Objective: Americans spend nearly $44 billion on plants and plant care products each year, but more than a third of plants die within a year of purchase, according to the National Gardening Association. Last week, Red Consultancy helped launch a product that brings the Web to gardening: The EasyBloom Plant Sensor. The goal was to target amateurs who might be intimidated by gardening by positioning the gadget, which helps determine what plants will thrive in one's home, as “a botanist in your pocket” that takes guesswork out of gardening.
Idea: “First, we wanted to launch it to the tech and influencer community in Silicon Valley,” said Alice Chan, SVP and GM of Red San Francisco. To generate pre-sale buzz, Red launched PlantSense's beta program in June to Bay Area gardeners and early adopters. Then on October 28, Red launched PlantSense's EasyBloom to the gardening public. Additionally, Red plans to sustain momentum by positioning the EasyBloom Plant Sensor as a great gift for the holiday season.
Tools: Red briefed analysts and gardening influencers, and shot b-roll for use by TV stations. The b-roll included demos of people using EasyBloom and interviews with gardening experts and PlantSense CEO Matthew Glenn. For the launch, the agency also reached out to high-profile gardeners, including P. Allen Smith who appears on Today, and Good Morning America's gardening expert Rebecca Kolls.
Measurement: Chan said the launch generated coverage in Popular Science, Women's Health, All You, Fortune, Engadget, CNET, and Gizmodo. Red will monitor sales as its key evaluation tool.
Company: PlantSense
Campaign: Site launch
PR Team: Red Consultancy, San Francisco
Launch: October 28
Budget: Undisclosed
Idea: “First, we wanted to launch it to the tech and influencer community in Silicon Valley,” said Alice Chan, SVP and GM of Red San Francisco. To generate pre-sale buzz, Red launched PlantSense's beta program in June to Bay Area gardeners and early adopters. Then on October 28, Red launched PlantSense's EasyBloom to the gardening public. Additionally, Red plans to sustain momentum by positioning the EasyBloom Plant Sensor as a great gift for the holiday season.
Tools: Red briefed analysts and gardening influencers, and shot b-roll for use by TV stations. The b-roll included demos of people using EasyBloom and interviews with gardening experts and PlantSense CEO Matthew Glenn. For the launch, the agency also reached out to high-profile gardeners, including P. Allen Smith who appears on Today, and Good Morning America's gardening expert Rebecca Kolls.
Measurement: Chan said the launch generated coverage in Popular Science, Women's Health, All You, Fortune, Engadget, CNET, and Gizmodo. Red will monitor sales as its key evaluation tool.
Company: PlantSense
Campaign: Site launch
PR Team: Red Consultancy, San Francisco
Launch: October 28
Budget: Undisclosed
