KDS

Background

KDS (www.kds.com) is the European market leader in on‐demand travel and expense solutions. Its technology offers a completely integrated solution for travel and expense management, from travel policy definition and enforcement, to online travel self‐booking and expense claim processing.

With increasing competition in the travel and expense arena, Paris‐based KDS sought to defend its leadership position in Europe; support its growth in the United States, Canada and Australia; and achieve the successful introduction of new product offerings.

Response

To enable KDS to punch above its weight against larger US rivals we employed a strategy of intensive news generation, creating a major flow of newsworthy announcements and comment. These were targeted principally at the business travel managers, procurement executives and directors with responsibility for travel purchasing and expense matters.

Our main focus was upon influential trade media in the UK and US, where the issues around travel and expense were regularly debated. However, where appropriate, we also promoted the company to the mainstream news media to help enhance KDS’s overall authority. Lastly, given the heavy Internet focus of the travel industry, we worked throughout to use PR output to enhance KDS’s online profile.

In addition to media relations, we provided content creation services for other aspects of KDS’s marketing and communications to help ensure the consistency of messages and tone of voice.

Results

A sustained flow of announcements, covering contract wins, partnerships, customer success stories, trade fair participation, conference presentations and webinars. Coverage was regularly secured in UK and US titles, including Business Travel World, Buying Business Travel, Business Travel News, Promedia.travel, ttgBusiness, TravelMole and Travel Daily News
Press releases were also distributed to ezines and Web distribution channels, securing prominent rankings on Google News, Yahoo! News and other sources
To position KDS as a thought leader we helped develop opinion surveys on the themes of carbon emissions and expense claims, using the findings to secure coverage in the above trade titles and also mainstream media, including the Sunday Times and The Times
We drafted opinion piece articles on behalf of KDS, which were published in publications including Accountancy Age and gtNews
We created a wide range of other written content, including customer case studies, website texts, customer e‐newsletters, employee communiqués and award submissions

Client Verdict

“80:20 is one of the best PR teams I have worked with. They are fast, reliable and always go the extra mile to provide you with better service. They are expert in sexing‐up a story to make it appealing and newsworthy. They engage with people and, as a result, are well liked by the press. I highly recommend them.”

Stanislas Berteloot, marketing director