Public Relations Case Study
Startup Mobile App Achieves Global
Recognition with Four Month
Launch Campaign
SceneTap is a location-based mobile and web app that provides
real-time information on what’s happening at bars and nightclubs
in your city. Cutting-edge technology in popular venues across
the U.S. tracks the number of people in a bar, the male-to-female
ratio and the average age of each customer then share these
items, along with nightly specials, real-time deals, and social
commentary, through the SceneTap interface.
Program Highlights:
• Over 500 million impressions
• 400+ media placements
•O
ver 15,000 downloads and 600,000 visits to SceneTap.
com in first weekend of launch
•K
ey placements: Mashable, ReadWriteWeb, CNET,
Engadget, All Things Digital, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes,
Fast Company, Huffington Post, The Next Web, Business
Insider, WGN News, FOX News, CBS News, Reuters
The Problem:
The Solution:
SceneTap came to Walker Sands with a mobile app that was still in
beta and had not yet been released to the public. The company
was in the midst of finalizing their mobile and web app, signing
partnerships with local venues, and had only a vague idea of the
official SceneTap launch date. As a startup with no background in
public relations or marketing, SceneTap sought a way to spread
the word to consumers and establish credibility to potential
investors, as well as bar owners across the country who would
potentially partner with SceneTap in the future.
Walker Sands established a timeline for SceneTap’s first rollout,
designing a PR framework around the goal launch date in
Chicago. After conducting research on possible competitors and
tapping into relationships with technology reporters, bloggers,
and other mainstream media outlets, Walker Sands was able to
craft SceneTap’s messaging and go to market strategy.
SceneTap consisted of two co-founders with minimal
funding, but an innovative idea. All they needed was a way
to introduce SceneTap and tell their story to the public.
Because SceneTap offers many benefits to both consumers and
bar owners, Walker Sands was tasked with highlighting the most
important benefits and positioning SceneTap in a way that would
showcase those benefits: What is the most noteworthy? What
problem(s) does SceneTap solve? From there, Walker Sands was
able to craft an initial launch program that highlighted the various
Walker Sands Communications • 55 W. Monroe St., Suite 3925, Chicago, IL
www.WalkerSands.com • (312) 267-0066
The Solution (continued):
Results:
story angles that would most interest each of our key audiences.
To generate initial buzz, the first big PR push announcing
SceneTap went out about a month before the app would go live
in the Apple App Store and Android Marketplace (as well as on the
web). Walker Sands conducted highly targeted media outreach to
outlets that cater to early technology adopters, such as Mashable
and Read Write Web, with a goal of getting the early adopters on
board before the app was even available for download.
Within two months, Walker Sands achieved over 500 million
impressions and 400+ media placements for SceneTap. There
were over 15,000 downloads within the first weekend of the
Chicago launch, and 600,000 visits to the SceneTap.com web
version of the app.
“Walker Sands conducted highly
targeted media outreach to outlets
that cater to early technology
adopters”
SceneTap’s coverage ranged from mainstream media outlets to
top-tier technology blogs. Some of the outlets include: Mashable,
ReadWriteWeb, CNET, Engadget, All Things Digital, Wall Street
Journal, CNN, Forbes, Fast Company, Huffington Post, The Next
Web, Business Insider, WGN News, FOX News, CBS News, Reuters,
The Atlantic, Tech Cocktail, IntoMobile, Appolicious, as well as
global coverage in the UK, Canada, and even Japan.
In the coming months Walker Sands will continue to work with
SceneTap as they expand to other cities across the country. For
more information, visit www.scenetap.com.
Throughout the next month, Walker Sands focused on continual
media outreach to keep the momentum going until the official
launch. There was an emphasis on Chicago as it would be the
first city with live SceneTap data on the launch date. To continue
building up excitement, the exact launch date was kept quiet until
three weeks before the launch.
About two weeks prior to the launch, Walker Sands extended its
media outreach to national mainstream media to raise awareness
among a larger majority of the population. At the same time,
another announcement went out to the local Chicago press to
alert them of SceneTap’s plans for their launch party—a 50 bar
extravaganza complete with massive spotlights at each location
that the Federal Aviation Administration was required to approve.
Need PR that delivers
real business results?
Contact us: 312-267-0066
As the launch date approached, select media members were
invited to a VIP Media Tour (one week before the launch) in which
they were among the first to use the app as it was meant to be
experienced—going from one bar to the next and checking
out the scene beforehand. During this time, Walker Sands also
designed and created the cover of the Chicago Tribune RedEye
that was set to publish on the day of SceneTap’s launch.
Walker Sands continued this snowball effect of media
outreach—slowly releasing information and setting up
media interviews with SceneTap’s CEO—until the night
of the launch. The results of these efforts were extremely
successful in such a short period of time.
Walker Sands Communications • 55 W. Monroe St., Suite 3925, Chicago, IL
www.WalkerSands.com • (312) 267-0066