The Case
In the spring of 1999, after months of research and beta testing, E Ink was raring to get ink - the old fashioned kind, that is. A year earlier, the Cambridge, Mass. tech firm
and its 20 employees had introduced electronic ink, a paper that can be re-typeset instantly from any location. Now its first product, Immedia displays, had the potential to
revolutionize in-store signage by eliminating retailers' need to constantly print and distribute new paper signs announcing sales promotions. The technology also had far-reaching
implications for newspapers and other traditional print media.
E Ink secured J.C. Penney as its first retail partner and scheduled a test market demo of the Immedia display at a department store outside of Boston. The firm then turned to
its PR agency, Schwartz Communications, to spark media interest in its impending product launch. Schwartz had three months and $72,000 to plan a blitz.
Paper Tiger?
Despite the new product's coolness factor, the launch posed some challenges. E Ink's futuristic technology already had been covered extensively in the press a year earlier -
albeit without practical applications. Nevertheless, reporters wouldn't be interested in old news. Differentiating the product brand from the technology itself would be critical.
Schwartz also faced the task of positioning E Ink's innovation as a gimme for both consumer lifestyle reporters and for niche-driven trade journalists catering to retail, sales
and marketing executives. Then there was the matter of explaining E Ink's complex technology in lay terms.
To maintain consistency, Schwartz identified three main positioning points for its media blitz:
1. Lab to marketplace: The first-ever public display of electronic ink
technology would be positioned as a significant event, comparable to Thomas
Edison unveiling the light bulb to the public.
2. Consumer appeal: The retail signs would have strong visual and consumer
appeal, and would soon become a staple tool in retail environments.
3. Limitless
potential: Electronic ink would have endless potential for future consumer
products.
Schwartz distilled the essence of the technology and its benefits down to one simple, understandable phrase. "Trying to explain the concept of electrophoresis as applied to
microencapsulated titanium dioxide electronic ink wouldn't go over with the public or reporters in the same way as 'paper that retypesets itself,'" says Pierce Reid, senior VP at
Schwartz.
As a secondary message for the trade press, the agency team emphasized that retailers spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on store signage, but only about 15% of
their chain stores bother to post the signs. Immedia displays would eliminate the production and shipping costs associated with traditional retail signage, and would enable retail
executives to change in-store messages from their desks.
The Hunt for Media
Schwartz hoped to trigger a media landslide by scoring big with a major national daily paper, and ultimately arranged an exclusive with USA Today reporter Kevin Maney.
Betting that Maney's piece would kick off a flurry of interest from other news organizations (including broadcasters) the agency sent a camera crew to film the product demo at
J.C. Penney and to document customers' initial reactions to the Immedia displays for b-roll footage. Interviews with executives and an animated graphic explaining the technology
helped round out a VNR package. "We knew it would be a very visual story...to actually see the words changing on the paper before your very eyes," Reid says.
Finally, Schwartz mailed press kits under embargo to a slew of print journalists. They touted, among other things, E Ink's online press site, where reporters could download
graphics and view an animated Flash video that explained how electronic ink technology worked. On the morning the USA Today story broke, the agency issued media alerts to
local and national broadcast newsrooms announcing two satellite feeds of the VNR.
Outcomes
On the heels of the USA Today story (a front pager) came hits on ABC "World News Tonight," The New York Times (twice), The Boston Globe, Washington
Post, NPR , CNN, BBC Radio, Business 2.0 and scores of other mainstream and trade outlets. In the end, more than 85 stories ran in print, racking up 17.2 million
impressions. Broadcast segments ran in more than 50 U.S. markets (seven of the top 10) reaching 19 million viewers.
And although the Dow was down on launch day, J.C. Penney - which had previously suffered a bad rap as a technology laggard - saw its stock price increase 4 5/8, even though
that was the company's only announcement of the day.
E Ink was later honored by the editors of Popular Science among 1999's "Best of What's New" and was listed as a 1999 "Technology of the Year" by Industry Week.
(Reid, Schwartz Communications, 781/684-0770)
How Electronic Ink Works
The ink itself is a liquid that can be printed on nearly any surface. Within the liquid are millions of tiny microcapsules, each containing white particles suspended in a dark
dye. When an electric field is applied, the white particles move to one end of the microcapsule, where they become visible. This makes the surface appear white at that spot. An
opposite electric field pulls certain particles to the other end of the microcapsule where they are hidden by the dye. This makes the surface appear dark at that spot. Particle
formations (i.e., typesetting) can be reformatted electronically from thousands of miles away, thus changing display messages instantly.
Source: http://www.eink.com
How Schwartz Works
According to Senior VP Pierce Reid, Schwartz Communications has built its reputation as a high-tech leader by acting more like a software start-up than an agency. The office
usually sports a "parade of pets" and dress is casual. While the agency caters to emerging growth clients, most of its senior officers are corporate refugees from the likes of
IBM, AT&T and GE.
Schwartz Vitals
HQ: Waltham, Mass.
Founded: 1990
Employees: 225
Staff on E Ink account: 5
Fee structure: $16K/month retainer
Clients: BizBuyer.com, BuildNet,
ePhysician, HealthAxis.com, MangoSoft, Optika, Red Hat