The Goal: To direct a launch campaign that would put the company and its service on the map, activate the salivating glands of the media, analysts and general public, and establish a solid Vindigo customer base.
The Scenario: Traditionally, finding out what's going on in a city required more than one resource—newspapers, travel guides, Web sites or regional magazines. While printed guides can be carried on the go, they don't always include comprehensive or up-to-date information. Web sites are more current, but are useful only if you have a computer handy. No single resource offered a complete, up-to-date entertainment guide in a convenient form.
A new, unknown company called Vindigo had the answer: using their new service, also called Vindigo, people have instant access to complete information about thousands of local restaurants, shopping and entertainment options—all in their Palm handheld computers. The Palm format makes it easy to search for specific activities and retrieve walking directions. A Vindigo user braving Greenwich Village for the first time, for example, would have a local's insight and knowledge about where to go, and what to see and do.
A&R Edelman knew it had a winning company, but was a little less certain that eight weeks would be enough time to build national appeal for Vindigo and its unknown service. A&R Edelman had just one-third its customary lead time to launch the new client. With the clock ticking, the team had to create a market category and positioning for the company, set briefings with key press and analysts nationwide, develop press kit materials and B-roll, conduct executive media training and then launch the company—all from scratch.
To complicate matters, Vindigo's service initially was going to be available only in New York. Vindigo was eager for a "quiet" launch targeting only New York press and analysts, followed by a bigger, noisier national event when the service would be available in more cities. A&R Edelman needed to take a step back and decide which would be best for Vindigo—a New York-only event or a full-scale national launch.
The Approach:
1) Launch nationwide
A&R Edelman determined that Vindigo had one shot to create buzz and appeal for its service. Therefore, A&R Edelman recommended a national launch that would include press and analysts outside of New York. To persuade Vindigo, A&R Edelman cited examples of companies that had successfully rolled out national launches for products initially available only regionally. For example, Palm's Palm VII was initially available only in New York.
2) Avoid "me-too" positioning by creating a new market category
A&R Edelman created positioning for Vindigo that emphasized the uniqueness of its service, and avoided comparisons to products and services that served a more general audience, such as The Yellow Pages. In doing so, A&R Edelman also wanted to avoid using the phrases "city guide" or "portal" to describe Vindigo because those market categories didn't effectively describe its service. A&R Edelman came up with a new market category called "personal navigation" that Vindigo could lead and own.
3) Portray Vindigo users as "in-the-know"
To gain acceptance for this new market and for Vindigo, A&R Edelman worked to build a hip image around being a Vindigo user. A&R Edelman described the Vindigo user as an insider—one who always had an inside track on the hot goings-on in his or her city. A&R Edelman played up Vindigo's ability to instantly beam information from one handheld to another, and described Vindigo users as cool people who got to share Vindigo's hip service and information with their circle of friends.
4) Get people to try it
Talking about a product would only help so much; getting people to try it would make the difference. A&R Edelman realized that the key to establishing a Vindigo customer base was positive reviews. A&R Edelman strongly encouraged Vindigo's product team to develop an extensive reviewer's guide that would emphasize its simplicity and usefulness. The reviewer's guide also provided sample-user scenarios.
5) Buck the hype of wireless
The wireless market was hot and seemed to be the only topic capturing media attention. The Vindigo service, while mobile, did not make use of wireless technology. Vindigo's approach was to add wireless capabilities to its service only when wireless capabilities added function and value that a mobile service could not. The company would need to convince media that offering a product with wireless capabilities for wireless' sake didn't automatically make the product better, more valuable or usable. A&R Edelman worked with Vindigo to create messages that supported this claim.
6) Target a broad set of press and analysts for launch briefings
A&R Edelman needed to schedule briefings with press and analysts who had a broad, national readership. A&R Edelman planned to conduct two sets of West and East coast tours for long-lead and short-lead publications. A&R Edelman targeted press and analysts that specialized in consumer technologies, general technology and mobile products and services.
In addition to print and online media, A&R Edelman targeted broadcast reporters at regional and national television stations. A&R Edelman developed a B-roll and pitched it to reporters across the country.
The Results: Vindigo's national launch date was March 27—right on schedule. The decision to go national was the right one. Print and online coverage of the launch appeared in more than 60 top national news outlets across the country, including launch-day stories in Newsweek and Time Digital. Vindigo also attracted well over a dozen high-profile broadcast hits.
Most of the launch coverage came in the form of reviews, and A&R Edelman attributed the media's positive reaction to the comprehensive reviewer's guide distributed to the media before the launch. The reviews and their accompanying photographs painted a clear picture of Vindigo, especially for people who didn't have a Palm.
Coverage included all of A&R Edelman's key positioning messages, especially Vindigo's unique features as a "personal navigation" service. Reporters seemed to have fun with the service, particularly the coolness of beaming Vindigo information to friends. Coverage mentioned Vindigo's plans to expand its application to other cities in the near future, and touched upon its technical components, compatibility with handheld devices and additional features that could be added to future versions of the service.
Vindigo successfully convinced the media that wireless wasn't necessarily the way to go. Reporters wrote about Vindigo's convenience, usefulness, overall value and ability to work anywhere, rather than the fact it wasn't a wireless service.
The Vindigo launch created great awareness for the company, and paved the way for the service's expansion to other U.S. cities. Today, Vindigo is available in 17 cities, including London, with a user base of more than 250,000 people. A&R Edelman continues to raise the company's visibility through a steady stream of national press, most recently in a full-page article in the Wall Street Journal.