Capgemini North America

Columbia, S.C.’s Largest Tech Jobs Announcement in 10 Years | 2017 To 2018

Public relations, event planning, community relations

For the largest announcement of tech jobs in the Columbia, S.C., market in 10 years, $14 billion global tech firm Capgemini’s North America public relations and marketing team engaged Flock and Rally to execute an earned media campaign to reach potential new hires and the business community across S.C., with a focus on the Midlands region.

Flock and Rally managed media relations for the opening of Capgemini’s first S.C. office, located in the BullStreet District in downtown Columbia, in December 2017. In summer 2018, Capgemini was ready for a second wave of hiring for hundreds of new high-tech jobs, as well as the launch of its new global cybersecurity center. Flock and Rally worked with teams in New York, Austin and Dallas to develop a six-month campaign, with multiple releases, exclusive interviews and a major press event and ribbon cutting for the Secure Operations Center in December 2018 at the company’s S.C. headquarters, featuring Capgemini North America’s CEO, John Mullen; former S.C. House Rep. James Smith; then-University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides; Mayor Steve Benjamin; Capgemini North America’s then-EVP of Operations, Paul Naquin; elected officials and more. The public relations campaign, rolled out in two phases, garnered in 116 press clips and an estimated 424,000 coverage views, and it won a 2018 S.C. Public Relations Society of America “Best in Show” Silver Wing Award in B2B Media Relations.