Don’t ever let anyone tell you it’s impossible to succeed as a hardware startup today. With the right startup marketing, the sky is truly the limit and you can take your business to incredible heights. In the last few years, we’ve seen individuals with big ideas launch huge businesses that have gone on to compete with the corporate giants in their fields – some have even birthed entirely new industries.
In our startup marketing spotlight series, we’ll be looking at some businesses that got it right. These are the startups that have taken the world by storm and achieved great things using nothing but a great idea and some clever marketing.
Today, we’ll be looking at ACPAD – The Electronic Orchestra for Your Guitar.
What is ACPAD?
ACPAD is a mobile, wireless midi controller that attaches to your guitar. This essentially allows you to play guitar and drums at the same time, and to create all kinds of awesome sound effects, backing tracks, loops and more. It’s like turning your guitar into a synthesizer.
And it turns out that ACPAD is something people have been looking for. The Kickstarter Project raised over $295854 with more than 1,100 backers – massively surpassing the original goal of $43508
The Startup and the Strategy
ACPAD is the brainchild of Robin Skrusos from Berlin, Germany. Robin describes himself as someone who has ‘wandered the world looking for experiences to further his personal and musical journey’ and who ‘sometimes had to build his own tools’.
So what did Robin do right to reach and surpass his funding goals so easily? Of course the product itself is a big part of it.
Not onlyis it a concept with a very clear and straightforward USP, but it’s also something that appeals to very large, but very specific audiences: guitar players and tech enthusiasts. This allowed Robin to reach his audience directly through a number of channels – including features on the GuitarWorld website and Nerdist. When you have a clearly defined audience like this, it makes marketing far easier.
Another big advantage is that the device is very visual and… auditory. In other words, this isn’t a dry concept that you have to read reams of text to learn about; the best way to understand ACPAD is to see and hear it – which makes the videos that feature it highly engaging.
Robin took full advantage of this by uploading videos to his YouTube channel. This video is a response to requests from fans who wanted tabs for the music they heard in the promotional videos. Robin even gave a unique name to the style of music – ‘Electronic Fingerstyle Guitar’.
Naming a new ‘style’ of music like this also helped to create an exciting movement around the project that people could get excited about. And Robin only further encouraged this community and enthusiasm by taking to social media. The ACPAD Facebook page right now has nearly 66,500 fans.
There’s also a website where fans can learn more.
Conclusion
In short then, ACPAD was pretty much the perfect product launch through Kickstarter. With a clear USP(Unique Selling Proposition) and specific target audience, the concept had set itself up for success from the word go. Throw in a great logo, compelling music and a big social media push and you have an idea that’s bound to surpass its goals.
It just goes to show that your idea doesn’t have to be incredibly complex. In fact, it’s often easier when it isn’t!
What do you think of ACPAD? Can you think of any more hardware startup marketing stories for us to feature? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to subscribe if you want to read about more inspirational success stories!
