Let us introduce you to Pictar – the latest innovation from R&J’s client, miggo.

Pictar is a product that truly makes you stop in your tracks when you see it. What does it do? Well, in a nutshell, it brings a traditional digital camera experience to your iPhone.

Worldwide, the iPhone has surpassed other traditional cameras as the most popular device for capturing images. That speaks to not just the number of iPhones in circulation but also the quality of the images it can capture. Despite the innovations built into the iPhone with each new model, one thing that has remained the same is the way you hold and operate it. It’s just not optimized for photography.

That’s where Pictar comes into play. A camera grip for the iPhone, Pictar gives users a comfortable and traditional grip that allows them to use the iPhone with just one hand. There are also a number of physical buttons, including a shutter button and mode dials that give users the ability to capture better images with ease. miggo dedicated a significant amount of R&D to the Pictar project, and to help bring it to life, they planned on leveraging the power of crowdfunding, specifically through the Kickstarter platform.

Understanding the power of media relations, miggo tapped R&J to help develop a comprehensive campaign to ensure the debut of the project would be a success. Due to the volume of crowdfunding projects that never come to fruition, media can be hesitant to cover Kickstarter campaigns. With that reality in mind, R&J knew that actually demonstrating the product in front of media would be absolutely critical.

A month prior to the debut of the Pictar campaign on Kickstarter, R&J coordinated over a dozen in-person media briefings with some of the world’s leading technology and photo journalists. During the briefings, miggo’s co-founder demonstrated Pictar and provided a thorough overview of key features and functionality. Not only did this affirm that the project was real, but that the company devoted significant resources to developing the technology and a fully functional prototype. Following the briefings, R&J worked closely with the journalists to develop their stories with the agreement that they would be held until the day the campaign went live.

The media relations push leading up to the launch was a success. A groundswell of coverage generated the minute the campaign went live generated incredible interest in Pictar and within minutes, social media was further driving the buzz with consumers retweeting media’s coverage and sharing in the excitement about the campaign.

Some accolades from media:

Pictar’s amazing case turns your iPhone into a full-fledged camera! – Digital Trends

It isn’t the first case that’s attempted to give your iPhone a more traditional camera look and feel, but it could be the best. – CNET

For those frustrated with fiddling with a camera that feels like a phone: You will soon have a solution. – Travel Pulse

Pictar Brings Big Camera Controls to iPhones. – Tom’s Guide

Being able to hold and control your iPhone like a dedicated camera arguably would make using it as a go-to camera more appealing. – Resource Magazine

In just 3 days, Pictar reached its funding goal of $100,000 and to date, has generated over 300 placements and over 377 million impressions!

Update:This Kickstarter campaign has raised over $318,000, exceeding it’s goal by more than 200%.
Have a Kickstarter campaign you’re thinking of launching? Reach out and let us know. We have the solutions and people in place to help generate buzz and bring backers to your brand.