NEW YORK: Companies such as Siemens and Ford are capitalizing on the story of NASA's Curiosity rover landing on Mars to reach beyond their usual target audiences.

Siemens learned in February that engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Labs used its Product Lifecycle Management software to design and test rover models for a Mars landing. Since then, the company has shared that story through events, traditional and social media, and digital platforms.

“This story elevated our coverage beyond trade publications to ...