Case Study: MekaMon's Global Launch with Apple Stores

Going to market from zero to one is one of the most challenging things a marketer can do - most careerists enter a mature product, relying on previous work to guide them somewhat.

With MekaMon however, I was up against the clock to take a product literally leaving the factory floor in China over to Apple stores across the US and UK, ready for consumers on day one - with strict deadlines and even stricter budgets.

Challenges

Creating a cohesive digital presence for a new, innovative product

Coordinating a global launch strategy across multiple markets

Building a community around early adopters

Creating robust analytics pipelines across game app and marketing site.

Aligning our marketing efforts with Apple's brand guidelines and expectations

Managing multiple agencies across different time zones and cultures

Hiring a team of five to consolidate and in-house our efforts

The MekaMon product was made up of several moving parts, all needing to come together on time and on budget for our 2017 launch.

An AR Mobile App (Built with Unity) - This overlayed the MekaMon digital world onto our own with augmented reality. It also served as a controller for our four-legged spider bot.

The physical robot; a 1.2kg futuristic mech straight out of Japanese anime, complete with customizable armor and accessories.

A Marketing site showcasing MekaMon in all its glory (in partnership with talented Bristol creative agency, Green Chameleon)

A Shopify store acting as our e-commerce base

Just two months into my initial hire as Digital Marketing Manager, our CMO quit, leaving a vacuum that needed to be filled as soon as possible.

In just six months, we went from a porn-bot-infested forum to a fully functioning digital outfit, robust cross-platform analytics setup, in-house video production team and ambitious go-to-market multi-channel launch at the busiest time of the year; Black Friday Cyber Monday.

Key Learnings

Early alignment with Apple's team was crucial. I learned more about the color space of Pantone 17-5641 than I ever thought possible.

Filming a commercial is tough.

Wearing many hats geared me up for success early on in my career

Flexibility was key. Our marketing plan evolved more times than MekaMon's beta software.

Clear communication with agencies was essential. I became fluent in time zone math and emoji-based status updates.

The power of demonstration can't be overstated. Nothing beats seeing a robot come to life before your eyes.