Kensington

Accessories are among the hardest consumer tech products to get noticed because cases, keyboards, mice, cables and locks are considered commodity items. Getting media attention for such products is even more complicated because it involves shifting the spotlight from the new smartphone, tablet or laptop to the accessory as the primary story. Adding to the challenge, the client struggled to get attention because it competed with the biggest names in the category.

The PR agency needed to earn a permanent place in the media’s buying guides for the client and keep it there as device cycles turned over. The PR campaign’s mandate was to:

• Build awareness for the new accessory lines across consumer and tech media
• Earn placement in the major seasonal roundups surrounding the school year, Father’s Day and Grads and holiday gift guides
• Establish the client as a default accessory brand, despite its far larger competitors

The PR team’s insight was that accessory coverage follows the editorial calendar. Shoppers buy at a predictable rhythm, and editors follow the same pattern. Instead of chasing one-off launch news, the PR agency innately understood the cycle and built a year-round program around the moments when accessories are covered.

Our PR experts knew consumers read reviews before making a purchase, so it had to give reviewers access to the client’s new products prior to release. This would ensure coverage came from real use rather than press releases. To accomplish this task, the PR agency tracked the lists editors build each year and pitched the right products to each one well ahead of deadline.

Next, the agency team built seasonal-themed pitches around Father’s Day, the graduation season and holiday gift guides, giving editors a reason to feature accessories when shoppers were buying for a specific audience. To build additional support for the client’s product launches, the PR agency commissioned research on consumer opinions by season. That gave editors fresh data to cite and gave the seasonal pitches a news hook beyond the product itself.

The PR team then utilized the massive CES and Macworld shows to put products in front of an even wider press audience. This move was bolstered by running New York lifestyle media tours to reach the national consumer and morning-show outlets that move products at retail.

The final step was to prepare the client’s spokespeople to work with the press. The agency team developed message tracks for the client’s executives, so every interview reinforced the company’s same “smart. safe. simple.” story.