AV HERO

Challenge

AV HERO had a vision: to bring AV support services to as wide an audience as possible, as quickly, easily and economically as possible. Inspired by the gig economy’s success in providing affordable, on-demand transportation and delivery services, AV HERO created a national network of skilled, certified AV technicians who could be called upon by business and residential customers in need of AV support. Using a simple app interface (and taking advantage of a super-robust back end), prospective customers reach out for assistance. AV HERO notifies their network of available nearby HEROES. And before you know, there’s a knock on your door. The company handles payment, notifications and all other logistics.

My challenge was to help create the brand and get the word out. The easy part was that AV Hero met a real and pressing need. The hard part was that we only had a limited budget to develop a go-to-market strategy, tackle design and branding, craft our messaging, build a website, execute a digital strategy, and mount a PR campaign. (Other than that, easy-peasy).

Solution

We divided our audience into three distinct types. First, there were our two largest customer segments: residential (“My whole-house audio isn’t working,” “I need help setting up my new home entertainment system.”) and business (“Our video conferencing is on the glitch!”, “We need help activating new equipment”). Also important were AV integrators. They can call on AV HEROES to complement their workforce whenever the need arose. It’s a great way for them to staff up as needed while remaining lean and mean during challenging times.

Our brand, our mission, our vibe were encapsulated in the tagline: “Save the Day.” Because that’s what AV HEROES do; ask anyone who’s ever endured a video conferencing glitch at the worst possible moment.

Since customers interact with AV HERO almost entirely online, we needed a simple, powerful, killer website – one that left no doubt about our value prop. Next, it was time to spread the news via PR, primarily targeted to the AV community, including integrators and individual contractors. Our efforts resulted in interviews and articles, and were complemented by videos we created for social media. At the same time, I also worked on AV HERO Nation, a private community portal where our AV HEROES could bounce ideas off one another and share resources.

This is a project I’m truly proud to have contributed to – and I have to tell you: AV HERO really fills a need. Customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and extremely enthusiastic. Just what you’d expect when someone saves your day.