Welcome to our second blog post in our series Connecting Industry & Academia. Any questions or comments? Please reach out through our Contact Us page here.
Campaign Objective:
The University of California, Davis had a growing number of technologies in their portfolio, with more being added every month, and needed marketing support. With a growing portfolio, they realized partnering with FirstIgnite to set up a consistent technology marketing program would generate new business opportunities throughout the year
Approach:
FirstIgnite worked with the university in order to create a plan that worked. This meant taking into account multiple stakeholders, including faculty members, licensing managers and directors. Together, FirstIgnite came up with a strategy to systematically work through the IP portfolio by conducting two marketing campaigns per month. The campaigns would rotate to ensure no licensing manager was overburdened and that the entirety of the portfolio would be supported. With a plan in place, FirstIgnite began prospecting companies and contacts for new technologies every month, executing marketing campaigns, and preparing for the next campaigns. FirstIgnite became an integral part of their team.
Result:
Consistent marketing efforts led to compounding results. During the next year, UC Davis would meet with over 50 new industry partners, leading to tens of CDA agreements and many relationships moving down the path to licensing. The consistency of outbound, active marketing has played a significant role in driving industry activity across the IP portfolio. The results also led to FirstIgnite supporting additional groups at UC Davis as well as other campuses in the University of California system. Some examples of companies that UC Davis met with through FirstIgnite include: BASF, Cabot, Endo Pharmaceutical, Armacell, Nrgene, Elo Life Systems, S&W Seeds, QuickLogic, Microsoft, and many more.
Faculty Quote:
“FirstIgnite constantly delivered new industry meetings for technologies across our portfolio, ranging from agriculture, to blood monitoring, to new therapeutics.” – Director of Business Development & Licensing
