Hasbro and Formlabs partnered to bring the toymaker’s latest action figure innovation, The Hasbro Selfie Series, a groundbreaking endeavor leveraging the speed and precision of 3D printing to manufacture personalized action figures for consumers. BIG FISH PR launched the PR campaign for Selfie Series in July 2022, debuting fan-favorite characters from Star Wars, G.I. JOE, Ghostbusters, and Power Rangers, with the first product shipping to consumers in September 2022.
BIG FISH PR’s strategy was to further position Formlabs and Hasbro as the innovation brands they are, BIG FISH PR leaned into in-depth storytelling that highlighted the partnership, how the Selfie experience works, why the partnership of Hasbro and Formlabs was necessary to enable this premium, custom product, and what it means for the future of mass customization and production.
For the initial announcement in July, BIG FISH PR conducted an embargoed media outreach strategy, providing the media with new, original media assets, including behind-the-scenes video content, photos, and interviews with Hasbro and Formlabs spokespeople to line up coverage on the launch date. To build off the strong awareness at launch, BIG FISH PR kicked off a-rolling-thunder strategy to line up coverage for September, when Hasbro Selfie Series would be available to consumers.
This strategy included an embargoed review campaign, where we offered select top tier tech, broadcast, and innovation reporters the chance to experience Selfie Series themselves; from scanning their face in the app to receiving their own action figure, reporters could cover the experience from start to finish. We also pitched media ahead of the September launch date to line up coverage, offering a tour or walkthrough of how the technology works, tailoring the story to best reach and resonate with each media vertical and their audiences.
The earned PR coverage showcased how the Selfie Series will bring greater inclusivity in toys and how mass customization is the enabling factor that lets any user have an action figure/doll that looks like them.
BIG FISH PR’s strategy for amplifying the Hasbro Selfie Series launch was a success, with a large volume of top tier coverage on the initial launch as well as on the street date, two months later. The first week after the launch in July resulted in 99 articles with a UVPM of over 201M published. Launch coverage included 10 broadcast hits and 16 tier 1 articles in CNN, Engadget, TechCrunch, MarketWatch, PCMag, Yahoo!, and was distributed across business, tech, 3D printing and comic/gaming trade outlets.
When the Hasbro Selfie Series “hit the shelves” later in September, Gizmodo covered the news and stories from embargoed reviews published in CNET and WBZ-TV. With the initial and street date launch combined, we secured a reach over 429.2 million in over 350 articles. Afterwards, we continued the momentum by seeding more reviews and weaving the message throughout other timely moments, such as holiday gift guides and CES 2023, securing inclusion in The Verge and WIRED holiday gift guides, and CES coverage in Gizmodo, Popular Science, and more.
Hasbro Selfie Series coverage was overwhelmingly positive, and many reporters expressed excitement about the possibility of seeing their face on an action figure, with TechCrunch reporter Haje Van Kamps tweeting it’s “the coolest thing I've seen in ages.”
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