When it comes to utilizing videos for marketing luxury brands must establish a plan of action. Recently, TableConnect contacted MosnarCommunications.com to increase their brand awareness.
Well, TableConnect is everywhere right? Why did they contact us at MosnarCommunications.com? It's important that luxury brands continue to increase brand awareness and exposure. Also, work with luxury media resources that are influential and credible in the eyes of their target market.
Photo credit TableConnect
MC: What is TableConnect?
TC: TableConnect allows users to connect their phone or tablet and instantly use any of the millions of available iOS and Android apps at a much larger scale. TableConnect is a fusion of remarkable design and versatile functionality. It's perfect for point-of-sale marketing, product presentations, gaming and the ultimate office or conference table.
MC: How did you come up with the idea for TableConnect?
TC: Like a lot of good ideas it was by accident. One of our team members unsuspectingly bought the very table that you might know from our YouTube hit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCbSwOgNzZg on eBay. It was an ordinary refurbished art-deco style table.
A few weeks later we noticed the tables close resemblence to the iPhone 4S… and the rest is (internet) history. We created the video (link above) which became the worldwide #1 YouTube video on a single day after being watched 3 million times in a single week and featured in countless online and offline articles around the world.
MC: What triggered your interest in building TableConnect for real?
TC: All the media buzz led to an almost equally incredible amount of buying inquiries. Granted a lot of them were of the “I want two.” kind in form of YouTube comments, but take those away and we are left with a few hundred tables in demand by some fortune 500 companies and fortunate individuals. While the original (fake) video was created in a week, building such a table is obviously a whole different story but we have finally found the right partners and are on our way to deliver our vision.
MC: Why do you believe is more than just a great viral video?
TC: Multi-touch devices are everywhere these days. Yet the social impact on how we interact with theses devices is rather small. While multi-touch so far has mostly been associated with two-finger operation (zoom-in for example), multi-touch on TableConnect becomes a true multi-user experience through the size of the table.
Other notable benefits of our solution are the “no learning curve” effect of using the same apps, that you are used to on your phone or tablet. The reduced cost of developing custom apps for iOS and Android compared to other proprietary touch table solutions and last but not least the physical design concept of TableConnect.
While almost any other multi-touch “table” out there really is just a T.V. with bolt-on legs and an ugly bezel, TableConnect in contrast is a piece of luxury furniture. Use it as you would use any other table. Sit on it if you want, get work done or eat lunch with your family and colleagues. Because of it´s seamless design there will also be no dust or breadcrumbs trapped in the corners of the screen.
MC: Interesting, why did you chose crowd funding for your project?
TC: Although luxury products with a price-tag like TableConnect don’t qualify for crowd funding as the best solution for a fundraiser, we chose to go that way primarily because of the web related history of the project. It started on the internet, became a fan favourite and we want to bring TableConnect back to where it all started.
MC: You mentioned that luxury products are not a good fit for crowd funding – why is that?
TC: The easiest answer is that “the crowd” that can afford our product is much smaller than the crowd able to buy a smart-watch for example. Also, promising products beyond a few hundred dollars worth increases the risk of serious legal actions when delivery dates get postponed or worse – no delivery at all. That´s the main reason why we chose to take one step after the other with our campaign – get the second and final prototype perfect – do not offer the table as a perk at this stage.
MC: Speaking about perks – what´s with the “anonymous rich guy” perk?
TC: Let´s put it this way – in every project we do we try to have fun, do something unexpected and never stop believing in the impossible. This shines through in the original video with Stefan Fleig promoting his childhood heroes (Stallone and Arnold) and now with Lucas Triebl asking for the help of Richard Branson. The perk is also a comment on the luxury nature of our product and the perceived problems of crowd funding such projects. Any “rich guy/girl” reading this?
MC: What if you do fail to reach the funding target?
TC: That depends on various factors like how close we missed the target and the overall media response to our campaign. After all this campaign is not only about getting money but also to get feedback one more time and we’ve already received some interesting contacts for the future since our launch.
MC: How much will the table cost?
TC: Since the final prototype is still to be finished we only have estimates at this stage. We expect the 60 inch TableConnect to cost around € 25.000,- and the 32 inch version to be around € 15.000.
What´s important to say here is that even if you can´t afford a TableConnect for your private entertainment this does not mean you´ll never get to use one. If everything works out, you’ll enjoy using TableConnect in shopping malls, restaurants, museums, shops and trade fairs around the world.
MC: Anything else you would like to say?
TC: Thank you and we ask that your audience please support our project on Indiegogo
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tableconnect/x/1925359 and follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tableconnect and Twitter https://twitter.com/tableconnect
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