Collaboration is at the heart of our favorite projects. REVEAL embodies that sentiment. Collaboration not only helped us “get through” the early days of the pandemic, but it also led to the creation of an entirely new platform to facilitate the connection between brands and media. Working with our long-time friends at ECHOS Communications, a leader in authentic public relations for active lifestyle, outdoor, consumer technology, and cycling brands, we collectively produced a live broadcast - REVEAL. Reveal captured the core pitch by brands to media but in a new and engaging digital format. This post covers how that all went down and where we landed a year later with REVEAL.

Before COVID, ECHOS’ REVERB event brought editors directly into the elements where the gear speaks for itself as part of the experience.

HOW IT STARTED: First there was a phone call on February 28th with our friends at ECHOS and Justin Curtis. When many in-person events were postponed, and eventually canceled, due to COVID-19 it left a gap for them, their clients, and the media they typically work with to ensure new products get the attention they deserve. Without the usual industry events kicking off the Spring season, we lost those moments with journalists popping by the booth for a run-through of the upcoming gear. Despite the casual tone of this trade show ritual, it is vital to a brand’s success in connecting with the media and their collective audiences. And we got to work immediately outlining a new broadcast concept that replicated those short meetings between brand and journalist.

Mike Sinyard for Bike Magazine & Mission Workshop’s live broadcasted Ask A Founder event series.

Plan A of what was to become REVEAL leveraged past wins by the team members with projects like ECHOS’ REVERB platform, the Outpost Trade event series, the Ask A Founder Series with Bike Mag, and ongoing webinars through the Zoom platform. With a scenic location and a stable internet connection, we knew we could create a show of sorts that highlighted products and allowed brand reps to speak to the audience. However, as our understanding of COVID and its dangers developed in those early weeks, it became apparent that even with a small production crew, Plan A was off the table, and Plan B (utilizing a studio space in San Francisco) was also too risky. We were down to Plan C - an entirely virtual, completely decentralized press conference. We decided that we would use Zoom as the stage, hosting brands in a talk show-like forum, allowing each to broadcast their news directly to the media, regardless of physical location.

Outpost Trade events brought together media, influencers, and brands to experience products and create new connections across industries.

HOW IT WENT: Eight weeks after the first phone call, we launched the first REVEAL Global Media Conference. Partnering with Outside PR, our collective clients, personalities known to the industry, and some great brands who were down to jump into the experimental platform, we ended up producing 13+ hours of live programming with 43 brands, two one-hour panels supported by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, and a myriad of leads for our brands with the 300+ journalists who logged in.

The first attempt was a success, with brands seamlessly integrating video, photos, athlete testimonials, and expert demonstrations to create a dynamic storytelling experience. With two following shows in 2020, we refined the REVEAL platform and formula of how brand leaders could work with their respective PR partners to get the word out to journalists in their respective sectors and beyond. It looked like this:

HOW IT’S GOING: As we kick off 2021, we’ve settled on doing two shows a year, Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter. Like conventional trade shows, the schedule groups similar activities and gear together so media can tune in for the brands they are aware of and those that may be new to the space. They are also able to tune into the zones that they may be curious about. This allows the brands to get both endemic and non-endemic media exposure.

Unlike traditional trade shows, REVEAL is tailored to the journalists’ needs. Brands are given 15 minutes to present their latest, provide insight beyond a written press release, take questions live, and deliver all of their creative assets directly to all of the attending media. The media are given the contact information for the brands if they chose to follow up. And unlike a real conference, all questions are logged so that brands could follow up with anyone directly after the show.

REVEAL is not designed as a replacement for traditional PR or trade shows but rather provides an authentic experience for brands to tell their stories to journalists that would have otherwise not occurred. In a world of reduced travel and an ecological pull back on flights, REVEAL will find itself at home with journalists who want to tune in for the latest without leaving their desks. And likewise, brands can broadcast their newest without having to leave the office. Less travel, less time spent needlessly standing in lines for event passes or restaurants, just the business of public relations on a digital platform unperturbed by the latest surge or new variant of this virus or new ones to come.

REVEAL can be counted on by brands and media to support authentic engagement, brand discovery, and product coverage.

More here: REVEAL.ECHOSCOMM.COM