Music to your ears
The phenomenal success of the iPod has resulted in a lucrative market for all things Pod related. It’s estimated that 70-80% of iPod users purchase an average of two or three accessories during the lifecycle of their MP3 player.
UK loudspeaker expert Monitor Audio decided to leverage this growing trend by developing a premium quality iPod speaker system. The resulting i-deck delivers against the key consumer requirements of real stereo sound, great audio performance and design flair.
Wildwood PR was recruited to promote the i-deck to both retailers and consumers, differentiating it from other iPod speaker systems on the market, helping to develop mass-market retail channels and, ultimately, driving sales. The core target audience was identified as 20-35 year old men, with a secondary, wider audience of 16-45 year old men and women.
Thanks to Monitor Audio’s more than 30 years of hi-fi expertise, i-deck’s audio quality is superior to competitor speaker systems and stands up to extensive testing. We recognised that the best way to secure initial awareness and sales was to target the media of music lovers and technology early adopters via an intensive programme of face-to-face product demonstrations. Targeted titles included What Hi-Fi?, Macworld, T3, GQ, Loaded and the Financial Times.
As phase two of the launch, Wildwood developed a series of tailored press releases to extend coverage opportunities to a wider range of media, including women’s, men’s, student, wedding, home and lifestyle, health and fitness, gay and regional publications. By focusing on the aesthetic and lifestyle benefits of the i-deck, we secured extensive coverage through targeted media relations, supported by a programme of competitions and giveaways.
To help position i-deck as the must-have iPod speaker system, we initiated a celebrity seeding programme, targeting high-profile celebs known for their love of music/gadgets and with a strong appeal to the target audience. Jonathan Ross, Gavin Henson, Jodie Kidd, Sadie Frost and the Sussex cricket team are now amongst an extensive list of celebrity i-deck fans, providing fertile ground for more media coverage via interviews and quotes.
We generated over 150 editorials including coverage on Sky News, The Gadget Show (Channel 5), The Friday Night Project (Channel 4) and favourable reviews in News of the World, The Times, The Independent Magazine, Esquire, GQ, Nuts, 4Homes and ERT Weekly.
Highlights include i-deck receiving the Product of the Year (MP3 Players & Accessories category) award at the What Hi-Fi? Awards, scoring a five star rating in a Macworld review and receiving a Gold Five Star award in T3.
Whilst the majority of coverage has been generated in core music/technology and men’s media, titles have been as diverse as Bliss for Brides, Traditional Homes & Interiors, MixMag and Glamour.com.
The coverage equates to 23 A4 pages of editorial coverage, worth £376k in advertising costs, giving a return on investment of 403%.
Message communication was highly effective, with 77% of all coverage communicating the key messages ‘stereo sound’ and ‘superior audio quality’ and 51% communicating ‘stylish design’. 87% of coverage included a visual of the i-deck.
During the course of the PR campaign, i-deck secured distribution in Comet, Dixons, Apple, Selfridges, Sevenoaks Sound & Vision, Micro Anvika and John Lewis.