The starting point
Zend had successfully recruited A-List speakers and panelists for the first-ever Zend/PHP User Conference and needed a cost-effective way to drive paid registrations.
Putting Relationships To Work
Leveraging our deep relationships with Silicon Valley and technology influencers, Sparkpr executed a strategy that positioned PHP as an increasingly popular alternative to Java and .Net—and backed it up with hard numbers from analyst firms.
We took advantage of an IBM partnership and spokespeople to draw parallels between the company’s support for Java in early 90s and its support for PHP today. In addition, we leveraged Marc Andreessen joining the Zend board of directors to gain platform from which he could deliver messages in high-visibility interviews.
Delivering The Goods
During the course of our engagement with Zend, PHP surged in popularity and became the de facto standard web scripting language for developers creating many of today’s most important business and consumer web applications. As of 2011, PHP remains a mission-critical development and deployment ecosystem and is the language of choice among millions of developers who opt for it over Java and .NET.
