The Case
By February 1999, office furniture manufacturer Steelcase had spent four years and $32 million developing the "Leap" chair - a swanky and ergonomically-calibrated desk chair designed for "knowledge
workers" who spend a large part of their days on their derrieres. The Michigan-based company planned to launch its new technological innovation at the NeoCon furniture show in Chicago in June of 1999,
and wanted to bolster press buzz surrounding the chair to spur product sales. PepperCom was brought on to craft and implement a media relations strategy. The expectation was that media coverage would
increase calls to Steelcase's 800 number by 50% and show a direct impact on sales.
Unseating the Competition
The team's most formidable challenge was to prevent the Leap chair from being construed as a "me too" product following on the heels of competitor Herman Miller's popular Aeron chair, which had been
launched five years earlier. An investigation of press coverage surrounding the Aeron chair revealed that the product had been largely touted for its sleek and unusual design, but had received relatively
few accolades for its ergonomic benefits.
Meanwhile, a review of Steelcase's exhaustive research -11 proprietary studies, involving 732 people and 22 scientists at Cornell University, University of Vermont and Michigan State (not to mention
countless ergonomic consultants) - showed a heavy product development emphasis on the chair's ability to conform to an individual sitter's unique spinal motion, or "spineprint." Therein lay the golden
angle: the Leap chair was not just beautifully designed, it also alleviated back pain. And minimized back pain meant greater worker productivity.
Seat Assignments
PepperCom's initial proposal envisioned a national exclusive in USA Today, but client Steelcase suggested that the team instead court the Wall Street Journal with hopes of securing a
launch story with a heavier business focus. The paper's Detroit bureau proved to be the best bet. For bureau chief Joseph White, the innovative chair was interesting not only from a technology and
health perspective, but also as a local business piece, given that Steelcase was headquartered in nearby Grand Rapids.
In the months leading up to NeoCon, PepperCom prepared for a press blitz. Tapping Steelcase's pre-existing relationships with researchers, the team identified a physical therapist and a professor from
Michigan State University to serve as spokesmen for the launch campaign, along with Ken Tameling, seating project manager at Steelcase. Rigorous media training equipped the speakers with key messages,
and prepped them to field controversial questions.
In the meantime, the team secured a commitment from Chicago Mayor Daley to name June 8 "Back Pain Awareness Day" as a means of generating an additional hook for news pitches during the NeoCon
event.
Leap of Faith
On the day before the official product launch (June 7), spokesmen for the Leap chair made teaser appearances on several local radio stations, hinting at the chair's health benefits, and indicating that
it would be introduced the following day at the show. Steelcase representatives also held a small press event at NeoCon, in which the company donated several chairs to the Chicago Public Library and five
United Way charities.
On June 8, the launch story broke nationally in the Wall Street Journal and on Dow Jones Interactive. NeoCon's showdaily (published by Interior Design magazine) featured a bit on the
previous day's donation event. At this point, PepperCom blitzed trade and consumer media outlets with press materials that described lower back pain as the "second leading cause of absenteeism in the
workplace" (only behind the common cold). "We didn't want the chair to be positioned as something only for the executive level of the corporation," says Ted Birkhan, management supervisor at PepperCom.
"It's also good for, say, people who work in call centers and are sitting for eight hours a day."
Results with Backbone
Since the Leap chair's launch, press coverage has topped 101 million impressions. The product has even been featured on the TV programs "Ally McBeal" and "Law & Order."
More significantly, however, is the campaign's direct impact on sales. Calls to Steelcase's 800 number were up 300% as of March 2000. (Steelcase phone reps track calls resulting from PR vs.
advertising, and the PR campaign has yielded a much greater ROI, according to Tameling.) The Leap chair hit the market in August 1999 and is now selling at a rate of 6,500 chairs per week - half the
volume of the company's best-selling "Criterion" chair, which has been on the market for 11 years. Moreover, "a lot of the Leap chairs are being sold to new accounts," says Tameling. "We're talking
about profitably, incremental market share increases." (Birkhan, 212/931-6119; Tameling, 616/554-2468)
Leap Chair Target Audience
- Facilities managers
- Furniture dealers
- Architectural consultants
- Corporate purchasers
- CEOs and COOs
- HR managers
- Consumer end-users
- Investors
- The scientific community
Sales Bonus
Media coverage of the Leap chair certainly sparked direct customer interest - but, as a secondary benefit, it energized Steelcase's sales force. "We provided reprints of 12 of
the articles to our sales force and dealers to assist them in their sales efforts," says Steelcase seating product manager Ken Tameling. "It's been highly effective." The
coverage has made the company's sales force more excited about the product, and the outside endorsement lends more credibility to their sales pitches, he says.
About PepperCom
HQ: New York
Staff: 60
Staff on Leap campaign: 5
Billings: $4.5 million in 1999, with $10 million projected in 2000
Campaign time frame: February 1999- present (ongoing)
Campaign Fees: $25,000/month leading up to launch; $50,000 during launch
month; now $30,000 - $40,000 per month (which includes other pieces of new business
for Steelcase). Figures constitute fees only (not hard costs) and represent
billings based on an hourly rate.
No. of Leap chairs in PepperCom office:
3