How Woden Helped Redis Create a $5 Billion Data Juggernaut

THE CHALLENGE

Redis was created to solve a highly technical problem: Relational database architecture isn’t scalable and doesn’t allow for real-time applications. This problem, as they saw it, was about the limitations of existing technology, and they envisioned a new type of in-memory database that offered low latency while supporting abstract data structures.

Redis caught on quickly with developers, but when the platform’s sponsorship moved from the open- source community to start-up Redis Labs, they realized that the volume and complexity of data handled by large businesses required a tailored enterprise solution.

As they brought their enterprise product to market, Redis was encouraged by their early conversations: prospects’ mid-level tech specialists quickly saw the enterprise product’s value and were eager to push for adoption. But as these conversations moved upstream— to the Director level, the VP level, and ultimately to the C-level—sales opportunities eventually died. After nearly two years, Redis had closed only two enterprise accounts, despite open- source deployments in most of its target accounts. Redis came to Woden with a simple question: What do you do when everyone loves your product, but no one wants to buy it?

After interviewing Redis’ team and current users, the opportunity came into focus. Both groups were highly technical and were eager to speak about Redis’ features, capabilities and unique structure. But the decision-makers these users sought to influence—the VPs, CFOs, and COOs who needed to sign off on an enterprise-level purchasing decision— had very different priorities and varying levels of tech-literacy.

Put simply, Redis was speaking the wrong language. The positive conversations Redis was having with mid-level tech specialists were misleading, as these evangelists weren’t effectively telling Redis’ story and moving the sale forward.

Using these insights, Woden crafted Redis’ StoryKernel, a strategic narrative designed to resonate at all levels of the prospect’s organization and move the conversation forward. This brand story needed to transcend the technical features Redis was comfortable sharing, and instead speak directly to pain points shared by each buyer persona.

The StoryKernel was built around a deceptively simple belief: The companies that run fastest run Redis.

For technical users with an understanding of database architecture, Redis’ messaging could remain roughly the same. These users already understood that Redis delivered the fastest in-memory speeds of any unstructured database, and the narrative focused them on this benefit over other features. For Directors and VPs, Redis would address a different pain point: speed to market. These buyers were under immense pressure to deliver products within tight timelines, and Redis’ platform could rapidly increase the speed of R&D. Finally, for the C-suite, Redis’ ultimate benefit was presented as increasing the speed of organizational transformation. To remain ahead of the curve and continue innovating, these leaders needed insights and data applications in real-time, which only Redis can deliver.

Three buyer personas, one strategic narrative, three distinct applications.

Using the StoryKernel as a framework, Woden developed Redis’ StoryGuide. This comprehensive blueprint defined the tactical applications of Redis’ brand story: sales pitches, buyer personas with targeted messaging, marketing collateral, product descriptions, brand activations, and more. This document was aligned with Redis’ own customer journey, and when these materials were put into use, the results soon spoke for themselves.