Public Relations Case Study
Current Establishes a New Outdoor Electric Cooking Category
Current® is an exciting new brand from W.C Bradley, the parent company of well-known outdoor brands like Char-Broil® and Oklahoma Joe’s®. It was founded to usher in an entirely new category of outdoor cooking: all-electric. With a stunning product line designed for tech-forward, sustainability-minded home cooks, Current nevertheless faced a challenge: how to convince consumers (and media) that electric cooking delivered the same sizzling heat and delicious flavor as gas.
Firebrand’s experience in building awareness and preference for new technologies and brands proved an excellent fit. We knew that the media would be skeptical about covering a new category. So we focused on telling stories that would align with the stories they already wanted to write – or, as we put it, have strong Message-Media Fit – while also nurturing the reviews process to educate reporters and optimize the outcome.
Key Results
156 articles (including USA Today, Today Show, Engadget) and a 200% YOY increase in UVMs in the week of CES alone
1,300 media placements in six months
18 product reviews secured, including The Verge, TWICE, PocketLint, CNN Underscored, Men’s Journal, Forbes
Radio story on NPR’s All Things Considered right before Memorial Day drove measurable revenue impact
Referral traffic and key events grew as coverage volumes grew
Approach
Positioned Current’s new electric pizza oven as the smartest ever, in order to capture the attention of reporters attending CES. We used CES Unveiled to drive significant media excitement and attention. We also participated in a Satellite Media Tour driving 19,000 broadcast syndications.
Created a dedicated reviewers’ guide to help media evaluate the pizza oven. We wanted to avoid unrelated problems, such as using poor pizza dough or the wrong flour, impacting the reviewers’ experience so the guide included context and tips to help ensure a smooth process. Many of the resulting positive reviews included snippets from the guide, indicating that reporters found it valuable.
Tapped into Current’s relationship with chef Trimmell Hawkins to secure expert commentary in foodie publications on topics such as grilling fish or pizza.
Created a ‘pizza wars’ survey comparing pizza preferences, passions, and pet peeves in 25 cities across the country, with coverage in Axios, Fox, and ABC.
Engaged climate reporters by emphasizing the growth in electric outdoor cooking.
Leveraged MAT releases to introduce the electric grill to local communities across America, with favorite grilling recipes from Chef Alton Brown and Chef Trimmell Hawkins.
In their words
Building a new tech category?
Contact us to crush your marketing goals.