Project Description

Embrace Audio Lab is an innovative audio engineering company based in Taiwan, Taipei that launched in 2015. Led by Peng Lee, Embrace is a company of audio experts, designers, and engineers who have extensive acoustics, digital signal processing, firmware, and hardware experience.

Embrace developed a patented digital signal processing algorithm named XROUND that transforms flat stereo surround sound into a three-dimensional immersive experience.

Embrace has sold the XROUND technology into a variety of enterprise solutions, but it had an eye on the consumer market.

For the past year, Lee and the Embrace team have developed XPUMP, a portable, gum-stick sized device. Users just plug XPUMP between a device (computer, television, gaming console, or mobile device) and output (speakers or headphones.)

Lee opted to introduce XPUMP to consumers through Kickstarter, launching a campaign on 6 September 2016. (Savvy calendar minders and tech enthusiasts will note that this date fell between Labor Day and iPhone 7 Launch Day.)

Embrace Audio turned to Farinella for creative direction and content for the Kickstarter page, a launch publicity campaign, and ongoing creative for Facebook ads.

We started by taking a deep dive into the XROUND technology and promise of XPUMP, then researched the company’s ideal customer.

Kickstarter content was developed to convince Millennial music fans, film buffs, and creatives. We focused on the promise of XPUMP as well as the science behind the technology. Embrace had outsourced a strong proof of concept video as well as attractive graphics. Both were used to carry the story.

Our PR campaign targeted key gadget, gaming, and multimedia audio influencers. We approached each with information about XPUMP and the Kickstarter campaign. We earned coverage in a handful of publications and websites.

Embrace was not seeing a positive return on the Facebook ads it was running with the help of its crowdfunding agency. We came in and refashioned the concept and copy, helping improve the performance of that ad.

The integration of efforts — and, frankly — a good product helped XPUMP get funded in just 8 hours. At the end of the campaign, 2, 278 backers pledged $227,673, a whopping 911 percent of funding.

See the Kickstarter page here.