Turning a 15-Article Goal Into 65 Placements

The Challenge:

Robosen Robotics, a Shenzhen-based company with Hasbro and Disney IP partnerships, was heading into an ambitious holiday season with several products launching or hitting retail, including its Disney & Pixar MINI Robots, Flagship Megatron and a new Soundwave Transformer announcement.

The company needed to build awareness in the U.S. and U.K. across consumer technology, toy media, parenting, gift guide and Transformer fan audiences. Their original goal: generate 15-20 earned media articles over six months, with a focus on product launches, reviews and holiday gift guides.

I joined the program to support the agency partners lab.Comms and Honey Ventures HK led the earned media effort between August 2025 and January 2026.

The Approach:

Finding the Right Audiences

Rather than treating the campaign as one large media push, we broke the program into three phases, built around a different product and audience.

Prioritizing Hands-On Coverage

Then, we focused on hands-on coverage. Robosen’s high-end, collectible robots meant product reviews were a key part of the strategy. Getting the products into the hands of the right reviewers early gave journalists an opportunity to experience the products fully before deciding whether they wanted to write about them.

Paying Attention to What Media Were Saying

As coverage came in, it was apparent that the larger, premium robot models were generating more interest than the MINI line. So, we adjusted our strategy accordingly, putting more effort on Megatron and using that momentum to build interest around the upcoming Soundwave announcement.

The Results

Our original goal was 15-20 earned media articles. Ultimately, we generated 65 articles and 58.3 billion potential impressions–more than four times the original goal. Coverage included The Verge, CNET, Gizmodo, Entertainment Weekly, BBC Tech and CBR, extending Robosen’s reach well beyond traditional toy media.

The three campaign phases generated:

• 22 articles and 8 gift guide placements around the MINI launch

• 7 articles and 24.6M combined potential readers around the Megatron retail launch

• 30+ articles following the Soundwave announcement

What We Learned

The biggest lesson: The original plan needed to evolve.

Media response is an invaluable resource. Information about which products and stories were generating the most interest helped us adjust our strategy, shift resources and focus on products that were resonating the most to create another wave of coverage.

Keywords and Terms: Media Relations, Media Strategy, Product Launch, Reviews, Campaign Management

Interested in a media relations project? Let’s talk.