#fundbeam

“Some of the best kickstarter campaigns of all time don't just reach fame (and fortune) on a good picture and a few well-placed words. The Press Release is where the biggest chunk of media attention, and thus fame, comes from.

Press Releases are short, simple descriptions that the media use to relay information to their viewers. Well written press releases contain only pertinate data and, in the case of products, usage imagery and examples, allowing the media an easy way to disseminate information quickly.

To show just how valuable a press release is, let's take a look at a few kickstarter campaigns (and their respective press releases) that managed to generate impressive funding numbers.

1. The Micro

Described as the first truly consumer-based 3d printer, the Micro managed to raise 3.4 million dollars during it's kickstarter campaign. The press release for the campaign started off by appealing to both everyday users and hardcore 3d enthusiasts by included examples such as "custom toys, jewellery, and chocolate molds". These impressive examples, which were included in the press release, simultaneously appealed to a very large number of potential users, which garnered it the impressive funding amount it ended with.

2. The Dash

The Dash is an oddly named, but very well performing kickstarter campaign for a pair of wireless in-ear headphones. It raised over 3.3 million dollars during the campaign, smashing its initial goal of just 260 dollars in less than 2 days. The press release for the Dash contained stimulating language like "beautiful marriage of ...", which lead to such a massive funding success.

3. The G-RO

The G-RO is described as a "unique companion bag" designed to meet the needs of any and all people who travel frequently. It reached its kickstarter goal of 125,000 in 6 hours and raised a grand total of just over 3.3 million dollars during its campaign time. The press release for the G-RO detailed the new design choices for the G-RO over other luggage and used real world examples to describe the functionality of the bag. Without these examples, it's highly likely that the new design choices, which were radically different from previous luggages, might have been ignored. So including them in the press release was a wise decision.

4. The Pebble Time

The Pebble Time is a smartwatch, a wearable mini-computer that does much more than tell the time. With a month long campaign ending in over 20 million dollars raised, the Pebble may be one of the most funded kickstarters of all time. Pebble began as a crowdfunded company several years before the Pebble Time was introduced and used this previous success to great effect. They began their press release with a reminder of their previous crowdfunding success before going into a description of the newest technology they developed for their brand. The Pebble Time press release most certainly qualifies as one of the Best Kickstarter Press Releases ever, which is proven by its rousing success.

5. The Coolest Cooler

The Coolest Cooler is, as its name would suggest, a cooler. Although it contains other gadgets that users in the modern world would find helpful. According to its press release, it contains useful gadgets like a blender and essential cooler necessities such as a bungee cord and ceramic knife. It's basically a cooler, with all the extras you never really knew you needed. Perhaps with additional thanks to its extra features, it raised over 13 million during its kickstarter campaign, making it the most funded kickstarter in the year it was introduced to kickstarter, 2014. Its success also dictates that it qualify for one of the Best Kickstarter Press Releases of all time, because without a press release it would have fallen by the wayside swiftly.

6. The Worlds Best Travel Jacket

Perhaps the most interesting campaign on this list is The Worlds Best Travel Jacket. It's said to have 15 features including a drink pocket for on the go drinkers, an ipad pocket for on the go ipadders, handwarming pockets for those cold winter days, a neck pillow and eye mask for those who like to sleep on the bus, and much more. Apparently its features, detailed in the press release, earned it enough support to reach a surprising 9.1 million dollars during its campaign time.

7. The Oculus Rift

The Oculus Rift is probably one of the most well known devices that received its funding on kickstarter. Boasting a lofty goal of being the worlds first real virtual reality headset, the Oculus Rift set an initial goal of 250,000 dollars, and then blew right past it to a grand total of 2.4 million dollars. The press release for the Rift claimed that it would be the first system to truly let gamers step into their games rather than just playing them. This press release is unique in that it included more quotes from developers and less technical data. This uniqueness certainly didn't hinder the campaign though, leading the Rift into success both as a kickstarter campaign and real world product.

8. Dark Souls, the Board Game

The original hellacious game Dark Souls has decided to make a return, this time as a board game. Described as the "hardest board game you have ever played" (fans of the series will realize almost immediately how much of an understatement this is), Dark Souls – The Board Game reached an astonishing 3.7 million British Pounds (about 5.4 million US Dollars) during its campaign. This level of crowdfunding is a real feat considering just how much the Dark Souls game series loves to make its players suffer. If this press release doesn't qualify as a contender for one of the Best Kickstarter Press Releases of all time, then none of them do.

9. The Everyday Messenger

A Messenger bag designed with the aid of, and for, professional photographers, the Everday Messenger set a lofty goal of redesigning every element of previous messenger bags. Professional Photographer Trey Ratcliff started the whole campaign with a simple complaint about how his camera bags were rather terrible and a wish that he could have a messenger bag that doubled as a camera bag. It apparently worked, to the tune of 4.8 million dollars pledged during the campaign. The press release was even nice enough to include Trey's original complaint in full, which resounded with other professional photographers, causing a massive funding success which is surprisingly rare on kickstarter.

10. Torment: Tides of Numenera

Another project from the video game category, the CRPG (Computer Role Playing Game) Torment: Tides of Numenera managed to raise an impressive 4.1 million dollars, putting it in the top 5 video game kickstarters. It's described in the press release as a "thematic successor to Planescape: Torment" and is said to have been created by a team made of mostly the creators of Planescape, which certainly appealed to fans of the Planescape game. It's currently available for Early Access on the popular gaming platform Steam.

11. The Kokoon Headphones

The press release for the kokoon headphones is certainly interesting in its own right. It claims that the kokoon headphones use "medical-grade EEG technology to actively help users achieve better sleep." The kokoon includes hidden EEG sensors to help determine the patterns of the wearers sleep cycle, allowing them to automatically adjust the audio levels as necessary to ensure the user stays asleep, as well as help determine the most opportune moment to awaken the user, which can prevent a groggy, sleepy-eyed start to the day. Kokoon partnered with Onkyo and Pioneer Corporation to build the audio for the headphones, creating a high quality audio headset that includes active noise cancellation in its specifications. The successful 1.9 million dollar campaign just proves that people everywhere are tired of noisy buses and would like a little bit of peace and quiet on their way to work.

12. The OLO smartphone 3d printer

The OLO rounds out this particular list with an intriguing press release. It starts out with the following situation: "Imagine being able to print 3D objects directly from your smartphone …for just $99. That’s the reality of OLO!". That certainly sounds impressive. And the rest of the press release doesn't fail to deliver either. The OLO is described as having won the World Markers Faire Editor's Choice Award in 2015. The printer can produce 3d objects with a resolution of 42 microns, or 0.00003937 inches, which is very tiny indeed. The OLO managed to earn 2.3 million dollars in its campaign, thanks to smartphone users everywhere (and a good press release).