Case Study: Woolet

Challenge

Woolet’s founders needed USD 15,000 to put their idea into practice. They decided to raise funds using crowdfunding. It is a form of collective financing which enables Internet users to make payments towards projects they are interested in. The model has become an alternative form of financing many products and social or cultural projects. The Poles chose Kickstarter.com, currently the most popular crowdfunding site in the world. Since Kickstarter’s establishment, its users paid USD 1.4 billion towards 80 thousand successful projects. Technology is one of the most popular technologies on Kickstarter. Projects under this category raised in total nearly USD 220 million.

In order to be able to raise the required amount, Woolet had to differentiate itself from almost 1000 other pending projects under the category. To do this, the project had to have the right positioning and extensive media coverage. As Kickstarter.com is a global platform, media relations activities had to include international media as well. As far as the message is concerned, Woolet was to be presented as an innovative, stylish product tailored to the needs of the target group, i.e. middle-class gadget and new technology enthusiasts. The message had to be effective so as to persuade the target group to take action, i.e. financially support the project.

Solution

In the first stage of the campaign SAROTA PR professionals coordinated the works on the main description of Woolet, which is a key element of any Kickstarter project page. The description presented Woolet as a premium product addressed to new technology enthusiasts and trendsetters. The message emphasized features such as innovativeness, high-quality materials, and attractive design. It was also important to position Woolet with wearables and IoT (Internet of Things), the emerging trends in electronic devices which are both an item of clothing and mobile accessories.

The agency was also responsible for preparing and distributing press materials. Media relations activities were conducted mainly in Poland, USA, and Germany, For Polish media, an important element of building interest in the product was emphasizing its Polish origin. The activities were addressed to a wide range of technology, lifestyle, science, business and opinion-forming media. Before campaign launch, a list of 30 most important titles had been prepared. In addition to distributing press materials, the agency also arranged interviews with Woolet’s founders. In contacts with the media, storytelling techniques were used to arouse interest. This is how the story of Woolet was told, which started with an anecdote about its founders.

Effects

The Woolet campaign turned out to be a major success. We managed to raise more than PLN 1,2 million (USD 332 thousand), which was many times more than the initially assumed amount of USD 15 thousand. More than 2,600 people decided to support the project. The result is the second highest for Polish projects in Kickstarter’s history.

In the Polish media, 191 publications about Woolet appeared (5 on television, 17 in the press, and 169 on the Internet). The project was also mentioned on numerous occasions in social media. Woolet was covered, among others, by TVP1, TVN, TVN 24, Rzeczpospolita, Puls Biznesu, Wprost, Do Rzeczy, LOGO, onet.pl, gazeta.pl, wp.pl, interia.pl, wyborcza.biz, forbes.pl, antyweb.pl, and spidersweb.pl. More than 50 journalists declared their interest in testing Woolet.

Influential English-language technology and news sites also covered Woolet, including techcrunch.com, gizmodo.com, slashgear.com, yahoo.com, dailymail.co.uk, independent.co.uk, androidauthority.com, and gadgetreview.com.

The campaign built brand awareness from scratch, both among potential end users and business partners. As a result, Woolet founders started cooperation with Gino Rossi and HG Intelligence.

Our actvities for Woolet lasted from January to June 2015.

      

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