StreamLabs

Smart Home Water Monitor

Situation

StreamLabs is the smart-tech brand of Reliance Worldwide Corporation (RWC), a publicly traded, international manufacturer of plumbing components. The StreamLabs brand promise focuses on monitoring water consumption, increasing energy efficiency and preserving natural resources while helping to mitigate plumbing leaks. The smartphone-integrated IoT system remotely detects spikes in residential water usage and can automatically shut off a home’s water system in the case of a catastrophic leak.

While the majority of RWC’s marketing had targeted trade professionals (plumbers), K&A was tasked with introducing the StreamLabs brand to a new audience – homeowners.

Challenge

The first challenge was to develop distinctive branding for the product, starting with naming conventions and messaging. K&A worked closely with RWC’s Innovation and Intellectual Property teams to create messaging that would appeal to consumers while not alienating the company’s existing repair-and-replacement plumbing contractor audience.

Once branding was established, the next opportunity was to educate homeowners and influencers on the costs of primary catastrophic loss due to household water leaks, along with the longer-term losses resulting from previously undetectable leaks. K&A developed a national launch plan for the StreamLabs Smart Home Water Monitor, which made its debut at both The International Builders Show in Orlando and Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas – during the same week.

Approach

K&A developed messaging that spoke to the consumer, highlighting the reasons homeowners should be concerned about potential leaks and how they can be prevented via a simple, cost-efficient investment of less than $200. K&A also created messaging targeted at the trade audience to promote upsell opportunities during plumbing service calls.

In addition, K&A aggressively activated both consumer and B2B media, and performed extensive outreach to editorial thought leaders and influential bloggers. To help spread awareness of this groundbreaking new product, K&A sent PR teams to Chicago and Washington, D.C. for face-to-face conversations with architectural and construction media leaders.

Results

The integrated product introduction exceeded RWC’s sales and marketing goals. Combining attention-grabbing branding with sales and marketing alignment, K&A was able to secure more than 50 earned media placements, including coverage in national consumer and trade media outlets, along with broadcast opportunities and coverage by multiple bloggers and syndicated radio shows. Recognized as a leader in the smart home technology space, StreamLabs was awarded the coveted CNET “Best of CES” recognition, and Consumer Reports included the product in its Smart Home reviews.