Scoring Big Time Coverage
How Voxus helped Agero’s car accident detection and driver behavior app log 2 billion miles
Predicting The Future
Agero, a $1B company developing technology solutions to revolutionize the driving experience, wanted to launch a breakthrough analytics platform for its business customers. The platform would capture detailed driving data directly from a smartphone app to help detect car accidents and predict driver behavior. Agero first needed a proof of concept, so the company launched a new app called MileUp. Once downloaded, it paid users for what they do every day: driving. In order to gather the necessary data to refine and prove the efficacy of the application, Agero needed thousands of downloads and drivers, and millions of miles logged (40 million, to be exact).
Is This Too Good To Be True?
Agero believed millennial users were the best targets for the application, making social media a slam-dunk medium for user acquisition marketing. However, convincing millennials to download and use an app that simply paid you to have it on your phone while driving seemed too good to be true. To combat fears that MileUp was simply a scam, Voxus suggested validating the technology and app through traditional media outlets. This would allow the company to post objective third-party news and commentary coverage on the MileUp social media accounts.
Covering All The Media Bases
Although traditional media brands can certainly provide excellent validation, it was important to also target newer online-only media outlets that perform better with millennial audiences. To ensure broad validation, Voxus worked to secure articles for MileUp with print media (such as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), technology outlets (such as CNET), new online digital only media (such as Vice), and female-focused blogs (such as BRIT+CO). During the first two weeks of the app launch, Voxus secured articles that tallied a total potential audience of more than 300 million people.
Driving Download Success
With the strong media attention for the new MileUp application from Agero (which was heavily repurposed across the company’s social media campaigns), it surpassed gathering tens of thousands of app downloads and more than 40 million miles of driver behavior in the initial month. (The company had predicted it would take six months to reach that 40 million goal.) Because it collected such valuable data, Agero decided to continue running MileUp for more than a year, capturing more than 2 billion miles of driving behavior. MileUp became the 8th most downloaded U.S. lifestyle app on Google Play and 10th most downloaded U.S. lifestyle app on the iOS App Store.
Agero’s mission is to safeguard consumers on the road through a unique combination of platform intelligence and human powered solutions, strengthening its clients’ relationships with their drivers. The company is a leading provider of driving solutions, including roadside assistance, accident management, consumer affairs and telematics. Agero protects 115 million drivers in partnership with leading automobile manufacturers, insurance carriers and other diversified clients. Managing one of the largest national networks of service providers, the company responds to more than 12 million requests annually for assistance.
Goal Highlights:
- Secure coverage in traditional print, online digital outlets, technology publications, and female-focused blogs.
Result Highlights:
- Articles in key publications such as CNET, Vice and more then 39 other outlets
- Total audience of more than 300 million in the first two weeks