CASE STUDIES

By: Thomas McGinley

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

I initiated this project at CCM to give myself the chance to think creatively and plan with more frequency.

I comb through the Made in NY tech list to identify promising companies and then proactively develop campaigns to define their brand, and increase engagement and awareness.

If a company doesn’t want to meet with CCM, I add those ideas here.

Company Profile

Outgrow.me is the first marketplace for successfully

funded Kickstarter and Indiegogo projects.

Situation

Crowdfunding has been incredibly popular in the last

year. Outgrow.me serves the biggest need at the end of

the crowdfunding process, but needs to build a brand

identity and increase awareness.

BRAND TRUTHS

Every product comes with a story that was

compelling enough to earn it funding. Telling these

stories will help outgrow.me engage with customers

and differentiate itself from other online shopping

sites .

The earliest users of outgrow.me are likely to be the

same people who fund Kickstarter and Indiegogo

projects. These people are heavily engaged in

social media and will respond to invitations to

participate.

STRATEGY

Project an identity that is built on the independent,

non-corporate, quirky, ahead of the curve thinking

that defines these crowdfunded products.

Engage with early users by inviting them to

participate in, and contribute to, the myth that will

give outgrow.me its identity.

TACTICS

Film a series of interviews, with 4 inventors, that are

facetiously framed in the style of MTV’s Cribs.

The interviewer will hype up the “lavish headquarters” of

these “newly wealthy geniuses,” but the videos will

actually show how relatable these inventors are, as they

tell their stories and give tours of their modest

workspaces.

The videos will periodically draw contrasts to the

inventor’s corporate antithesis (i.e. Apple’s Chinese

sweatshop)

These videos will be posted on YouTube and shared by

outgrow.me via Facebook and Twitter.

TACTICS

Extending the mock-corporate storyline Bring together the four inventors who were interviewed and

create a series of videos in which they are collaborating in a

sinister plot to take over the world using their various products.

The tone will still be humorous, as the group of modest

inventors laugh at the trusting people who thought they were

avoiding evil corporations by supporting independent

inventors.

This will be an opportunity to highlight their innovative, quirky

products, as they are given evil, but humorous, properties.

TACTICS

Invite participation and extend the story

Invite fans, via Facebook, to create a superhero that

utilizes products found on outgrow.me to defeat the

“evil” inventors.

The actual function of the products can be exaggerated to fit

the needs of a superhero, just as they will be adapted to take

on faux-evil qualities.

Fans will share their superhero by submitting a story,

picture, or video of it, and describing its powers.

All entries will be displayed on Facebook, but the best

few will receive an electronic gift card to be used on the

site.

Company Profile

Aggregift is a platform that facilitates crowdfunded

group gifting. Select a gift from Amazon that you’d like

to give to a friend, invite friends via Facebook to

contribute, everyone can donate an anonymous amount

and share messages that the recipient and other donors

will see.

Situation

Aggregift is another service built around the

crowdfunding trend. The concept is innovative, but they

need to build an identity and increase awareness.

BRAND TRUTHS & STRATEGIES

The spirit that drives group gift giving is one of

infectious generosity. We need to tell stories that

convey this spirit.

Although technology does a lot to bring people

together, it can also be alienating for generations

that did not grow up using computers. The Aggregift

platform is extremely easy to use, even for those

who are not tech savvy. This makes it possible to

connect people of all ages through the act of giving

a gift. We need to demonstrate this.

TACTICS

Gift-giving campaign, based on 3 narratives,

carriedout by a community manager and social

media influencers

Narrative 1: College friends who have since moved all

over the world reconnect through this platform to give a

friend a gift based on an inside joke from when they

were in school.

Narrative 2: A large family that is spread across multiple

countries comes together to give a gift to the family

matriarch.

Narrative 3: A group of friends starts a game where they

send each other the most random, or embarrassing gifts

that they can find.

TACTICS

Notes on the gift-giving campaigns

They all highlight different aspects of the platform that

may appeal to different age groups, but they all project

the same collaborative spirit.

The influencers that are carrying out the campaigns will

need to document every aspect with screenshots,

videos and blog entries that would be used in TV

commercials and YouTube videos.

TACTICS

Invite participation

Invite people to nominate a friend or family member who

could really use a gift, by telling that person’s story in an

essay or a video. (Ex. Maybe this is a single mother

who never makes time for herself, or a caring big

brother, etc.)

One particularly deserving person will be chosen and

Aggregift will facilitate a gift-giving campaign for them

that is on a larger scale than the standard model.

TACTICS

Publicize the winner’s story and invite everyone to

give, not just close friends, and extend the giving

period to 3 weeks, rather than 3 days.

Instead of the typical group gifting process, which is

relatively exclusive, we will make this one as

inclusive and public as possible.

A Facebook page will be created that shares the

story, tracks the progress of donations, and gives

people a space to leave encouraging messages.