MARKETING WRITING WORKSHOP FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROFESSIONALS Live Webinar May 15, 2013

 Build your marketing skills and know-how  Make you a better marketing copywriter  Create promotions that gain the attention of: - licensees - partners - investors - entrepreneurs

 Margy Elliott, MPH, Marketing & Communications Manager for Columbia Technology Ventures, manages CTV’s branding, events, Fellows Program, web, and social media presence.  Nicole Nair, Senior Marketing Coordinator for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Office of Technology Management.  Nadim Shohdy, PhD, Business Venture Analyst for New York University Office of Industrial Liaison.

 Technology Transfer Tactics Distance Learning Total Access Pass allows you to customize a distance learning program for your staff and faculty at a steeply discounted price with 4 convenient formats.  You can get details on our website at and click on Tech Transfer University on the left sidebar.

 Marketing: What is the point?  Applying general marketing strategies to marketing writing  Tips and strategies to get noticed  Questions

 Know your audience  Communicating the value of a technology to a potential partner to consider procuring it  “The squeaky wheel gets the oil”  Trying to get a secondary meeting  It isn’t always about licensing (immediately)  Generate interest in your brand/office

 Outline:  Types of marketing writing  Platforms for utilizing written content  Resources for generating content

 Summaries are to pique the potential partner’s interest to learn more  Selling solutions to problems is more critical than selling the technology  Technology summaries are NOT scientific abstracts

 Deciding which technologies to write summaries for  Fundamental communications building block  Will be used in multiple ways  Pitching an invention vs pitching the inventor  Pros & cons of including faculty information

 Do  Write for a broad audience  Follow up with more detailed information  Keep the title brief and catchy  Be careful when using quantitative information about a market or industry  Be aware of your university’s style preferences  Don’t  Assume your readers are experts in the field  Use statistics that date  Cut & paste from the disclosure or patent application

 Balance between being too vague and too detailed is essential (Goldilocks Rule)  Start with the problem and/or commercial opportunity then describe your technology and how it addresses such problem

 All available Tech Briefs on innovation.columbia.edu

 Level of detail must match the time and audience  Only show key data figures  Importance of slide headlines to quickly sell each slide’s take-home message  Know the technology well, anticipate questions and concerns

 Web pages  Technology listings  Press releases  blasts  Slide decks  Blogs

 Multiple audiences  Relaxed tone allows some freedom  Opportunity to showcase your office’s activities  Press releases  Commercialization initiatives  Other licensing/commercialization stories  Event & tradeshow recaps  Honors, awards & promotions  Start-up successes

 Implementing Search Engine Optimization strategies  Tracking metrics  Engaging users  Connecting your content through various platforms: web technology listings, social media, etc.

 Know your target: Is this an opportunity in-line with the potential partner’s business model and interests?  Carrot dangling: Hint in general terms about any confidential data that makes the project more attractive

Dear Mr. Gardner, I am writing you on behalf of New York University's Office of Industrial Liaison regarding a partnership opportunity for PharmaCo’s oncology program. Dr. Alicia Smith in the Dept. of Cell Biology has identified novel secreted factors that in both ex vivo and in vivo models are critical for colon cancer progression. I have taken the liberty of attaching a non-confidential packet containing a 1-page summary of the project and a published paper. We also have newer, confidential data on the mechanism of action of the factors described in the paper. This may be an excellent opportunity for a partnership given PharmaCo’s interest in the colon cancer space. Please let me know if this is of interest for a potential collaboration discussion and if you need any further information. Best Regards, Nadim Shohdy, PhD

 Informational pieces for faculty & students have their own set of considerations  Finding the right tone & level of detail  Pair a strong writer with a subject expert  Layout considerations for text-heavy brochures

 Different approaches at UIUC over 10 years  Currently, commercialization analysts write tech summaries, communications interns write other marketing copy  Columbia Technology Ventures’ Fellows Program  Team of graduate students write technology assessments, tech briefs, and prepare web and marketing materials

 Value of printed material in a digital age  Marketing basics still apply: know your audience, and focus on quality  Make all print materials easily translatable to the web (web newsletters, web annual reports, etc.)

Utilize the public chat at the bottom left of your screen to submit your question. The panel will address them in the order they are received. Thank You!