Case Study: DC Shoes “Pipe Dream” PR Campaign

CHALLENGE

Founded in 1994, Huntington Beach, Calif.-based DC Shoes has become a global leader in performance skateboarding shoes and a renowned action sports brand. Its product line includes men’s, women’s and kids’ shoes, apparel, snowboards, snowboard boots, outerwear and accessories. To enhance its brand, develop its signature products and support its promotional efforts, DC has built a world-class team of professional skateboarding, snowboarding and motocross athletes.

One of those athletes sponsored by DC is Robbie “Maddo” Maddison, a record-breaking, modern day Evil Knievel.   He has won numerous X Games and FMX competitions and had fulfilled his personal “Pipe Dream” by successfully surfing a 30-foot wave on a motorbike in Tahiti, a highly publicized event that drew excitement from around the world. As DC’s public relations (PR) agency of record, Master Plan Communications (MPC) was tasked with leading and launching the “Pipe Dream” PR campaign.

SOLUTION

With only two and a half months to prepare for the official launch of the campaign, MPC followed the approved strategic PR plan and used every means possible to gain the attention of its targeted media. These tactics included news releases, pitching to all media types (print, online, TV, radio, etc.), social media engagement, personal interviews, press tours and a premiere launch party.

The campaign was further enhanced by DC’s announcement and release of  the “Pipe Dream” video and its “Behind the Dream: The Making of Robbie Maddison’s Pipe Dream” three-part series.

RESULTS

Based on the goal of 50 media placements and at least 30 million collective, the MPC team and its PR campaign garnered the following results:

·         More than two-dozen interviews via email, in-person, phone and Skype.

·         More than six billion impressions with a total of 1,164 coverage hits to-date.

·         DC’s “Pipe Dream” generated more than 40 million comprehensive views in less than one month as collected from DC’s YouTube channel, Yahoo!’s GrindTV and ESPN. Major mainstream media coverage included Good Morning America, CNN, BBC, Men’s Fitness, Cosmopolitan and countless other worldwide media.

“We were confident that MPC could meet the challenges and achieve the goals that DC set,” said DC Shoes’ Vice President of Marketing, Megan Easley. “They not only met those challenges, but they went beyond our expectations. We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. The DC team considers everything MPC did a success.”