set up an undeniable test of the technology- have them call their mother to see if she or NICE’s technology could tell them apart. The story bridged the public safety and enterprise side of the business, bringing to life an intangible, cutting-edge technology product for a national audience and creating broad awareness of NICE’s brand and technology. That coverage was widely syndicated and opened the door to further media opportunities for that and other public safety products.
By the Numbers
FAQ
For NICE Systems, Gregory skipped the feature list and built a story around what the software did in a real, relatable setting. That approach produced a CNN story from the enterprise side of the business. It put a hard-to-picture analytics product in front of a national audience and gave NICE coverage well beyond the specialist trades.
NICE’s physical security and Intelligence division served law enforcement and government agencies, so much of that work could not be discussed in public. Gregory worked from what NICE could say and leaned on the technologies and story angles that bridged the enterprise and security sides of the business for concrete detail. The CNN story came from that approach, and it still showed the reach of NICE’s technology.
NICE sold its security and intelligence division to Elbit Systems in 2015 for up to $157.9 million. A sale like that needs consistent messages for employees, customers, investors, and reporters, timed to the filing. Afterward, both the buyer and the remaining business need a clear story about what each one does now.
NICE Systems is based in Israel and sold into many markets and time zones. Gregory ran the program across those markets and pitched NICE executives to national business and technology reporters who wanted fast, relevant comment. Keeping the story consistent across regions matters too, since reporters compare coverage and AI tools pull from sources in many countries.