We’re at the Florida Venture Forum, and at yesterday’s Women in Venture Capital event we were reminded how often technology companies forget that creative campaigns work! So with a nod to Throwback Thursdays, we wanted to share a story of how the unexpected brought unexpected success.
A few years back, we had an amazing client who had a skincare product. Based on tech developed to help burn victims, this small company had begun to move into the beauty market. And we were launching a press initiative for them.
So — a quick note about beauty editors. They get swag. They get serious swag. And they get invitations to spectacular events like Paris Fashion Week. So, how were we going to stand out in the midst of ALL that “stuff?” And how were we going to explain the tech behind the product in a way that editors could easily share with their readers?
Enter Carly, the Dancing Hamster. Carly wore a business suit, carried a cell phone in one hand, a briefcase in the other and sang, in her squeaky hamster voice, “She Works Hard for the Money.” We donned Carly with a custom banner, added a great promo card complete with a limerick which hinted at the advanced tech in the client’s products and supported all the fun pieces with a detailed press backgrounder and online “quiz.” (You can find more details here!)
BUT — the reason we got traction wasn’t because of the detailed tech explanation. It was Carly. With follow-up calls to our targeted editors we simply had to say “We sent you the hamster.” And no matter the reaction (usually laughter) there was a REACTION!
This simply gave us the hook to get our clients product on the radar cost-effectively in an industry where $1000s of dollars are spent per editor just to get a 10-line-mention in a beauty favorites page.
Why is this important? Because we see so many technology companies who forget to bring the creative — which means they forget to connect to emotions. They so busy selling the features of their next-generation, earth-changing tech, they forget their audience is made up of HUMANS who laugh, cry and love.
The approach changes for every customer you target, but never forget to tap your creative side (or let us help you tap it!) to connect to their emotions. That’s what gets your next-generation technology noticed and makes it memorable!