Public relations work still ran largely on phone calls and spreadsheets when Vocus moved it into a web browser. Its online service kept databases of journalists and outlets, sent press releases, tracked news coverage and measured results. Corporations, agencies and government offices paid for it by subscription, which made its revenue steady and predictable. Vocus filed to go public in 2005, as the move to online tools was just starting.

Rolodex to Database

Rick Rudman and Bob Lentz founded the company in 1992. They bet that public relations, a craft run on personal contacts and phone calls, would adopt software for its daily work. Vocus moved early to a hosted model and sold it by subscription. Later it bought PRWeb, the online press release service. Its customers ranged from small agencies to large corporations and government offices.

Folded Into Cision

Vocus priced its IPO at $9 a share in December 2005 on the Nasdaq. It grew steadily and added marketing tools for small businesses, with mixed results. In 2014 the private equity firm GTCR took Vocus private for about $446 million and combined it with Cision. The combined company kept the Cision name. It became one of the largest providers of public relations software in the world.

Cover: Aurora Heralds the Break of Day to the Four Corners of the Globe, Unknown artist. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for Aurora heralding the day to the globe (a message).