PR AND DIGITAL MARKETING FOR AGENTS OF CHANGE
MONTREAL & VANCOUVER

CASE STUDY

PR FOR CROWDFUNDING

Mindset
Mindset, a graduate of the HAX accelerator, makes smart headphones that use neurofeedback technology to improve a user’s concentration on tasks.
Mission
Our mandate was to handle PR around Mindset’s Kickstarter. The primary aim was to get editorial coverage in Kickstarter-relevant outlets and help drive traffic and awareness in the critical first 72 hours of the campaign, and then beyond.
Challenges
As with life in a Workers’ Paradise, there were challenges with this mandate. First, Mindset’s tech typically takes a few weeks to show tangible impact on a user’s concentration. This means it does not demo well in the types of short meetings we arrange for hardware clients on roadshows. Compounding this were the fact that the mindfulness hardware space is becoming more crowded and the media more skeptical about the performance of devices in the segment.
Response
To help differentiate from other productivity and mindfulness tools, we put strong focus on messaging about the science behind the product. This included getting media peer reviewed, scientific papers to round out their stories and underline the fact that the tech was state of the art.
On the roadshow done under embargo pre launch, the client was able to show the important elements of the tech, including baseline brainwaves and how these adjusted for each user. To strengthen the demo and accommodate for the limitations of a one-off session, the founders showed their personal data over time.
As always, an overarching belief about the global tech conversation being driven by a relatively small number of outlets imbued our planning and execution.
Results
The media ate Mindset up. There were over 70 total media hits during the campaign. These came across a broad spectrum of outlets including Mashable, Inside Hook, The Verge, The Daily Mail, Popular Mechanics, PSFK, Digital Trends, NowThis, UNILAD, Fatherly and Hypebeast.
Mindset hit its $100,000 goal within 13 hours of launching, and was designated a “Project We Love” by Kickstarter staff.
In the end $1,045,190 was raised. This put Mindset into the Million Dollar Club – a feat achieved by less than 1% of all projects on the platform.

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