Wired Island client Delair received some great coverage in the international business media, Bloomberg, recently. The story showcased innovative uses of commercial drones and Delair was prominently featured with interviews, photographs and a video. The article was syndicated worldwide and received multiple additional placements in top tier press.
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Wired Island prides itself on long-standing relationships - both with clients and with the media. For some of our trade press contacts, Wired Island has deep relationships that span more than a decade. One example of this is Electronic Engineering Journal (EE Journal). We have been working with this trade publication from the time it was formed in 2003 as part of TechFocus Media. For even longer, Wired Island has been working with Coventor, a leader in semiconductor process technology, providing public relations support. When Coventor was acquired by Lam Research in 2016 the focus of our PR efforts become more streamlined. Now the strategy is to secure quality coverage of its unique technology and flagship product in key trade publications that reach engineers in electronic product design and research. Wired Island worked with EE Journal to share the announcement of new features to Conventor's SEMulator3D 8.0, a process modeling, analysis, and simulation platform that is used for fast and accurate "virtual fabrication' of advanced semiconductor devices and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). The resulting article covered one of the key new features of the platform - how the analytics are tuned to let engineers get it "just right" - in a highly effective way with its title and link to Goldilocks. It's this kind of precise and creative approach that makes EE Journal one of the most highly respected trade publications in the business and why we enjoy working with the whole team there so much.
Trying to get attention for a new product or technology at CES, one of the largest trade shows in tech, is never easy, and often not a strategy we recommend, especially for early stage start-ups who don't yet have a market-ready product. But last month, we set course for Vegas along with a handful of our clients from Ceres Holographics, Prophesee, and Back Market. While the show is always well attended by the media and analysts, creating many opportunities for valuable face-to-face meetings, it can be difficult to navigate with all the excitement and flood of product announcements. So ensuring maximum return for our client Ceres required a plan to leverage the unveiling of a newly debuted holographic transparent display system, before, during and after CES.
Ceres develops Holographic Optical Elements (HOEs) for next-generation transparent display (TD) and augmented reality head-up-display (AR-HUD) solutions. It's a technology that has a long gestation period and Ceres has been carefully navigating the supply chain ecosystem in which it must participate in order to achieve success. Wired Island has been working with Ceres for several months to help develop a messaging and go-to-market communications plan. This includes ramping up its social media program as well as revamping its web site, and ultimately introducing the company to key influencers.
Following an initial funding announcement in December, at CES, the company announced their latest TD prototype system that offers key advantages for automotive applications including full-color display, wide field of view and desired small package size. We decided, with the client, to plan this announcement campaign around CES to maximize on the buzz and traffic of the event, and to take advantage of an offer to do some joint promotions with their technology partner Texas Instruments at the show.
The Wired Island team curated and evaluated the full CES press database, along with our previously developed industry contacts to offer pre-show briefings and press release embargoes. We then scheduled and prepped the client for meetings at CES, and also coordinated with their partner TI. Attending the show allowed us to be even more involved in press meetings industry networking that will be crucial to building long term relationships, as well develop content for social media.
Despite the noisy environment, CES ended up being a great "coming out' event for Ceres and they managed to create a bit of buzz in their space, even catching the attention of one of their better known competitors. Coverage regarding the announcement continues to roll in. Ceres was interviewed by a variety of trade and tech publications including Display Daily, Electronics 360, and the MarketScale podcast.
We are excited to report Wired Island is growing. We've had a productive year with our B2B technology clients and are looking to expand our team. To keep up with our new business opportunities, daily work and communication strategies on behalf of Wired Island, we are looking for an entry level associate to join our team. This is a great opportunity to learn the ropes of a dynamic and fast-paced industry. We are looking to partner with a freelancer who could be available 10-20 hours a week and has a demonstrated knowledge and some experience in these key areas:
This is an excellent opportunity for a student or recent grad to gain experience in a range of marketing communication strategies while working with a global client base. We are a small team and treat our partners and clients like family. We are looking for someone who is organized and can operate effectively and autonomously. We hope to make a lifelong connection, no matter how long we work together. Perks include somewhat flexible hours on a hybrid model, company sponsored happy hours, and some of the cutest assistants in the biz. If this sounds like you or someone you know, please contact us.
Some of the tasks and responsibilities would include:
For 2020 being the longest year ever this summer is flying by. We continue to feel grateful for our work and the success and resiliency of our clients. This resiliency is highlighted in many ways, but being able to quickly shift to full remote work is certainly one of them.
We brainstormed with our client at Back Market early on in the shutdown about how they were keeping their unique, "rebels-with-a-cause", culture alive with their now 250+ totally remote workforce. The co-founders had a unique viewpoint that even though they were doing some pretty cool, hip, remote bonding initiatives, they don't believe that is what is powering their remote employees. When it comes to keeping employees motivated, engaged and happy, it really boils down to the driving force behind the company. Having a strong, society-impacting mission as a company has continued to motivate and bring employees together even if they can't be face to face.
Wired Island worked with the client to craft this contributed article and find it a home. We hope you enjoy this valuable lesson in employee engagement.
The success of Storefront and their clients make it evident that things are changing in retail. The Wired Island team collected many great stories to tell by connecting with Storefront clients, and learning their goals and results of their pop-up stores. However, we wanted to take this one step further by adding some data to these anecdotal stories. Unable to find any current studies of the pop-up industry, the team decided to create a survey to study what industries were using short term retail, what were their reasons for doing so, were they successful, and other retail industry insights. We knew we needed to have third party assistance and validation for this study, and it just so happened that a college not too far from the current Wired Island HQ has a Department of Retail. Mark Rosenbaum, Fulbrighter, Professor, and Department of Retailing Chair at the University of South Carolina advised the team on question creation, collection and analysis, lending an experienced and academic lens to the research. Wired Island coordinated the creation and launch through the survey platform, including the design and distribution of an email campaign.
With nearly 600 respondents, the survey found that more than 80 percent of the respondents who had done at least one pop-up indicated the activation was a success, and 58 percent said they would be likely to do another one. An interesting finding was that sales was not the main goal for the majority of these stores, unlike traditional brick & mortar operations. Instead, new metrics such as social media engagement, web site traffic and enhancing customer relationships are the primary reasons to do a pop-up. While an increase in sales wasn't a top reason to do a pop-up, it was still considered an important result, finishing just behind "improve market visibility" which was cited by slightly more than half of the respondents as the most important result.
Armed with these new insights, Storefront and Univ. of SC organized a webinar to give a full analysis of the study. Wired Island crafted a media relations campaign to share the findings, promoting the webinar and Storefront as an expert in the space. Supporting content development included a press release and infographic. The study was well received among webinar attendees and press, including a feature in Business Insider and other trade publications.
Client Spotlight: The Consulate General of Canada in Boston
If there is one team familiar with working across borders, it's Wired Island. Our name alone is a nod to our nomadic lifestyle, which was well in place before COVID made working remotely "normal." Our current client base reflects our international reach and experience " we are working with clients from five different countries. Our roots include working with economic development groups such as Scottish Enterprise and its Locate in Scotland campaign; Business France and its La French Tech initiative and more recently in our current home with the Charleston Digital Corridor and the Charleston County Economic Development organizations. We even did work with the government of the Turks & Caicos Islands to help promote their tourism and fisheries industries back in the early days when Wired Island was literally on an island.
So, when the opportunity to work with the Consulate General of Canada in Boston came across our radar screen (thanks to a partnership with have with Reportable), we were eager to connect to see how our experience in promoting a region or country could be useful to them.
The Consulate General of Canada in Boston is part of the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service network operating in 160 cities around the world. Its main charter is to help Canadian companies and entrepreneurs grow by establishing connections in the New England region of the US. With a mission to connect Canada and New England, The Consulate General of Canada in Boston leverages shared values, history and culture to make it easier for companies on both sides of the border to work together, grow and prosper.
The Consulate General of Canada in Boston works with Canadian firms seeking to enter new markets by providing advice and connections, and running support programs (such as the Canadian Technology Accelerator). American firms interested in investing in Canada are also supported with curated advice, strategies and introductions and works with regions across Canada and Invest in Canada. The Covid-19 pandemic has made these efforts more vital and challenging yet the Consulate helped companies such as Moderna expand to Canada last year.
The Consulate's strong network and knowledgeable trade commissioners are a huge value add to the organizations it works with. The team is constantly growing and strengthening this through events and other initiatives. A key part of Wired Island's work has been to make sure these efforts translated to their now almost exclusively virtual audience through effective and efficient communication strategies.
"We appreciate the objective perspective Wired Island brings to the table and how they operate as a seamless extension to our team," said Valerie La Traverse, Senior Trade Commissioner for the Consulate General of Canada in New England. "Wired Island understands the unique challenges of implementing effective communications programs around growth and investment initiatives like ours. We value the ideas, energy and experience Wired Island brings to the group."
Wired Island has been partnering with the Consulate to boost digital presence by keeping its social media profiles on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook updated and generating content for its web site. We have initiated an external communications effort to help increase its visibility in the US, resulting in a trade press feature story among other media relations efforts. Building on a solid communications framework we helped establish, our role with this team is to raise the profile of the group and the Canadian companies it works with to increase opportunities for business success.
To date our efforts have included supporting the strong team of trade commissioners, who are aligned by industry sector, with professional communications strategy and implementation. We've worked with each of the trade commissioners to help promote events they host and to uncover success stories and other content to showcase on their website: Canada Boston Connect. This site serves as a base for communications.
Having worked in three different countries we offer a unique blend of practical, results-driven focus combined with creativity, experience and a team approach to working with clients.
It's hard enough to get attention for clients when they have new and innovative offerings, especially over the holidays. So, you can imagine our challenge in helping Back Market gain attention during the busy gift-shopping period at the end of the year. Back Market's core message is about the value of buying refurbished electronics and that is especially important during the lead-up to Christmas.
Back Market had another amazing year of growth in the US, and beyond, selling refurbished electronics. The company added over 1,000 new product categories and works with over 800 professional refurbishers. Its marketplace provides customers with a wide range of certified refurbished devices at a fraction of the cost of new. So during the holidays, when everything is on sale and everyone is looking for the new best thing - how do you breakthrough the noise with a message that says the opposite - old is new?
We brainstormed a number of ways to get attention for Back Market during this hectic but critical time. We knew that the top three reasons customers shop on Back Market were price, quality, and to make an environmentally friendly purchase. With all the sales and discounts happening during this time, we focused our messaging on the last two: quality and conscience.
First, we surveyed customers last year who said it was ok to give refurbished as a gift. Customers can be further reassured by Back Market's like-new buying experience including gifting-friendly return policies, and hard-to-beat warranties. Second, we know that customers will be looking for the thrill of the deal, and gift-giving is fun, and Back Market is here to help people shop consciously while still getting their loved ones what they want, and at decent prices. That is the holiday message we were able to share with CNBC and GreenBiz.
Finally, we realized that many customers are not aware of the variety of items that can be refurbished. We created a holiday gift guide for a quick visual and easy to digest list for anyone from the chef in your life to the new parents. These "Top X number here" lists continue to be popular as consumers with limited time to digest content seek out information from their trusted sources.
Fortunately, everyone won with this approach: Back Market, the customer, and the planet. Back Market got their message out, and consumers looking for value and to make an environmentally conscious purchase for the holidays got a great selection of devices.
Q: Before we get into the more important content of this interview, I am interested to know more about your relationship with Back Market. How long have they been a client of yours? How has that relationship changed over the years?
A: We have been working with Back Market since their launch in the US in 2018. Our goal was to gain awareness for their brand, and equally as important, to use PR to shift consumer attitudes about refurbished through education and messaging. When we first started working with them, they had virtually no awareness in the US, and refurbished electronics were known as a cheap option, but more or less seen as a compromise to new. We are proud to have secured feature coverage in a handful of mainstream publications, allowing their audience to get a full view of what the company is all about and their mission to make buying refurbished safe and fun, plus showcasing the expertise behind the marketplace so consumers can understand their refurbished devices are receiving professional care. We also continue to see Back Market included in conversations and coverage evaluating consumer options from some big established names like Amazon Renewed, EBay and Best Buy. This not only shows they are a major player in the space 3 years later, but when the quality assurances are broken down, Back Market often comes out on top. Wired Island has helped the brand achieve this elevation by introducing them to several journalists and other influencers such as analysts. Our team continues to be involved in refining their message for various target customer segments through additional content such as contributed articles, social media, awards and more.
Q: Given Back Market has such a wide audience, how have you modeled your efforts to bring more value to them?
A: Back Market's huge target audience represents a ton of opportunity, but that doesn't mean the message is the same for that audience. Even for large company announcements, our job is to refine their message and explain why it matters to their various audience segments.
Q: A little over a year ago the Wired Island Team helped Back Market make an enormous announcement about their recent funding. Could you offer more details into that funding? How do you think this positions Back Market in the industry going forward?
A: Back Market raised $120 million during the pandemic and then another $335 million a year later. This is a big deal and really speaks to the maturity and the potential of refurbished electronics industry. Due to the size of this deal, collaboration among investors, as well as Back Market's international communication plan were extremely important. Wired Island was key in coordinating messaging and timing of the announcement, press outreach, interview prep, and more among the English speaking efforts. This resulted in coverage from mainstream media such a Rueters and Forbes, trade and regional pubs such as BuiltInNYC and Sifted, and broadcast opportunities such as Cheddar (grab links for clip report or ask Mandy).
Optomec recently attended RAPID-TCT, the leading industry event for additive manufacturing in North America. Tradeshows are an important element of the marketing strategy at Optomec and one that gives the company an opportunity to connect with customers and show off their technology in real time. Getting a machine to the show is no small task so we knew we needed to help Optomec get the most of its efforts. Industry events are overwhelming for both the vendors exhibiting and the customers and prospects walking the floor. We knew we needed to have sharp, streamlined messaging so that visitors to Optomec's booth would get a clear picture of what's new and different. We helped Optomec plan its presence at the show by defining the messaging and developing marketing materials specifically for this event. The messaging was reinforced on the website, via the company's social channels, and in our media relations efforts. We managed all the public relations activities including distributing the press release, securing pre-show coverage, meeting press contacts at the event and follow up coverage in key vertical and trade press. Following the event, we coordinated lead nurturing campaigns to help streamline the sales process.
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