iRobot and Roku Join Client Roster
SAN MATEO, Calif., Oct. 7, 2003—A&R Edelman, Silicon Valley's top-ranked independent technology PR firm*, welcomes two consumer product innovators to its award-winning consumer technology practice—iRobot Corporation, of Burlington, Mass., the robotics innovator behind the highly successful Roomba® Robotic FloorVac, and Roku, a Palo Alto, Calif., media consumer electronics startup led by ReplayTV founder Anthony Wood.
A&R Edelman is helping both companies grow their brands and gain broad consumer visibility through the agency's expertise in media relations, television and film product placements and radio demand-generation campaigns. In addition, A&R Edelman will apply its expertise in competitive positioning, strategic counsel and product review programs to the companies.
Expanding beyond government and industry sectors to the consumer market, iRobot (www.irobot.com) in 2002 introduced Roomba, the first affordable home robot, to instant market success. The company recently unveiled two new models, Roomba Pro and Roomba Pro Elite, which take hands-free cleaning to unprecedented levels. The robotic vacuums use iRobot's advanced navigation technology to automatically clean carpet, wood, tile, linoleum and other household floor surfaces. In just one year, Roomba Robotic FloorVac ranks as a top gift request on wedding registries across the country, with sales surpassing the combined total number of all mobile robots ever sold. iRobot has also built robots that have explored caves in Afghanistan, cleared buildings in Iraq and explored ancient passageways in the Great Pyramid of Egypt.
"We're taking Roomba from an early adopter, 'nice-to-have' product to a mass-market 'need-to-have' product. We wanted an agency that could get Roomba in front of the right consumer press at the right time and deliver results," said Nancy Dussault, corporate communications manager at iRobot. "In addition to its strong corporate PR practice, A&R Edelman stood out among other agencies because of its expertise in film, television and radio placements and close relations with consumer press."
Launched on Sept. 22, Roku is a consumer electronics company specializing in advanced digital media products that maximize the home entertainment experience. Bringing software development expertise to the consumer electronics world, Roku designs and builds sleek products that consumers can use intuitively, making digital media more enjoyable in all areas of the home.
"Roku is tapping into the emerging HDTV market, providing a perfect opportunity for our company to grow its brand as consumers learn about HDTV," said Wood, founder and CEO of Roku. "Having previously worked with A&R Edelman, we knew that we would get a great team with the expertise and relationships to successfully launch Roku. A&R Edelman's consumer technology group complements our marketing team by bringing the strategy, creativity and drive needed to help us win visibility among digital entertainment consumers."
Roku's initial product, the Roku™ HD1000, is the world's first high-definition digital media player. The Roku HD1000 connects to any HDTV and provides a high-resolution canvas for digital media such as photos, art, music and dynamic media applications. Roku also introduced a new concept called LiveArt™, which brings motion to art, whether a field of vibrant orange poppies blowing in the wind or a rippling deep blue mountain lake.
"iRobot and Roku are each dream clients in their own right—they're founded by brilliant innovators who have developed products that appeal to just about everyone," said Bob Angus, president and managing partner of A&R Edelman. "Working with these two companies gives us the opportunity to showcase the best of A&R Edelman's abilities in establishing a consumer brand, generating broad global visibility and driving demand for very compelling products."
The emergence of the digital consumer is blurring the lines between technology and consumer marketing and fueling innovations like the iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner, the Roku HD1000, Palm Zire handheld and Photoshop Album from Adobe. The team of specialists in A&R Edelman's Consumer Practice offers a variety of services to help these companies and others with digital products to win the attention and mindshare of the mainstream consumer audience. The agency's services in the practice extend beyond consumer media relations to include movie and TV product placement, creative promotional alliances, demand generation programs, brand development and events.
About A&R Edelman
A&R Edelman is a team of communications professionals and creative thinkers working with clients to raise visibility, build momentum, and increase market advantage. The agency's clients are among the industry's most innovative and closely watched companies, from groundbreaking start-ups to industry leaders such as Adobe and Palm Inc. A frequent recipient of industry awards for its groundbreaking public relations programs, A&R
Edelman also was named agency of the year in 2001 by Adweek's Technology Marketing magazine, and named one of the industry's top 10 places to work by the Holmes Report.
With staff in Silicon Valley, New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Portland, and Durham, N.C., A&R Edelman offers complete public relations and investor relations programs, representing technology companies in enterprise software, infrastructure, security, mobile and wireless, digital publishing and consumer technology markets.