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Cool Rules Pty Ltd product: The Apostrophe Song iPhone app
The situation. The Apostrophe Song is a fun and catchy tune that helps you remember where to put apostrophes. It was first developed more than 10 years ago by Adelaide musician and educator Shaun McNicholas as just one part of an innovative educational concept he called Cool English.
Cool English was critically acclaimed, and was a major award winner at the 2000 Australian Interactive Media Industry Awards.
Mr McNicholas then partnered with Adelaide-based Enabled Solutions to develop an iPhone app as a new way for parents and teachers from around the world to purchase The Apostrophe Song.
While the app was in development, Mr McNicholas approached Hughes PR, seeking ideas for reaching a wide audience.
In response, Hughes PR developed a digital communication and social media strategy to raise consumer awareness of The Apostrophe Song and the Cool Rules concept.
Objectives. Cool Rules’ primary objective was to raise awareness of The Apostrophe Song iPhone application to help boost sales. To achieve this, the aims of the communications campaign were to trigger interest in and conversations about the product across social media, to drive traffic to the Apostrophe Song in the Apple iTunes store and the new Cool Rules website and to establish Cool Rules as a resource for innovative educational learning methods. The campaign required a global focus to target parents, students, teachers, adults in ‘writing occupations’ in Australia, UK, US, Canada, Singapore, Korea, China, Vietnam, Hong Kong and India.
Elements. Once the iPhone app was designed and ready for sale, Hughes PR developed a comprehensive digital communcations plan, which began with establishing a new website. Another vital element of the campaign was the establishment of a unified description of The Apostrophe Song and its key messages A blog by Mr McNicholas was incorporated into this website to help establish him as the 'go to' person for advice on how to teach English grammar and he was supported and encouraged to interact in relevant online forums. Further social media platforms followed including a Facebook page and a Twitter account, all of which combined to drive traffic to the Apple iTunes store. A digital press release was distributed to key national and international media, as well as relevant app reviewers and bloggers.
Outcome. With his new understanding of social media and how to engage people online, Mr McNicholas uploaded a 'handmade' YouTube clip of The Apostrophe Song which has received more than 62,000 views to date.
The link to this clip was retweeted by famous comedian Stephen Fry to his 2.5 million Twitter followers. The Apostrophe Song received coverage on the Huffington Post, the world's most popular blog. Numerous blog mentions and positive online peer recommendations posted from around the world followed, like this one from the English Department of St Columba's College in Dublin, Ireland. The innovation of the iPhone app was also recognised by the App Store Reviewer whose video review of The Apostrophe Song (below) has been watched by more than 6,000 viewers. Media coverage of the song and the app from online news providers included articles from AdelaideNow and Crikey,com.
Testimonial. "Hughes PR helped us understand and appreciate the role of social media in marketing. They guided us patiently through new territory, and helped us develop a very effective digital marketing strategy using Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, and by engaging with relevant internet blogs and forums.
"Hughes PR also provided excellent advice on the structure and content of our website. They really understand digital marketing."
Shaun McNicholas, Cool Rules
