Bowers & Wilkins on the Path to the Mass Market
Challenge: For decades, the British loudspeaker manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins had been regarded as a legend among hi-fi enthusiasts. With the rise of the iPhone and similar devices, the company saw an opportunity in the growing market for headphones and smart speakers to develop high-quality products for the mass market. The communication challenge: outside the hi-fi world, Bowers & Wilkins was almost unknown.
Solution: Given the high product quality, the company’s objectives, and a limited communications budget, TDUB recommended a cost-effective earned media strategy focused on media relations and blogger outreach. The goal was to familiarize opinion leaders with the products. TDUB highlighted patents, build quality, choice of materials, and engineering excellence. Editors were invited to experience the outstanding sound quality firsthand through product tests. “Convinced testers write compelling stories” was the guiding principle. TDUB’s strictly earned-media-driven, tailor-made media strategy bundled the following key activities:
- Targeted networking with leading technology journalists, bloggers, and influencers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
- Organization of media events, trade fair support, and personal briefings to communicate unique selling points through direct exchange and to build long-term relationships with key media
- Coordination of individual product tests to give editors first-hand experience of the products’ exceptional quality and outstanding features
Our Success for Bowers & Wilkins
- Regular and successful placement in coverage by leading high-reach media in the DACH region, including dpa, Der Spiegel, Die Welt, Bild, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Kurier, and Neue Zürcher Zeitung, as well as a wide range of technology and lifestyle media, bloggers, and influencers
- Increased awareness and establishment of the desired positive brand image of Bowers & Wilkins among media professionals (opinion leaders) and, subsequently, among their readers within the target audience
- Integration of the brand into the “relevant set” of opinion leaders, meaning editors actively seek out news about the company
- 12 years as lead PR agency