Taking a relatively unknown
brand to Kickstarter
Introduction
H&Y was founded in Hong Kong back in 2006, with the sole purpose of developing and providing high quality filter products. Their journey began with the production of high-quality, multi-coated, UV protection and Circular Polarizers filters. This was during a time when digital camera technology continued to improve, and the demand was growing stronger every year. This quickly turned into H&Y becoming one of the leading brands in ASIA.
The very first breakthrough in technological advancements came from the launch of their award-winning K-Series magnetic square filter holder system in 2017. The sole quest for everyone at H&Y, is to produce the most economically advanced range of accessories for photographers & videographers and this was the first step! They simplified the way photographers can apply filters to their lenses with an innovative magnetic filter holder system without the compromise in quality. In fact, they went one step further and introduced the use of Corning® Gorilla® Glass III in the production of ALL K-Series square filters. Not only did they introduce the fastest filter system, but they could also now offer the toughest glass on the market!
Objectives
H&Y had approached us because of our deep expertise in the photographic and video industry, especially with camera filters. They had explained to us that they possessed patents for a world first in filter technology and were curious as to know how Kickstarter might be a platform to help them launch their idea.
They were relatively unknown but had a great deal of presence in ASIA, so they were not completely new to the market. As Kickstarter has a sizeable audience in countries such as the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia, they wanted to use this platform to further grow the brand into western markets.
When we saw the REVORING technology, we were blown away! This truly was a unique system, and we were excited for the outcome and couldn’t wait to get started.
One of the biggest concerns faced was that the brand wanted to launch during a pandemic. Because of this we researched into campaigns running, spoke with industry contacts and finally concluded that while there was a great deal of uncertainty in the market, there was still a growing interest in new technology at a price point that backers would still be willing to participate in. We found that people were not so quick to upgrade their cameras as they couldn’t go out, nor where they sure about income, however, new accessories are often a way to add more creativity to an existing camera which can often prolong the need to upgrade. With that, we continued with the campaign!
Outcome
This was a campaign where we had been asked to take care of everything, including video and photo content, language conversion, product manuals, website, and complete campaign management. Being trusted with this much input gave us the creative freedom to create an incredible campaign video that would set the scene for the REVORING. We connected with ALL the press magazines and online publications globally, as well as grouped together several big YouTube names in the photographic world to review and demonstrate the use of the REVORING ready for launch. We had an audience of over 5 million lined up for day 1 of the 40-day campaign.
When the REVORING went live, it really did hit a ripple, camera enthusiasts around the world where hit with reviews, videos, images, and press releases making it hard to ignore! The technology and highly optimised campaign page then went on to become the silent salesman, educating backers about the REVORING’s world first features. After the 40 days had ended, we had successfully raised USD $610,000 from 4162 backers around the world making REVORING the most funded camera filter accessory in Kickstarter history. This firmly placed H&Y on the map, albeit during very challenging times.
