Smartish has been on a mission to make complex things more simple while making everyday life a little bit easier since 2009. The company originally started out creating accessories for gamers, but quickly transitioned into the cell phone case business.
Their first claim to fame came in 2011 when they released a case called the Wallet Slayer. It was the first phone case of its kind to feature a pocket to store cards and cash, eliminating the need to carry a wallet.
Their big breakout win came a few years later in 2016 with the Kung Fu Grip iPhone case, which held Wirecutter’s top iPhone case recommendation for five years! It was designed with a super gripped texture on the sides so people didn't drop their phones as often.
Since then, they have released a number of different phone and tech accessories aimed at solving problems all people have. They currently have over a 4 star rating on Amazon with thousands of reviews!
Smartish’s original PR strategy was to target small to medium size blogs for features and reviews. They thought that by building backlinks and their SEO ranking, their name would get out there. While they had some success, they weren’t seeing the results they wanted. After re-evaluating their strategy, it became clear that focus needed to switch from SEO to social proof. And to do that, they needed to stop pitching small blogs and start landing some big name outlet coverage. Smartish decided to partner with PR Volt to accomplish this task. Using PR Volt’s extensive network of media contacts, Smartish was all in on building social proof for it’s brand.
Smartish’s PR strategy focused on the company’s mission: to make complex things more simple while making everyday life a little bit easier. The message was to tell consumers how Smartish’s phone cases would make their lives easier and better while also pointing out how they were different from their competitors.
Knowing what angle they were going to take, PR Volt then mapped out the best media outlets to reach out to. They felt that sticking to product review and technology focused sites would give Smartish the best traction with the readership.
PR Volt used its’ competitor monitoring technology to better understand what coverage other companies were getting in the space. This proved useful to help craft coverage for Smartish that would resonate with current trends. PR Volt also utilized keyword monitoring to understand current trending topics they could incorporate into the articles. Once PR Volt reached out to the targeted media outlets, they were able to provide articles and product reviews curated specifically to the outlet readership.
It didn’t take very long for Smartish to start gaining new media coverage from major outlets like Android Authority, iMore, 9to5Mac, and Review Geek.
Here are some of the highlights of their results thus far:
Smartish has been featured in the following major publications and more.
Smartish's campaigns have yielded 188 million impressions and 200 media leads. These fundamentals have yielded top tier coverage including CNN Underscored, WIRED, CNET, NBC News Online and more
"From WIRED to CNET to NBC News, working with PR Volt has resulted in obtaining media results that drive traffic, conversions and awareness for Smartish. They’re truly an extension of our small team—they are detail-oriented, understand our product offerings and are skilled at identifying proper positioning to garner media interest. PR Volt pivots quickly which is a must in our industry; locking and loading campaigns and closely monitoring early campaign performance. They’ve earned their role as a valuable partner in our Marketing strategy.”