Abode: Perfecting Pepcom
40+
in-person media briefings and interviews live at the event
5
“Best of CES” Awards from distinguished media
$6.77 Million AVE
over the course of announcement week
75
unique top-tier media placements over the course of announcement week
731.45 Million UVM
over the course of announcement week
Client
Campaign Highlights
Record-breaking PR launch for Abode, largest reaching announcement for the DIY smart home security brand.
Capitalized on and executed in parallel with all the buzz and excitement generated by CES without the budget associated with a tradeshow floor booth.
Coordinated to streamline press communications and maximize impact in cooperation with Abode and industry partners Morse Micro and Xailient.
Precisely positioned Abode Edge Camera to mainstream media as a revolutionary, first-of-its-kind device to secure several “Best of CES” awards from across the show.
The Client
Abode is a leading provider of DIY smart home security solutions, specializing in easy-to-use, secure, scalable, and highly customizable systems to fit any user’s needs. Abode offers three distinct systems – the Abode Security Kit, the Abode iota All-In-One Security Kit, and the Abode Smart Security Kit – each available at different price points to offer affordability and functionality. With a dedicated focus on cross-platform interoperability, all Abode DIY security kits feature deep integrations with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Nest Thermostats, Bose, and Sonos systems. Presently, Abode is the only provider to offer an Apple HomeKit-certified DIY smart home security solution. In addition to robust DIY home security kits, Abode offers a deep portfolio of add-on home security and smart home devices that can be used as stand-alone solutions or seamlessly integrated into an Abode system.
The Challenge
The Abode Edge Camera is a prime example of the caliber of devices under the brand’s impressive standalone device umbrella. As the world’s first Wi-Fi HaLow ultra-long range, battery-powered, AI-enabled smart home security camera, the camera offers an unprecedented range of up to 1.5 miles alongside several other monitoring and performance.
Launched at CES 2024, the Abode Edge Camera required a full-scale launch that would break through the noise of trade show news. With approvals to move forward with the proposed launch plan in hand by the start of December 2023, Caster recognized a major challenge: The timeline presented only five weeks to implement and execute a full-scale, CES-sized product launch, with the added difficulties of maneuvering around the closures that accompany the winter holiday season. In addition to a short runway for launch execution, the involvement of two partner companies – Morse Micro and Xailient – added layers of complexities in collaboration, reviews, revisions and approvals. To successfully pull off this product launch, it was clear from the beginning that the Caster team would need to be efficient, nimble, and communicative.
The second largest challenging factor for the launch of the Abode Edge Camera was show presence. For CES 2024, it was decided that Abode would forgo the traditional tradeshow floor booth space and instead opt for all-in participation in one of the many CES-adjacent media events. Without staffing a booth and hosting press conversations over the course of the week-long tradeshow, Abode would have just one shot at capturing the attention of the press at the world’s most powerful tech event.
The Strategy
By our admission, we’re an agency that firmly believes any preparation efforts for a tradeshow should start three months in advance at the very least. In this case, the team faced down the largest consumer electronics show with just 16 business days to prepare. We had to act quickly with the press release and messaging requiring approvals across three companies.
The most critical component of this expedited launch plan revolved around securing final approval of the press release and foundational messaging before the holiday break to ensure Caster would have ample time to conduct outreach to the press under embargo. Caster promptly kicked off information sourcing calls with Abode project managers, engineers, and the chief technology officer, following our established processes to source all the relevant information required to draft the press release. From here, Caster oversaw the development and approvals of the materials, serving as an extension of Abode’s marketing team to ensure finalization ahead of the holidays.
Caster also needed to support Abode in selecting the best CES-adjacent media event for the coordinated media announcement of the Abode Edge Camera. Having participated in media-only events for the past two decades, Caster’s recommendation was the Pepcom Digital Experience in Las Vegas, due to the event’s strategic timing on the evening before the opening day of CES. As a media-only event, Pepcom provides an opportunistic window for participating companies to engage strictly with the press for several hours and break major stories before the official opening of the larger CES show.
However, simply attending a media event like Pepcom is not a sufficient solo tactic to break through the clutter of CES. While many media events like Pepcom provide a press list, the list is not made available until after the event has transpired. Caster implemented aggressive, dedicated embargo pitching efforts to high-value press and targeted media publications to ensure coverage at launch. This involved cultivating and pitching a list of hundreds of press who may find the news interesting for their audiences, ranging across beats including smart home, IoT, security, consumer electronics, and home design, as well as specialty outlets covering Google, Amazon, and Apple news.
With materials finalized, Caster hit the ground running in the week between the holiday break and New Years Day. The team compiled the finalized assets, added them to an embargoed digital press kit, and initiated the pre-show outreach campaign. During one of the highest-volume pitching seasons for technology journalists, it was critical to reach our high-value targets with as much time as possible before the launch to be considered for coverage.
The Results
Caster’s aggressive embargo media relations strategy proved successful, securing over 30 embargo agreements from publications. While not ironclad, embargo acceptance is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal to secure major news stories for coordinated announcements, as each press person received the press release and all launch day materials for advanced review and preparation. The power of this coordination revealed itself at launch: Within one minute of the embargo lifting, over ten tier-one media publications including The Verge, The Ambient, The Messenger, SlashGear, Tom’s Guide, and Business Telegraph had published the news on their website. Additional coverage continued to roll in throughout the day – some encouraged by embargo acceptance, and some driven by the scheduled press distribution.
The embargo offer also landed the Abode Edge Camera on several short lists for “Best of CES” accolades. All that was left to seal the win was for the media to see the solution in person, a solution provided at Pepcom. The short lists prompt editors across some of the most renowned consumer technology publications such as WIRED, The New York Times Wirecutter, Tom’s Guide, Reviewed.com/USA Today, and the Ambient to stop by the Abode/Morse Micro/Xailient tabletop at Pepcom.
The strategic coupling of the launch and Pepcom offered Caster a unique four-hour window to engage directly with swarms of press looking for the latest and greatest in technology announcements. As a first-of-its-kind DIY camera, the Abode Edge Camera fit the bill perfectly. In person at Pepcom, Abode (and partners) engaged in over 40 media briefings and conversations.
By the conclusion of the Pepcom event, over 40 publications had penned and published stories about the announcement of the Abode Edge Camera. By the end of the week, the Abode Edge Camera had been included in over 75 unique, high value media publication stories and the cutting-edge security camera won 5 “Best of CES” awards. This media campaign highlights the power and impact that a well thought out and coordinated PR story can have, especially if the parties involved are experienced in getting all the required pieces in place.