With social media outlets allowing for in depth coverage of very specific niche topics, the media food chain has been revised. It now allows
for niche
stories to percolate up versus trickle down from the mass media. The dynamic allows for different PR strategies, strategies that start from the very
bottom of the
media food chain as opposed to the top.
When Kona developed the Ute, a "long tail" urban utility bicycle, the
opportunity for interest in markets not traditionally treated as
targets for
the brand was great. The challenge was in figuring out the best way for
these new markets to discover the bicycle. It required knowledge of the new media food chain, or where different
media hunt for stories, and the role of "brand evangelists" in that
system.
The PR strategy was grass-roots
focused, and its success hinged upon
empowering Kona fans.
The platform of the campaign was established by simply making images of soon-to-be-released products available
to Kona distributors immediately following the 2008 new product launch. Seriously not rocket science, but...it enabled the distributors to go home and
share their excitement with their customers, and they did.
Several of Kona's distributors, including their Czech distributor, posted an
image of the Ute, among other new bikes, with a short description. A Kona fan, knowing that the new product presentation was taking place, was
searching for scoops on new
product and discovered the Ute image on Kona's Czech distributor web site.
This fan, wanting to share his discovery, forwarded the link to BikeHugger.com, a
popular bicycle blog. BikeHugger's authors posted a
story on the bike praising the design. As this new bike was one of only two mass produced long tails on the market, the post generated many comments
and questions. We got the bike's designer involved in the discussion,
leading to more comments and interest in the bike's availability and the possibility of future designs. It became a community
conversation.
The community's interest in the post was noticed by several non-cycling related blogs, including
GetOutdoors.com
and Metaefficient.com.
The Metaefficient
post was in turn noticed by the bloggers at Wired.com.
That story was then harvested by editors at Dwell Magazine and then picked up by a freelance writer
assigned
a story by the New York Times for their
special
Green issue of the New York Times Sunday Magazine.
The success of the campaign helped position Kona
as an authentic manufacturer of urban utility bikes, a valuable position as the urban/commuter bike
market takes off.
What's remarkable about the campaign is how little traditional PR support took place. By empowering the Kona tribe, giving the story a gentle nudge
now
and then and coordinating and corresponding with media fact checkers and photo editors the story sailed along on its own.
Total circulation in traditional media exceeded 2.5 million. The bikes are sold out and version 2 is in development for 2009.
