About RLM

Meet our mascot - Gumby

In the 1950s and 60s, Gumby—and Pokey, his trusty steed—were TV fixtures as they joyfully lived the adventures every kid dreams of… Read why Gumby matters.

RLM PR Newsletter

The RLM trendSpotting Report is an e-newsletter full of fascinating and useful information. To subscribe, just enter your e-mail below and confirm that you want to get on the list.

TutorVista

Situation

TutorVista, an online tutoring service based in India, came to RLM because they needed to generate visibility in the U.S. Facing a crowded, well-established landscape of tutoring and test prep companies, TutorVista needed to quickly grab a broad exposure to increase their user base and establish a sought-after and trusted brand.

Strategy and Tactics

Based on our in depth knowledge of the educational landscape, RLM’s initial goals were to:

  • Generate media coverage to validate TutorVista as a solution for parents and students
  • Introduce TutorVista spokespeople as credible sources on tutoring, eLearning, outsourcing and the need for these services in the U.S.
  • Differentiate TutorVista from established educational support service brands

RLM began by source filing TutorVista spokespeople with key media, positioning their expertise in order to discuss tutoring, test prep, eLearning and outsourced education. RLM then introduced TutorVista execs to reporters and producers covering education, technology, parenting and many youth issues. RLM developed creative story angles, offering local tutors and students to provide firsthand testimonials of success.

Through RLM’s trendSpotting methodology, we focused on failures and missteps of federal, state and local educational programs and initiatives, such as the Government’s No Child Left Behind Act, by offering free TutorVista services to the 10 poorest rural school districts in America, as traditional tutoring programs are inaccessible for many students. TutorVista was able to provide an alternative solution to a substantial flaw in the educational system of our nation.

Brand Positioning

As TutorVista’s visibility matured, RLM moved to transform this momentum into brand building, thus establishing TutorVista as the world’s preeminent online tutoring company.

RLM accomplished this by capitalizing on TutorVista’s reputation and RLM’s relationships with reporters at top-tier media outlets, such as New York Times, NBC Nightly News, Star-Ledger and USA Weekend, Entrepreneur, Financial Times and Fox Business Network among others, securing in-depth coverage. The tone of this is epitomized by a quote from a New York Times article:

What the offshore consumer services industry needs, it seems, is a solid success story in some promising market. A leading candidate to watch, according to analysts, is TutorVista, a tutoring service founded two years ago by Krishnan Ganesh, a 45-year-old Indian entrepreneur and a pioneer of offshore call centers.

To position Dr. John Stuppy, TutorVista’s President, as an educational thought leader, RLM created the “…And Education for All” blog and secured a byline article on Education Week’s EdBizBuzz blog and appearances on the Inside Digital Media podcast and ABC News Now.

RLM also continued to support the company’s international expansion plans with coverage in Germany’s Der Spiegel, Korea Times, and Aftenposten, a newspaper read throughout Norway.

As a direct results of RLM’s active communications program, TutorVista is now a valuable source for reporters covering not just education, but also issues and events related to India. For example, when an undersea cable snapped, disrupting Internet service in India, a reporter at the Star Ledger in New Jersey (daily circulation: 570,523) called to see whether TutorVista had experienced any interruptions in service. Working with staff in Bangalore, the RLM team turned the query into an article highlighting that TutorVista is prepared for such emergencies. In the article, TutorVista was positioned alongside Google and AT&T, as a company that provided uninterrupted service.

Results

From a front-of-the-book TIME magazine piece to a Reuters wire story to a Tampa Tribune cover, followed by segments on ABC News, CNN, and Today, RLM’s PR program resulted in overwhelming growth for TutorVista. Now TutorVista is recognized for providing accessible, convenient and trustworthy online educational support to students—and grateful parents. They have been featured in outlets including: