Broader marketing efforts—those that demonstrate your tech transfer know-how—can elevate the profile of your technology transfer office (TTO). It can also cultivate productive relationships with your organization’s researchers, management, and potential partners/licensees. To help TTOs be successful with these efforts, this post shares the best practices that Fuentek has found to be effective time and again with our clients.
A common mistake in IP marketing is spending too much too soon on splashy materials with questionable impact. Knowing when to push and when to hold back requires looking at the market, understanding how the technology fits into it, and being realistic about the opportunities. Case in point: Fuentek’s client Kolon.
As a longtime consultant for the technology transfer program at Georgia Tech, Fuentek has supported our university client’s involvement with several events. Some events were hosted at Georgia Tech, while for others our client was an attendee. Following up on the success of these events, Fuentek’s Danielle McCulloch teamed up with Georgia Tech’s René Meadors to compile their thoughts and share some advice with our readers.
Although not nearly as costly as hosting tech transfer events, attending a relevant industry conference still requires a significant financial and time commitment. So, it’s important for your technology transfer office (TTO) attendees to achieve tangible outcomes. (Plus, you don’t want it perceived a junket.) Here is some advice based on our extensive experience supporting TTOs.
Following up on my last post discussing best practices for using events as a form of technology transfer marketing, today I’d like to discuss the specifics of hosting your own event. Putting on a tech transfer–focused event can be challenging. Even relatively small events require significant planning, not only from a content perspective but also all the logistics. Here’s what we have learned in helping a range of technology transfer offices (TTOs) put on a variety of events.
Many university technology transfer offices (TTOs) use events as a key tool for marketing their innovations to potential licensees, attending industry conferences, hosting technology showcases, and presenting web-based technology briefings. Events such as these can provide a valuable opportunity to engage with potential licensees, sponsored-research partners, and startup investors.
Technology briefings can be a cost-effective way for a technology transfer office (TTO) to reach potential licensees and partners. These briefings typically include a technical presentation from the inventor as well as details on the licensing/partnering process from a TTO representative. Experience has shown that an online/webinar technology briefing: (1) can dramatically increase the efficiency of the marketing effort since it eliminates the need to convey the same information multiple times in individual discussions, (2) allows you to set a specific timeline for receiving and selecting licensing/partnering applications, and (3) eliminates travel costs and provides a recording to post for interested parties who missed the live event. Of course, technology briefings require extensive planning and preparation. And not every innovation is suited to a technology briefing. For the greatest success, Fuentek offers the following advice.
Having spent 15+ years helping major research universities manage their intellectual property (IP), Fuentek knows a great deal about efficient and effective tech transfer. We’ve also seen that many universities struggle to explain this complex process to their stakeholders — administrators, researchers, and even legislators.
At one time or another, most technology transfer offices (TTOs) — particularly at universities, government labs, and other non-corporate entities — are asked why discoveries aren’t getting into the marketplace faster. Or more frequently. Or both. Whether this question comes from innovators, administrators, or legislators, TTOs say they struggle to answer it clearly and succinctly. Explaining the complexities of technology transfer is not easy, yet it is easy to sound defensive. Over time, we at Fuentek heard from so many tech transfer professionals about this being a challenge that we decided to do something to help them with this explanation. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, we developed an infographic that lays out a representative path from innovation to product launch. Entitled “The Road to Technology Transfer,” the infographic moves from…
Several weeks back, I participated in an excellent event that should inspire any organization looking to make the most of its R&D through commercialization, collaboration, and other forms of technology transfer. The “Technology Day” event, which took place NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, had value that transcends federal labs and isn’t limited to the U.S. Sponsored by Dryden’s technology transfer organization, the Technology Day wasn’t for…
