A marketer who IPOs for fun and profit

October 25, 1999

BY MICHAEL KRAUSS

This is one of an ongoing series of articles on interactive marketing leaders. They are not yet household names, but the executives we profile are laboring in the trenches today and will be in the headlines tomorrow. They're the emerging leaders of an emerging marketing discipline.

Name, rank and serial number: John Corrigan, 33, marketing director, Braun Consulting. Born West Des Moines, Iowa. B.A. Classical Rhetoric and Speech, Drake University, 1988. Master's degree in Integrated Marketing, Evanston, Ill-based Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, 1991. Joined Andersen Consulting as staff marketer at headquarters, recruited to be a product marketing specialist for BMC Software,1993; subsequently became manager of pricing strategy. Hired as product manager, Whitman-Hart, 1997. Joined Braun, an Internet applications and consulting firm, in 1998; helped take company public in August.

Mantra: "Building what was not there before."

On being the marketing guy in an IPO: "Most compelling marketing challenge of my career."

On marketing's role in an IPO: "(It was) absolutely critical, creating the positioning, messaging and packaging for the financial marketplace so that investors understood who we are, what we do and why we bring value to the marketplace. You can provide value by taking the leadership role in creating the positioning and the messages."

On what marketers need to know: "Understand the four P's and more. Understand your industry sector, your competitors and the dynamics of the financial market in order to sit at the table with the underwriters. Make sure the prospectus is reflective of who you are, what you do and where you're going. (Experience in pricing strategy) gave me a depth of understanding of the revenue streams and marketplace dynamics, a very strong focus on value. Pricing is the ultimate marketing challenge in high tech."

On why he is a technology marketer: "It's the single most exciting place to work and have a career. Technology is pervasive. It will continue to shape everyday business and everyday life."

On the IPO Bug: "The IPO bug is the opportunity to... play a role on a management team that grows a small private business into a larger public corporation. (I) watched BMC grow from 800 to approximately 2,000 people (and) sat through 50 to 100 'meet and greets' with executives from small start-ups interested in partnering or being acquired by BMC. (I) became aware there's a tremendous amount of opportunity in small technology companies."

Advice: Do homework on the market, the competition and the overall IPO climate, and understand that you have skills that differ from the lawyers and the bankers. Marketing should play a key role in assuring the investors understand your compelling value proposition."

Michael Krauss is a partner with Diamond Technology Partners in Chicago.
He can be reached at news@ama.org.