ECHOS Brand Communications

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

During my tenure at Dainese & AGV of North America, I held the role of Marketing Manager for North America. Dainese is a high end, Italian made Motorcycle, mountain bike, and ski apparel brand. Under the "Dainese" umbrella is also AGV helmets. The brands are the only in the industry to offer a full head to toe protection and a full line up of gear. In North America, we had multiple sales channels including a wholesale business, E-comm, and 9 flagship stores in the hot motorcycle markets throughout the United States.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire ECHOS Brand Communications?

I had researched and recruited ECHOS early in 2017 to bring them on as our PR agency to run all media relations for all the communities we participated in. The relationship was a great fit and when we finally signed with ECHOS we had them help with all media relations for Moto and Mountain bike. In addition to that, they also consulted on a variety of different marketing and events needs.

What were your goals for this project?

When we brought on ECHOS, we had a long dry spell of no PR agency, and that was dramatically hurting our marketing efforts. In year one we focused on winning back the respect of journalists in our different communities. In addition, we focused on our BIG product launches.

Once we had our feet underneath us we really were able to own everything PR related in the world of moto and mtb. One last thing to add is that ECHOS was really able to help us show the value we had with media which directly affected our sales. With monthly recaps and BIG wins happening all the time on different channels we were able to show our sales team our results which helped our brand awareness overall (which was our #1 goal always).

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

My team and I did research on agencies that could take our brand to the next level in North America. Not only did we need people who knew the industries we were participating in, but also had more non-endemic pull. After my first call with Rob Reedy (ECHOS founder), I knew his agency was the right fit.

Not only did they meet what we were looking for, but they also were the type to get down and dirty to get the job done. Finally, what was a great plus is that they have staff in different markets all over the place which ads value to a brand that is trying to make a name for itself in a HUGE country like North America.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

ECHOS SCOPE of work was as follows:

• Act as the strategic communications arm of the Dainese team
• Lead and integrate communications strategy, execution and storytelling into the overall program
• Defend and support the growth of the Dainese brand in North America
• Create new conversations and leverage existing opportunities to amplify the Dainese brand and its products
• Build rapport with and activate influencers to support Dainese
• Engage with media and influencers in an authentic way to share and amplify the Dainese story across multiple channels
• Maintain and increase Dainese brand awareness in both endemic and lifestyle media Goals:
• Create a drumbeat of media and influencer interest designed to reach and influence North American consumers
• Build knowledge of Dainese as a leader in promoting safety and the importance of premium protection for motorcycling and other sports as applicable
• Spread awareness of Dainese history and brand DNA, and use this DNA hub to identify offshoots for creative storytelling and media outreach

Areas of Focus:

1. Public Relations
2. Strategy
3. Brand differentiation from competitors
4. Create a rally cry that allows the brand to attract new customers o Social engagement with influencers
5. Identify Ambassadors that will help tell the Dainese story through their own circles and channels
6. Identify celebrities that fit within the Dainese ecosystem • Product o Media Seeding o Product Testing/Review o Product Stories • Sample media targets (lifestyle): o Gear Patrol, Uncrate, Popular Mechanics, Hypebeast, Cool Hunting, Digital Trends, The Manual, GQ, Men’s Journal, LA Times, WIRED, Esquire, Outside, Maxim
7. Brand o Educate the media/consumers the importance of safety protection o Consistent communications of the brand core mission – safety o Tap into brand history
8. CEO / Leadership o Identify media opportunities for the CEO (and other leadership team members as applicable) to tell the brand story in print, digital and broadcast. Sample media targets: • ESPN, Transworld Business, Bike Magazine, Motorsports TV, Grind TV, Business Insider
9.  Storytelling
10. Athletes o Leverage existing athletes and identify media opportunities where applicable • Brand o Highlight the designers, innovation and R&D; promote the soul of the brand through newsworthy stories that will attract the media’s attention, e.g. NASA o Launch new products with support of influencers, celebrities, and brand DNA stories
11. Reporting
12. ECHOS to provide weekly clippings and reporting about media coverage • ECHOS to provide detailed monthly reporting that shows share of voice comparison, ad equivalency, social amplification, aggregate readership KPI’s:
13. Number of: o Placement/reviews in endemic media o Placement/reviews in non-endemic media
14. Media value that is a result of editorial placement • Exposure: Key messages are included, and Dainese is shown in positive manner
15.  Engagement: As a result, exposure, Dainese sees increased traffic to website, positive industry and consumer comments reiterating message points in social networking sites and blogs, and increased industry and consumer engagement
16. Influencers: Dainese is associated with like-minded industry leaders

What was the team composition?

I worked closest with the principles and founder of the Agency. Maonly with Matt Bennett and Rob Reedy. That said they had a full team of Account execs that focuses on different areas of the business for Dainese AGV being that we had moto, mountain bike and winter categories.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

From product launches like the first fully modular Carbon helmet (AGV Sport Modular), to Dainese's "Smart Jacket" which is an airbag vest for motorcyclists, and to all the retail store openings and big press release events, I can honestly say ECHOS was one of the most influential components to the success of Dainese North America. Without ECHOS, we lacked organization and reach to key media.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

ECHOS timeliness was impeccable. Since we had a very unique team in both the USA and Italy it was important to always be "on call." ECHOS never let our team down and we always were ahead of the game with every project we had.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The work ethic of the entire team at ECHOS is the most impressive. If you need a team that can own big-time media events, but also get down and dirty with little things like internal recaps, then ECHOS is THE agency. I think their well-roundedness is what makes ECHOS so impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Although we hired ECHOS strictly for PR (both endemic and non-endemic media), I think this is an ever-changing landscape. I think the world of bloggers, and influencers are very important to tackle and should be a key focus for all PR agencies. That said, we did not hire ECHOS for this and I am sure if Dainese had more resources to focus on this, then ECHOS could find a way to make it happen.