Client Spotlight: Plowz

By Zachary Clark, Account Coordinator/Copywriter
01/16/2014

Just imagine it. It’s two degrees outside, white powder is falling and Mother Nature is doing her best job of snowing you in. But, unlike the kids who have school cancelled, you have to go to work. Ugh. That means shoveling…lots of back-breaking, I’m going to be sore later, shoveling.

That could have been you this morning, or any other time this frigid winter. That could have been your husband, wife, mother, father, kid, grandparent, boss, whoever.

Luckily, the next time when you wake up and there’s inches of snow covering your driveway, you don’t have to go out in subzero wind chill. You can stay in bed, order a snowplow and hit the snooze button.

Co-Founders William Mahoney and Andrew Englander, both Syracuse University graduates, created this amazing smartphone app called Plowz. It’s on-demand plowing for those who only want to order a snowplow when they need it and they came to Cowley to help them with their Public Relations outreach.

Step 1: Discovery…Figuring Out How/Why Plowz Works

As with all client relationships, we first go in-depth about what the company is and does. It was extremely important for Plowz that we understood exactly how everything worked so we could convey that to the media and consumers.

We sat down with Plowz and part of their development team to go through the nuts and bolts of the app. They did a live demonstration for us and it was absolutely amazing how everything on the app is instant. From the ordering, to the plow driver’s real-time gps locator, to getting the picture of your completed driveway when the job has been finished - the whole process is streamlined and efficient as anything we’ve ever seen.Plowz Home Screen

Getting the Word Out

Since our main focus was PR, we first started with a thorough press release. We incorporated everything that the app is and does into a cohesive document so that our media contacts would understand and would be interested in doing a story. We then packaged it all together with some screenshots, background on the app and some of its featuresand benefits. From there, we sent that press kit to every media outlet possible and waited for the responses to come in.

The Word Is Out…Everywhere

Plowz Splash ScreenPlowz is currently in 4 major markets: Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester & St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota; and plan to be in 20 other cities by the end of the season. They have over 12,000 downloads and counting, have appeared on television (including the Fox Business Channel and KSTP CBS) and dozens of online and print publications (including Syracuse.com, Bloomberg Business Week, the Eagle Bulletin, Uncrate and Gizmodo). We’d say that PR has gone pretty swimmingly.

Overall, working with Plowz and seeing their success has been a thrill for us at Cowley. The constant contact and willingness to always be communicating have made them a fantastic client to work for.

Make sure you download their app and check out some of the exposure they’ve received!

Fox Business Channel

Syracuse.com

Bloomberg Business Week

Eagle Bulletin

WRVO

KSTP Minnesota

Uncrate

Gizmodo

Gear Patrol

 

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