What happens when a celebrity buys in to a small business? How does global demand for the company’s product strike you?
The celebrity factor, though, is icing on the PR cake for Florida-based Sleek Audio, which makes high fidelity in-ear earphones. The company’s high-end audio gadgets have won accolades from Popular Science, as well as a feature in WIRED magazine. The company’s business story – bringing manufacturing back from China – won coverage from USA Today and FOX Business.
Sleek’s message positioning the company as a leading innovator in the audio world recently attracted investment from rap artist 50 Cent, who tweeted about Sleek and generated an instant viral buzz. The celebrity boost generated worldwide demand for Sleek’s product.
I caught up with Sleek’s marketing director, David Gil, for insights into his successful PR strategy:
“One of the most effective PR strategies has been to research and then select key media for reviews and press release information. With the seemingly limitless number of tech blogs and online news sources, too often companies use a shot gun approach when disseminating news. It’s significantly safer and more effective to choose a limited number of media outlets, foster strong relationships with those contacts and feed them first when it comes to delivering company news.
"Tradeshows have been another powerful tool for implementing my media strategy. These shows are very effective for strengthening my relationships with specific media, giving me the opportunity to meet face to face. With all of the virtual communications that take place in today’s world of PR, never underestimate the power of a hand-shake and in-person conversation. CES (the world's largest consumer technology tradeshow) provides the perfect opportunity as an annual meet and greet for Sleek and some of our media contacts.
"The toughest challenge I face stems from the strongest tool in our PR arsenal: social media and tech blogs. As easy and cost-effective as it is to spread good news, positive reviews and your company’s story with today’s online tools, it’s also just as easy for anything negative to slip out and take on a life of its own online. A negative story, one that could very well be completely false, can easily travel through tweets, blog posts and news feeds within minutes. Once it’s out, it’s virtually impossible to control.”
For more about Sleek Audio’s products and links to news coverage about the business, visit http://sleek-audio.com.
Editor's Note: Recently, Sleek Audio announced it had terminated the agreement with 50 Cent. The PR strategy that drew the celebrity investment still holds water.
About the photo:
Sleek Audio’s SA7 Wireless Hybrid in-ear earphone won the Best of Innovations Award for the headphone category from the Consumer Electronics Association for 2011.
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