Product Launch

Since INDIEV, the Los Angeles-based electric vehicle startup company, introduced its INDI ONE prototype in 2021, it’s become one of the industry’s most highly anticipated debuts. The heart of the vehicle is the Vehicle Integrated Computer (VIC). Its advanced software allows riders (not drivers) to play the latest generation games; capture content while the vehicle is in motion thanks to interior and exterior cameras; live stream videos; and even shoot, edit, and upload content to the cloud – all from inside the vehicle. However, the company was reeling from unflattering media coverage because it lacked clear, strategic messaging. 

The Pollack Group developed new messaging and a strategic media relations strategy, leveraging major events like the New York International Auto Show and the new Electrify Expo to attract reporters to test the car’s incredible features in person. By repositioning INDIEV in the automotive landscape, the agency secured feature coverage across major national and global consumer, tech, automotive, and national news outlets naming the INDI ONE as one of the most anticipated new electric vehicles on the market. The agency also managed the grand opening events for INDIEV’s flagship Brand Experience Center in Beverly Hill’s famed Golden Triangle shopping district highlighting its state-of-the-art showroom, its influencer-friendly film studio and creators’ space, to civic and community leaders as well as to consumer EV car enthusiasts showcasing a new type of car-buying experience. The ultimate sign of success? TechCrunch naming INDIEV as one of the top threats to Tesla’s EV vehicle dominance. 

Non-fungible tokens (NFT) have captivated consumer attention, even though the concept and definition of blockchain-backed content is still widely misunderstood. Numerous celebrities across music, television, movies, sports and social media have made money off their digital likeness, but NFTs remained elusive for the average Joe… until now.

In October 2021, Dreamium Labs, the world’s leading open metaverse platform developer, unveiled the Dreamscape Open Metaverse, a unique blockchain platform that is laying the groundwork for the next generation of digital engagement and monetization for users, creators and developers. It’s the world’s first open NFT metaverse platform that enables everyone to join simply by taking a selfie, which creates their full-body 3D ‘minii” avatar and blockchain account with an advanced NFT identity system. In November, the agency helped Dreamium Labs announce its first-ever PFP NFT campaign, “Mutants of the Metaverse.”  

In a massive end-of-year media blitz, The Pollack Group secured media coverage in some of the world’s most influential media outlets covering the metaverse, including Cointelegraph, MarketWatch and Quartz.

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Cultivated meat, an innovative concept emerging within the food technology industry, aims to produce traditional meat products through lab and production facilities without harming animals or compromising the integrity of taste, cost, and nutritional value. 

Believer Meats (formerly Future Meat Technologies), the world’s first industrial line for cultivated meat, retained The Pollack Group to strengthen its visibility and credibility in the market, as well as prepare for its official brand launch in the U.S. 

Notably, the agency led the company’s global communications strategies for two significant milestones: Believer’s December 2021 announcement that it raised $347 million in Series B funding and the groundbreaking of its first U.S. production facility in North Carolina in December 2022. The agency’s strategic plans covered every stage of communications, from drafting press materials to coordinating exclusive interviews to global media relations, and required careful coordination with various investors and strategic business partners. 

To date, TPG has secured interest and coverage in dozens of top-tier publications, including Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Forbes, and Food Dive, to name a few. TPG continues to lead all external communications for upcoming product launches, FDA approvals, company milestones and updated brand positioning.

Chess legend Garry Kasparov had a vision to bring chess to the masses so that anyone, no matter their skill level, can create a legacy of their own. He worked with media conglomerate Vivendi to bring his vision to fruition. A community-first platform was developed, where chess lovers of all skill levels can play, learn, and become immersed in the chess experience, complete with matches documentaries, lessons, and a masterclass with Kasparov himself.
 
The agency kicked off Kasparovchess by building a groundswell of interest in the chess community, targeting influencers and chess masters. Subsequently, the agency brought in the mainstream media to have that sector break the news of Kasparov’s involvement with the new platform. Following, it cycled the news through many tech, gaming, business and lifestyle verticals.
 
With Kasparov at the center of the media strategy, providing personal insights on the importance of chess and the community, Kasparovchess’ launch story was pushed through many global top tier media outlets including TechCrunch, Forbes, MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Yahoo Finance, VentureBeat, Cheddar, The Drum, The Guardian, PC Gamer, as well as the major chess and gaming outlets. In a 60-day launch window over 45 individual articles ran, with over 4.5 billion impressions. 

Happy Wax, the leading manufacturer of wax warmers and scented wax melts, had a goal of increasing national brand awareness through top-of-funnel activities and reducing dependency on Facebook advertising. The North Carolina-based company also needed to develop corporate messaging to ensure that its communications, from the website copy to creative campaigns, would be aligned and consistent.

Companies frequently tout the features and benefits of their products but tend to skip doing the hard work to ‘find their why’, which helps build a brand and create a lasting value philosophy. Happy Wax is a flame-free, trouble-free way to set your mood free. Now, the agency could weave those messages into its media pitching. We secured coverage in national outlets like Buzzfeed, Country Living, Apartment Therapy, and others. We also proudly directed and produced Happy Wax’s first-ever commercial, which will be able to be seen on connected TV nationwide.

As Opy, an Australian ground-breaking Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solution, was getting ready to launch in the U.S., it retained The Pollack Group to bolster its visibility and credibility in the market. Further, the agency was tasked with mapping out how to differentiate Opy’s BNPL offering from the mainstream “Pay in 4” products dominating the market.
 
The Pollack Group planned and created a multi-pronged, dynamic communications program that effectively communicated Opy’s offerings and differentiated itself from a crowded BNPL market, establishing itself and key executives as thought leaders in the industry. The program would leverage data to tell stories.
 
Recognizing that brand messaging must be clear, concise, and consistent to resonate with target audiences effectively, the agency developed a messaging matrix that encompassed how we would communicate with Opy’s various stakeholders on its different platforms. In so doing, we were able to ensure that there was nuanced messaging to all its different verticals. Additionally, since content is essential to deliver key messages successfully,  we helped Opy create and upgrade its existing content to support this newly developed messaging.
 
At this stage, developing a cadence of news announcements, owned content, and social media content was critical in showing credibility and value. The agency developed a wide breadth of press materials and worked to establish momentum with a steady drumbeat of key milestones and announcements. The Pollack Group drove PR efforts by announcing several partnerships, such as the partnership with American Express, Goldman Sachs, Cross River Bank, Patient Now, Experian, ezyVet, as well as Opy’s launch into the automotive vertical. In 2021 alone, The Pollack Group secured dozens of placements in a host of trade publications with solid placements in the top-tier media. These outlets included the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, TechCrunch, FinTech Magazine, The FinTech Times, American Banker, PYMNTS, Payments Dive, WWD, AdWeek, Chain Store Age, and Financial Brand.  The agency also drafted and placed several opinion pieces in outlets that included Automotive News and Today’s Veterinary Business.
 
In addition to these placements, The Pollack Group worked hand-in-hand with key Opy executives to help bolster its profile in the marketplace. In establishing and managing their social media profiles, arranging media interviews, and securing speaking opportunities, we created a halo effect, portraying the company as credible and rooted in a solid vision, mission strategy, and plan. We were cognizant that Opy’s PR and communications strategy needed to do more than raise awareness; it needed to stand out in an overly crowded market and deliver a message of compliance and credibility.
 
While managing the social profiles of Opy leadership, The Pollack Group also handled the brand’s social media presence. The agency performed a comprehensive audit of Opy’s social channels, reviewing the copy and content against its competitors, to report back on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and what else was needed. The agency developed a posting schedule to complement the overall editorial calendar. In addition, the agency developed graphics and copy and managed community engagement, and analytics monitoring. We also led social media campaigns, such as Opy’s partnership with ezyVet during national pet appreciation week.
 
In 2022, the agency deployed a consumer survey. The results provided interesting trends regarding budgeting practices for high-cost dental and veterinarian care, the sustainability of paying off high-balance bills, and how COVID-19 changed the perception of BNP for Americans. Not only was the survey and its infographic an exciting piece of content to leverage from a media relations perspective, it also proved to be a business development angle.
 
From messaging, brand positioning, and media relations to content creation and social media management, Opy’s communications program has helped drive success for the brand in the U.S.

As unhappy as Americans were about wearing face masks altogether in the time of Covid, they were even more unhappy with wearing ill-fitting and uncomfortable ones, whether made from cloths or disposables.  Something had to give for the safety of all.
 
And just in time, Medicevo, entered the market with its revolutionary Graphene Face Mask. What it needed most was to build awareness of its  Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (B.F.E.) of 98% -- better than N95 respirators – and is reusable up to 15 wears. Medicevo sought out The Pollack Group to support its goal of becoming a true lifestyle brand, while prioritizing rapid brand awareness and sales conversions. To promote widespread adoption, The Pollack Group implemented a mask sampling and education campaign, sending masks to journalists and influencers, and leveraging a national MAT release.
 
Over the course of several months, the agency’s LAB186 digital marketing and content production studio worked through the challenges of maintaining COVID-19 safety protocols to develop high-quality, engaging content for digital marketing and advertising. While Google and Facebook heavily regulated face mask commerce,  the agency was able to circumvent this, launching several successful campaigns, showcasing diverse models and trendsetters who possess enviable style to make the masks look cool, different, and fashionable. The collective efforts successfully increased brand awareness, interest, and website traffic.

When the world retreated inside in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency helped Chicago-based NuWave, a leader in innovative consumer home appliances to launch and promote its OxyPure Smart Air Purifier, the first air purifier proven to remove 99.999% of coronavirus particles from the air in 6 hours.

The Pollack Group’s outreach secured hundreds of millions of media impressions for the brand, with placements in Business Insider, TechHive, The Spruce, and MarketWatch. In addition, the agency arranged for the OxyPure to be tested by LA Parent, which later awarded the product with its National Parenting Product Award.

The agency complemented this work with drumbeat media relations for another NuWave product, the NuWave Brio Air Fryer, for which it secured placements in Forbes, Elite Daily, MSN, and NBC News.

Farming isn’t easy. To be successful, today’s farmer must be a master of many things. Enter XtremeAg.farm (XA), a community of highly successful farmers providing unparalleled access to their experiences, successes, failures, advice, and expertise. 

To launch the new online community, XtremeAg retained the agency to handle the production and editing of their digital content library, which includes articles and videos on farm equipment, strategies and tips, maintenance, inputs, agronomy, and many more topics. The agency’s LAB186 content production studio counseled on XtremeAg's website, segmenting hundreds of unique pieces of content, while setting up a member portal for XA’s subscription-based model. In addition, the agency worked with XA's expert farmers to acquire, edit, and distribute real-time field reports to create a steady flow of engaging content to subscribers nationwide. To raise awareness of XA’s offerings, the agency also developed XA's social media channels through organic and paid social media marketing strategies. 

For New York-based GetCharged, Inc. (Charge), the agency managed the entire rollout of this fast-moving tech and infrastructure company in the micro-mobility space.

The agency is part of the communications team of agencies that coordinate the corporate and market-by-market rollout of Charge's micro-mobility solutions, as they build out the largest network of electric charging, storage and service stations for e-scooters and e-bikes.

Charge has secured a network of nearly 6,000 locations to install its docking stations. Charge is also developing a proprietary mobile application that will interface with its docking stations and provide users with available locations as well as real-time e-vehicle availability of partnered rideshare platforms.

The agency's scope of work involves full PR, corporate communications and marketing services, civic and community relations, corporate and product storytelling, creating and managing all market-by-market demo events, unleashing executive thought leadership in the micro-mobility sector, positioning Charge as a partner with cities and local governments to solve a pressing problem.

The agency's scope is to help position Charge as a leader in the micro-mobility industry and raise awareness for its mission to provide cities with cost-effective places to store and service e-scooters and e-bikes. It is our role to ultimately establish the model for other cities nationwide to drive the adoption of Charge's revolutionary micro-mobility infrastructure solution.

For more than 90 years, Barco Uniforms, a leader of design innovation in the premium professional apparel industry, has been true to its mission -- to honor and serve those who serve others.

Barco initially retained the agency to increase its earned media coverage. However, our relationship has evolved into a true partnership. We have been instrumental in developing consumer and influencer campaigns to increase brand awareness – specifically, for Barco’s popular “Grey’s Anatomy” and Barco One sub-brands – and tell the company’s story in a compelling way. The agency also filmed and produced a video series to highlight Barco’s partnership with The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens. And most recently, in the age of COVID-19, we launched a media relations campaign to promote Barco’s scrub donation program, in which the company pledged to donate 10,000 scrubs for each month of the pandemic. The agency’s efforts have resulted in more than 3.6 billion media impressions worldwide.

Inspired by the works of 29 Irish artists and designers, Curator’s 144-color collection is a blend of ultra-premium quality paint with stunning colors, infused with native Irish art and design. The agency was charged with content creation, paid social and PPC to support the U.S. debut.

The agency developed a paid social and PPC program that targeted consumers according to their motivation and knowledge levels in order to drive brand awareness, brand education, brand comparison and eventual conversion. A discovery and retargeting campaign were executed, and the subsequent data served as a roadmap for the consumer journey, as well as for creating content that resonated.

The agency analyzed the engagement and response data. It uncovered a messaging and content code for taking a target from the top to the bottom of the conversion funnel. Successful conversion codes were replicated repeatedly and used to target both vertically and horizontally scaled audiences. The process of intensive targeting and comprehensive data analysis yielded insights about the Curator audience of prospects and helped guide future rollouts. Online engagement levels increased sharply in key markets and all retailers reported a significant increase in foot traffic and customer awareness of the Curator brand.

With a focus on teaching students safe decision-making choices regarding drugs and alcohol, D.A.R.E. America, a non-profit organization, introduced a new, prevention curricula for grades K-12 classrooms, that confronts the opioid and prescription drug abuse crisis. In kicking off the curricula, the agency worked closely with individual D.A.R.E. officers, training them to become spokespeople for the program and working with them to become informed speakers as they interfaced with their local media. Additionally, they were tasked with publishing articles in trades, as well as OpEds in their local media, which always focused on the urgency of the problem and the need to educate on prevention. The agency created a national Public Service Announcement for television and radio, distributed to the many markets all over the country that were most impacted by the opioid crisis.

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When GoodJanes, a beauty company using naturally derived ingredients to promote health-conscious options for its users, came to the agency, it  tasked it to build and drive awareness and interest to promote sales for its new beauty and makeup product, the Kiss My Lash Mirror, a patented triangulated mirror. To first promote consumer engagement with their product, we audited their site for SEM and SEO and for navigational ease. Subsequently, we made recommendations for changes and, simultaneously, the agency’s LAB186 created video assets to use on the GoodJanes website and social media platforms. Moving on to editorial media, we targeted beauty and lifestyle beats and influencers offering immediate product trial to each and suggesting to hundreds of influencers to create social media posts and reviews in their blogs and on YouTube videos and include them in holiday gift guides. The results were vast, across blogs, social media platforms and media -- such as being on Daytime TV and The Lifestyle List “Fall Beauty Must Haves” segments and making the Luxe List’s “Fab Fall Finds” segments across U.S. markets, among others.

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Before tattoo-brightening beauty product Tatul tapped Kickstarter to crowdfund the innovative new skincare tool, they needed third-party endorsements and testimonials from their target audience: Millennial women. Since evaluating a product means trial, we created a special vetting process to identify the best possible online beauty and cosmetic influencers who would spread the word about Tatul. The criteria designed to vet participants was by influence, ranking, size of social networks and views. Some of the most influential tattooed Millennials on the web landed on our influencer list. We then invited hundreds to participate and create social media posts, videos, tweets and blogs about their experience using the product. Armed with several high-quality placements from influencers in their target demographic, we were able to re-purpose them to help add credibility to their Kickstarter campaign.

The City of Santa Monica needed to better understand the community for more informed policies and community initiatives, but realized that it lacked the right type of data. So it set out to do something that had never been done before: integrate the science of wellbeing into the foundation of the local government. The core of the Wellbeing Project, the city’s winning entry in the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayor’s Challenge, is a comprehensive index of analysis developed in partnership with renowned research firm RAND Corporation and New Economics Foundation. The agency worked closely with the project to distill and communicate the data for public consumption, consulted on website development and to assist in strategically implementing change within the city based upon findings. The launch of the index solidified the city’s thought leadership platform in sustainability and health and wellness.

The American public has a love affair with speed. We leveraged that “love” to engage consumers, and spark interest and demand for the one-of-a-kind speed measurement device Pocket Radar: the world’s only palm-sized, full-performance speed radar device. When it launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the dual messaging platform that we created had to resonate with two sets of audiences — professionals and everyday consumers. Pre-show, we sent creative media mailers to pique curiosity and generate word-of-mouth buzz. The product’s innovative technology, a break-through Doppler radar sensing and processing system, earned it a CES Innovations Honoree award, which was highlighted and leveraged to secure one-on-one interviews and post-show product reviews. The resulting coverage totaled 202,722,673 media impressions.

With people looking to express themselves through functional fashion choices, Ritmo Mvndo came to the agency to capture international attention of its accessible luxury brand. Leveraging the trend of coupling affordability and luxury, the agency utilized an international media relations campaign across trade, fashion, lifestyle and entertainment outlets to position Ritmo Mvndo as a trendsetter. Capitalizing on Ritmo Mvndo’s extensive celebrity clientele, unique price point and myriad of styles, the agency positioned the brand as an elite fashion accessory of the stars, yet accessible to the general public. Following the product launch media blitz and representation for two consecutive years at the world’s largest watch trade show, BaselWorld in Basel, Switzerland, the watches were seen as the hottest accessory emanating from Hollywood.

Before the global water scarcity and drought crisis reached its present fever pitch, the 75-year-old irrigation manufacturer understood that it faced a potential environmental crisis perception — simply for being an irrigation company, which carried an implication of wasting water. The agency positioned the company as a thought leader in water conservation as it relates to the lawn and garden industry, and created a new campaign coined “The Intelligent Use of Water.” We developed a roadmap for a sustainable, multi-pronged program with multiple touch points that included industry white papers, bi-annual Intelligent Use of Water global summits, film competitions, awards programs, partnerships, grade school curriculums, Tournament of Roses Parade participation and more. Its position as an industry leader in landscape water conservation insights, was solidified.

“Portraits of Service”, a new book by photographers Robert Miller and Andrew Wakeford, presents images and vignettes of a cross-section of living war veterans that capture the fears, emotions and unique stories of service men and women across four generations. The publisher, The Patton Foundation, wanted to raise its visibility and identity through media relations, increase book sales and assist in building relationships with corporate sponsors and allied organizations. To differentiate our messaging from other veterans groups, the content focused on servicewomen, an oft-unrecognized segment of the veterans community. We also created alliances with the Gary Sinise Foundation and Final Salute, Inc.; celebrity spokesperson actress Erin Cummings; and developed a relationship with A&E Networks, that all contributed to significant increase in book sales.

Developing a corporate image program for Oversee.net, a marketing network company, presented two unique challenges. First, we needed to manage its reputation as it moved from small startup to the next level of expansion. Second, we needed to position the company as a leader in the emerging, yet little understood, domain industry. We developed an industry white paper that established Oversee as a thought leader and the company with which “domainers” want to do business. A media campaign targeted influencers, investors and customers, highlighting Oversee’s proprietary technology prowess and establishing it as a “go to” marketing tool to monetize sites. Oversee was named to the Inc. 500 and also named “Internet and New Media Company of the Year” by the Technology Council of Southern California.

Punto 2012, a Mexico City-based company with years of experience in online marketing and SEO for restaurants, quickly realized that the .com space was too crowded; the search for restaurants was too difficult if they had long, complicated domain names. They saw a need for food-related businesses to form their own Internet “neighborhood” and from there, bought the .REST and .BAR domain names; .REST is the abbreviation for “restaurant” in more than 30 languages and more than 50 countries. We developed and executed an aggressive media relations strategy and thought leadership platform, coordinated with the agency’s Worldcom partners in six countries. Additionally, all partner agencies sought strategic partnerships with influencers, such as food bloggers and TV hosts, and restaurant associations across the United States.

When a breakthrough medical procedure has the potential to affect more than half a million women in the U.S. every year, the impact is daunting. miVIP Surgery Centers, a chain of outpatient surgery centers, recognized this when two gynecological surgeons were preparing to perform the first robotic hysterectomy on an outpatient basis at miVIP’s Beverly Hills location. miVIP looked to us for a media relations strategy to raise awareness of this procedure using the renowned da Vinci Surgical System®, a robotic surgery platform used for minimally invasive surgery. We produced a video that allowed broadcast media to utilize stock footage of the impressive equipment. On the day of the surgery, health reporters and other media were granted unprecedented access to shoot the procedure from only a few feet away in a separate room.

It’s not easy to get the general public to stop and smell the roses, and it’s even harder to get them to take a look at the stars. So for the launch of Meade Instruments’ ETX-LS telescope at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), we were tasked with generating interest in the first hands-off, self-aligning telescope among space and telescope enthusiasts, as well as general consumers. We leveraged celestial events and consumers’ innate attraction to technological advancements to reinvigorate interest in backyard astronomy. We positioned the telescopes as forging new frontiers in amateur astronomy and post-CES, managed a comprehensive media product review program. Among others, the earned media included features on the ETX-LS in Wired, PC Magazine, Popular Science, USA Today and CNN.

When LegalShield, a leading provider of affordable legal services and identity theft solutions retained the agency, the client directed it to establish a thought leadership platform for its senior executives and drive media attention to its suite of products, including IDShield, an identity theft monitoring and restoration service. In capitalizing on the news of the high-profile data breaches at Equifax and Facebook, the agency established LegalShield as a much sought-out cybersecurity expert to address identity theft safety. In addition to multi-year PR and marketing campaigns, the agency established the LegalShield Law Index and the Legal Advisory Council, netting additional media attention and increasing the conversion rate by 200,000 new members. Eight billion offline/online media impressions were garnered, as well as profiles in The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN.com, Associated Press, Investor’s Business Daily, and more. 

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Selected by both the manufacturer of the vitamin products and the family of the late Dr. Linus Pauling, a major push was necessary to launch this new line of Linus Pauling Vitamins™ into an already over-exhausted competitive environ while overcoming the challenge of lack of awareness of the “persona” among the younger generations. The agency strategically crafted an editorial story that was then produced as camera ready artwork and distributed to newspaper outlets across the country. To increase repetition of the message points, a radio mat release program was also coordinated. The six-month campaign resulted in over 728 placements in newspapers nationwide, representing a circulation of over 7.6 million people. The radio mat release, which was timed to “break” just prior to the print stories, garnered broadcasts totaling over 740 airings of our “prepared” story, for a total audience reached figure of over 4.3 million. In addition, the agency created a video news release which generated coverage for Linus Pauling Vitamins on major network affiliated in top-tier cities.

Launching a holiday campaign for toys can be challenging as the gift-buying season is often congested with dozens of new product launches, all fighting for a spot under the proverbial Christmas tree. We needed to help position the Fuzion Electron, a four-wheel sports scooter from NextSport, as one of the must-have items of the season.  By targeting both potential riders (children under age 7 and under 135 pounds) and those with the purchasing power (parents), we pitched Fuzion Electron to kids as the “it” product for the next generation of scooters. For parents, the agency emphasized the product as a safer lifestyle alternative to two-wheel scooters, with a less expensive price point than most traditional “big item” holiday gifts for children.

When the nation’s leading supplier of massage chairs looked to us for a strategy to showcase the company’s newly re-branded consumer product division, we started by maximizing visibility of Human Touch and its award-winning HT-7450 Zero-Gravity Massage Chair at key technology and design trade shows that focused on wellness, design and technology. At CES and Las Vegas Market, we played into the weariness of trade show participants and attending media, and engaged national broadcast media outlets to take a moment to “experience” the H-7450 massage chair themselves.  Our national public relations campaign completely re-focused media perception of the product category itself — massage chairs — from just “simple comfort/luxury indulgence” to essential lifestyle,health and wellness.

When then-startup company, Equipois, launched the x-AR, the world’s first exoskeletal arm using zeroG technology best known from the Steadicam camera, we knew this could be revolutionary. It allowed users to maneuver heavy equipment as if weightless, thus minimizing workers’ fatigue and reducing injuries.  At the Applied Ergonomics Conference, we positioned the Equipois brand as a leader in American innovation alongside established companies such as IBM and its superhuman computer “Watson.” We engaged media with real-world examples where the x-Ar would boost efficiency and productivity, such as surgeons who would operate for hours without experiencing arm weakness; assembly workers in manufacturing plants who could speed up the process; and women who would now challenge muscular men in the handling of heavy tools with ease.

When WHAM-O, makers of the beloved and universally popular Frisbee, wanted to move it from the toy category into a new Frisbee Sport line of products, the challenge was to reconnect with the hard-core Frisbee enthusiasts and create a brand new generation of loyalists eager to experience the spirit of the brand’s competitive roots. Rather than focus on athletes, the agency targeted parents and their young children and teenagers. We developed a family-focused media relations program, timed to peak during the key spring and summer selling seasons, and implemented a junior high school physical education Frisbee sport teaching curriculum, coordinated with the Ultimate Players Association. Midway through the campaign, the Association officially approved the Frisbee Sport Disc for match play.

When the agency was tasked with introducing an already two-year-old patented Vitamin C product into the market, we created a strategy to tie in with public health and wellness issues and build on existing controversies. Ester-C, a Vitamin C supplement, entered the public consciousness through a PR campaign that included media relations, a large trade show presence and a thought leadership program. We enlisted independent expert spokespeople, such as a biochemist with 25 years of vitamin research experience and a nutritionist/author who advocates a vitamin-rich lifestyle to the “rich and famous.” The agency also booked a national radio campaign to promote vitamin benefits and educate consumers on public health concerns, such as toxicity levels.

Shopping for healthy food products at the grocery store can be challenging, due to the overwhelming choices and often conflicting nutritional information. With the introduction of Eaturna’s chef-created, prepared food products, the agency was challenged to cut through the clutter of the competition, and create rapid brand awareness for Eaturna foods in one neighborhood as a trial. The “Eaturnalize your Neighborhood” experiential product launch focused on word-of-mouth marketing, signed pledges committing to healthy eating habits, “Partnership for Healthy Neighborhoods” street teams driving consumer trial, family-focused community events and partnerships where Eaturna food got tasted. Within 60 days, the entire neighborhood had been reached one-on-one and pledged to eating healthy.

Considering that most individuals today spend more time on digital entertainment than on family conversations, the agency developed a kid-focused family lifestyle campaign to ignite renewed interest in backyard astronomy as a “well-spent family pastime.” With the launch of Celestron’s innovative SkyScout Personal Planetarium at CES, instead of just sending media new product pitches, we keyed into the mystique of the age-old question “what is that object in the sky?” while noting that this product could take the “mystery” out of the sky. The agency also leveraged national celestial events to generate curiosity in astronomy, as well as a Boy Scouts of America partnership to attract that particular demographic.

The Brita Water Filter System, a portable water filter system from The Clorox Company, is a household name today. But back when it first entered the market, public confidence in tap water was at an all time low. Clorox retained the agency to pilot test the product in Southern California, with the goal of changing the behavior of bottled-water-obsessed consumers. Through an experiential sampling program and a specially designed “Brita Water Cart,” managed by a “Brita Water Patrol” that showed up where bottled waters did — at sports events, marathons, home shows, trade shows, etc. — coupled with our national media campaign focused on health and wellness, sales increased by 26 percent in nine months. Our product launch campaign had unleashed the powerful “word-of-mouth” tool.

The saying “no news is good news” did not apply to Axiotron, an award-winning, authorized Apple Proprietary Solution provider that built its reputation by adapting consumer technologies to innovative new products. After the company suffered product delays, it faced stern customer backlash from the online community. Complaints stemmed from the company’s lack of news and unresponsiveness when questioned about product availability, and its reputation suffered. We were tasked with generating media and consumer interest, as well as lifestyle engagement, in the product launch of the Mac® Axiotron Modbook, an innovative pen-sensitive LCD tablet—particularly within the design industry. Immediately, we increased online community engagement and fed Axiotron news particularly around key event/trade shows. We partnered with artists and designers to present their art work in the booth at the Macworld show, which focused on design and digital art and earned wide attention.

Strict regulations, required compliance and data security concerns have kept financial services technology in the stone age, for innovation is very risky and costly. Docupace’s turn-key Straight-Through Processing product eliminates those challenges. The company needed to raise awareness with a very niche audience and tapped the agency to develop a long-term comprehensive public relations and digital marketing strategy that would rebrand it as a cyber secure and compliant financial tech firm. We redesigned and implemented a new website, coordinated an advertising campaign, built content marketing, including strategic native advertising, and launched a thought leadership platform — all targeting the C-suite of financial services. Docupace entered the marketplace en force and saw strong growth in the marketplace. Docupace became a trusted FinTech leader for financial services firms.

When Sanyo Corporation tapped the agency to introduce their new Xacti Sound Recorder, we recognized that adoption without trial first would be near impossible; after all, the market was already flooded with recorders that claimed to be the best. So we targeted musical influencers to review the product and encouraged them to spread the word within their own networks to advocate for the product and brand organically. We reached out to musicians across all music genres, from rock to classical, music educators, songwriters and performers. After that, we engaged music fans and consumers through an agency-designed microsite and online contest. In just four months, 50 media outlets requested the unit for review well before the product even rolled out to market.

When iconic toymaker WHAM-O, inventor of the “Hula-Hoop” and “Frisbee,” saw that it was losing customers to video games and technology, it enlisted the agency to find creative ways to re-capture the age-old excitement for its new outdoor summer and winter product lineups. To attract parents, the agency banked on triggering positive memories of their own childhood toys, which in turn, could translate into purchases for their children. In countering kids’ increasingly sedentary lifestyles, a summer multi-media campaign “Get The Kids Outdoors” and a winter one targeting “winter” states was pitched to the top 100 U.S. media markets. In just four months, WHAM-O generated more than 260 million print impressions and appeared on The Today Show, GMA, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, PBS and CNN.

Carrington Holding Companies, a B2B real estate and mortgage company, asked the agency for help in transforming their business model in order to reach an underserved market of home buyers — namely, those with credit challenges. We first created perception surveys to gain a greater pulse on this market segment. Based on reaped results, we broadened their Internet storefront to meet the needs of this new customer, which included instant prequalification, affordable payment methodology, engaging digital communications and a chat room for local insights and advice. Tapping their rich database of facts and figures, we developed an infographic that honed in on trends affecting the real estate and mortgage markets. Following a multi-media campaign in which Carrington was positioned as a thought leader for this market, the company achieved wide penetration into the underserved market.

The company that first introduced drip irrigation technology to the world over 50 years ago, needed to expand its presence in both traditional and new crop markets as farmers were increasingly faced with drought conditions and decreased access to water. Netafim looked to the agency not only to bolster its media relations and marketing programs, but also to pave the way for a transformation of the way the company positions itself and its product offerings. The agency has been instrumental in helping Netafim restructure its dealer incentive and marketing program, forge relationships with key agricultural and environmental influentials and academics, develop sales and marketing tools, as well as conceptualize and execute marketing and advertising campaigns for the landscape and agriculture divisions.

Digital marketing expert and customer service guru, Jay Baer, tapped the agency for media exposure and thought leadership strategies to increase coverage of his new book Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers.  Written as a response to the rise in online complaints, Hug Your Haters argues that the mindset to “pick and choose”  when to respond to criticism is an incredibly costly mistake for many businesses. By leveraging the breaking news cycle of high-profile business blunders together with available data points from Jay’s research, we created a whirlwind of interest, which led to byline opportunities and the positioning of Baer as a sought-after resource to the media through his ongoing expert commentary on specific statistics within the food, hospitality, travel, retail, and airline industries.