Tag Archives: Astell&Kern

We Beat Neil Young Big Time

Posted on by
Reply

The numbers are in. We have definite proof that we beat singer/songwriter Neil Young in the hi res music player business. He tried to compete against our client, Astell&Kern and Activo, but I am happy to report he didn’t last very long.

His hi res music player, called Pono, is gone, even after he accumulated quite a bit of publicity for it. Neil even appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show to tout his accomplishments. I thought for sure it was over for us. There was nothing we could do but just focus on our own business. We continued to pound the pavement.

The final result is that our client Astell&Kern and Activo, went on to break all award and sales records. Thank you to everyone in the music business for all their amazing support. A special shout out to Jason Henriques of HWH PR and our client, Owen Kwon, for doing all of the heavy lifting. They are the ones responsible for this massive success.

Here are highlights of 2018 for US Media coverage for Astell&Kern and ACTIVO.

Astell&Kern Highlights

* 20 Awards for Astell&Kern Products in the United States in 2018 – increase from 2017

* $11.7 million in Ad Value for Astell&Kern Media Coverage in the U.S. in 2018 (Equivalent PR Value – $35.1 million) – increase from 2017

* 1.5 Million Print Viewers of Astell&Kern Product Reviews – increase from 2017

* 402.7 Million Unique Web Viewers of Astell&Kern News and Product Reviews – increase from 2017

* Major U.S. Mass Media coverage of Astell&Kern in 2018 included:

* CNET – 30 million Unique Visitors Per Month (UVM)

* Digital Trends – 30 million UVM (multiple articles)

* PC World – 24 million UVM (multiple articles)

* MacWorld – 11.5 million (multiple articles)

* Techhive – 1.2 million UVM (multiple)

* Gear Patrol – 3.7 million (multiple)

* The Verge – 25 Million UVM (multiple)

* Forbes – 29.7 Million (multiple)

* Men’s Journal – 1 million print subscribers, 34.7 million online

ACTIVO Highlights

* 3 Awards for the ACTIVO CT10 since U.S. launch in August 2018

* $150,000 in Ad Value for Astell&Kern Media Coverage in the U.S. in 2017

(Equivalent PR Value – $450,000)

* 131.8 Million Unique Web Viewers of ACTIVO News and Product Reviews

* Major U.S. Mass Media coverage of ACTIVO in 2018 included:

* Digital Trends – 30 million UVM (multiple articles)

* PC World – 24 million UVM

* MacWorld – 11.5 million

* Techhive – 1.2 million UVM (multiple articles)

* Forbes – 29.7 Million

* Yahoo News – 1.8 million

The Next (Big) Step in Portable Music Players

Posted on by
2

By now, many people have portable music players. They are better known as MP3 players. Music lovers use MP3s while they exercise, take long trips on airplanes and trains, drive in a car, are in
between appointments, and just relax. They are a wonderful invention.

What you don’t know is that most audiophiles (true sound aficionados) don’t consider the sound quality of MP3 players to be very good. In fact, many believe that the music has been distorted so much that no one is really hearing studio sound. Enter Astell&Kern AK 100. This is the first high definition portable music player.

My agency, HWH PR, is involved in the introduction of this unit. We demoed it to the music world at the New York Audio Show this past weekend. I was thrilled when many audio journalists (Absolute Sound, Stereophile) said the AK100 was the most exciting product at the show. One of the reasons for that is because the AK100 is pioneering a new achievement in portable sound. Many of us have big speaker systems at home that help us achieve the best sound possible. Now, we can take that quality on the road with us.

Oh, you want to know price? A mere $700.00.

Watch the video for a super great demo from B&H Photo.