abode Systems: Launching an Emerging Leader in DIY Home Security

Campaign Highlights

• Earned coverage in publications across the tech and consumer space, including Forbes, Washington Post, Digital Trends, CNET, USA Today, TechHive, and more.
• Through Caster’s targeted social media advertising efforts centered around critical sales periods for abode such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime Day, abode experienced massive sales returns from small investments.
• Analysis of abode’s web traffic has identified that the curated press reviews of abode’s security solutions has been one of the largest drivers in traffic back to the abode website and a key factor in driving abode sales.

The Challenge

abode approached Caster Communications as a disruptor in the DIY smart home security space with a solution on-par with what was available for professional installation that was easy to setup, and easy to use, and offered customers a flexible and affordable solution. Unique to abode was their offering of incredibly flexible, no-contract professional monitoring options if desired. abode customers even have the option of turning on professional monitoring for a week, or just three days if they will be traveling for the long weekend, for as little as $7 per month.

A successful crowdfunding campaign in 2015, in addition to abode’s differentiators and active user community placed abode as a well-positioned newcomer to the emerging DIY home security market. The challenge was that the company lacked the bandwidth, resources, and most importantly, the expertise to transform their solution and brand from a small startup, into a respected, well-known name recognized by relevant media and consumers.

The Results

With big names like Amazon, Google, and Simplisafe vying to dominate the DIY home security and smart home market, abode remains successful and competitive. In 2018, abode received a majority stake investment from the high-profile, international tech company, Nice S.p.A based in Italy.

Caster’s tailored pitching efforts landed abode coverage in top tier publications including USA Today, CNET, Forbes, Consumer Reports, Washington Post and more. In 2018, Caster’s results driven, paid social media strategy was an integral part of abode’s success for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Prime Day Sales. Through Caster’s targeted social media advertising efforts centered around critical sales periods for abode such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime Day, abode experienced massive sales returns from small investments. For Prime Day, an investment of $1,000 in social ad spend resulted in $125k in sales. Even more impressive, a budget of $27k for abode’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale while ads were Caster’s responsibility yielded $850k in sales.

With a much smaller budget than some of the key players in the market, abode sustains their competitive edge by continuing to offer some of the most flexible and affordable solutions to date. abode continues to grow their staff and customer base, remaining nimble and receptive to emerging trends and consumer intentions in the DIY home security space.