Aiden Precision Coffee Maker
Pre-sale / Launch campaign — Navigating complex brand and market positioning challenges while managing the realities of pre-sale marketing.
Company
Fellow
Year
Spring 2024
In its first 10 years, Fellow built its reputation on manual pour-over brewing excellence, world brewing champions use Fellow kettles in competition. Launching an automatic coffee maker risked alienating the coffee expert community that drives the brand's credibility. The challenge: expand into automated brewing while maintaining trust with coffee professionals who view automation as a compromise on quality.
Aiden needed to appeal to two distinct audiences: coffee enthusiasts seeking precision and control, and everyday consumers wanting great coffee without complexity.
Marketing had to communicate sophisticated brewing capabilities (customizable profiles, precision temperature control, bloom timing) while ensuring the product felt accessible to users who simply wanted to press a button for excellent coffee.
Approach
Phase 1: Building Credibility (6 months pre-launch)
Hosted coffee influencers and industry experts at Fellow HQ to test early prototypes, capturing their reactions and endorsements on the quality and precision of automated brewing
Partnered with three premium coffee roasters to create exclusive coffee offerings tied to custom brew profiles, demonstrating the machine's flexibility while incentivizing pre-orders
Phase 2: The Launch Moment (Trade Show Announcement)
Timed pre-sale announcement to Specialty Coffee Association's annual trade show, leveraging Fellow's presence in the specialty coffee community
Hosted invitation-only event the evening before the show for industry professionals to demo the machine first
Live-streamed product unveiling from trade show floor to 2,000+ coffee enthusiasts, creating a moment of excitement beyond the physical event
Built anticipation through teaser content across social and email in the weeks leading up to announcement
Phase 3: Sustaining & Education (12-month pre-sale period)
Produced Aiden Summer Tour, bringing the machine to Crate & Barrel stores and specialty coffee shops across the US for hands-on demos
Created 14-video educational series preparing customers for product arrival and teaching them how to maximize Aiden's capabilities
Developed scrappier, platform-native short-form content (iPhone shoots, quick-turn social content) to maintain momentum and reach new audiences
Launched content creator partnerships once units began shipping to drive authentic user testimonials
Connection to community
The cafe is the most social location in the building. We created an interactive gallery wall that connects employees via QR codes to a cloud-based message board that sparks conversation and foster a sense of community.
Make it stand out
Pre-Sale Production Constraints
Launching as a pre-order while the product remained in active development created unique creative challenges. Marketing campaigns needed compelling visuals without final production units, required managing consumer expectations around delivery timelines, and demanded creative solutions for product demonstration during an extended development cycle.
Client
Name here
Year
01/01/000
My Role
I joined this project when it kicked off in 2019 and took part in:
Preparing materials for initial design charette.
Site visits with stakeholders.
Crossfunctional brainstorm workshop sessions.
Location selection.
Experience concepting and first-round designs.
Fabrication visits and production inspections.
The Team
Huge, Inc. 2019 - 2021
A project of this scope and timeline takes a small army to complete:
David Clark, Mat Hexemer, Claudio Guglieri, Ian Burns, Claire Jackson, Chris Fairchild, Borys Chylynksi, Vesna Jocic, Victor Bogstch, Elaine Dickson, Griffin Olmsted, Kelsey Cordutsky, Gino Nave, Tu Vu, Michael Arguello, Sarah Paulhus, Chris Allen, Zach Goldstein, Genki Hagata, Marc Maleh, Tiffany Dickson, Mark Manning
Fabrication by One Hat, One Hand & Acme