Amazon / Eden
The Task: Amazon is releasing a brand new smart-device named Eden (who’s pretty much Alexa’s cooler big sister). Eden has all the features of a typical smart speaker, but is equipped with an upgraded AI, 4 mini-cams, and projection technology. Write a situation analysis, narrow down a target audience, formulate a media release, pitch a story, and create a release and blog post for Eden’s release.
The Work: A communication campaign that speaks to what Millennial moms value in smart devices and communicates why they should upgrade to Eden.
Key Findings & Target Audience
Target Audience: The Supermoms
Our target is women aged 32-44 who own homes, identify as upper-middle class, and have children. They likely live in urban and suburban areas and are college-educated, trying to balance motherhood against their career lives.
These women are trying to do it all– run and maintain a household, raise a gaggle of kids, and have a full-time career. They are spread thin and burdened by their many responsibilities and obligations. Though gender norms in the household may be shifting, they still bear the lion’s share of household chores and management. 9 in 10 of these women are so busy they wish they could clone themselves to take a few things off their full plates (SWNS, 2022).
Their busy schedules don’t give them much free time to spend watching movies or TV, so it will be important to convey the functional household management benefits of this device for them. Paradoxically, they believe it’s important to own high quality home entertainment devices, like speakers. Because of this, it will be important to still market the projection tech and speaker that comes with Eden as a nice-to-have, but not focus on it entirely.
They may seem like they’re doing it all with ease– but it’s taking a serious toll on their mental health and they feel burnt out and spread thin (SWNS, 2022).They are always actively looking for products that will optimize their home and take off a bit of their extreme mental load. They find it difficult to set aside time for self-care and tend to have a less positive outlook on life than their male counterparts do (Kondakciu, 2023). Outsourcing life management is of high interest for these women– they are twice as interested in this than average moms.
Their wallets may be feeling the squeeze of inflation, so they need extra convincing of tangible benefits and value they can glean from purchasing an all-new device when they likely already have an older model. It’s important to show use cases to really allow the full potential of the device to be realized by these consumers. They are very interested in features like wifi connectivity with other devices and voice control– again features that can take a mental load off and require less effort on their parts (O'Donnell, 2023). Security, both of their physical home and the data of household members, is of utmost importance in these consumers’ decision process as well (Nelson, 2023).
Overall, it's important to remember– they want to optimize their experience at home, not just mechanize or automate it.
Pitch - Marielle Segarra, NPR Life Kit host
Dear Marielle,
My name is Libby Gregurich, and I’m the communications director for Amazon. I wanted to reach out as a huge fan of your podcast, Life Kit, about an idea I have for an episode on your show.
I particularly loved your recent episode with KC Davis titled “How to clean when you don’t feel like cleaning.” It got me thinking about the relationship between people and their homes. I really resonated with your statement, “You don’t exist to serve your space, it exists to serve you.” I want to give you the exclusive about a new Amazon product being released just ahead of the holiday season, that I believe could be a great way for many of your listeners to make their spaces serve them.
Eden is the new Ambient Intelligence assistant engineered by Amazon to fit seamlessly into any home and markedly improve the quality of time spent there. Eden can help multitask and manage administrative and household tasks with ease– just tell her to set a reminder, send a message, add something to your grocery list, or look something up for you, and she does it instantly. She takes care of those tiny-yet-tedious tasks, so you can focus on making your home your true sanctuary that best serves you.
I think many in your audience would be very interested in this piece, as research finds that Millennial women are increasingly feeling stretched thin by their many responsibilities, including home management, and are looking for a solution to this problem– which is negatively affecting their mental health (Nelson, 2023).
You might enjoy an interview with our Director of Smart Home and Health Marja Koopmans, a driving innovative force behind the creation of Eden. She currently lives in an Eden-equipped smart home in Seattle and would love to speak to your listeners on how this technology has changed the game in her own life.
Please let me know if you would be interested in doing a segment about Eden with Marja on your show, and I can set that up right away. I would love to work with you on this and think our product and your show would make an incredible fit.
Best,
Libby Gregurich
Communications Director
Amazon Eden
Amazon Eden Developer Blog Post
A Walk through the Garden: Why We Built Eden
Marja Koopmans announces the launch of Eden at the 2023 Connectivity Standards Alliance Conference, Sunday, Apr. 23, 2023. (AP Photo)
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" – Arthur C. Clarke
The smart home. It’s a thought that may seem scary to many people. It might bring to mind an image of robots slowly taking control of every part of their lives, lying in wait for their AI overlords to conquer the world and enslave the human race. Yes, it’s scary – but it’s fantasy. It’s “2001 A Space Odyssey,” it’s “The Terminator,” it’s “Blade Runner.” Let’s just say, our vision for the future of smart homes is more Star Trek talking computer.
Seriously though, the reality is that smart homes, as foreign of a concept as they seem, are actually a beautifully seamless, perfectly safe way to improve your life and improve the quality of the time you spend in your home. The latest innovation from Amazon, called Eden, demonstrates this reality.
Marja Koopmans is the Director of Smart Home and Health here at Amazon. For seven years, she’s spent her days putting together the building blocks that have now proven essential to fully realizing the smart home through Eden. This holiday season, Koopmans and her team are finally ready to unlock the garden gates and release Eden to the world.
“Eden was created, frankly, for me,” she chuckles. “I’m a mom, a full-time businesswoman, and I just needed something to make my life at home a little easier.”
“I remember there was one morning where I had 800 things going on at once. I was trying to get the kids up and ready for school, make breakfast, feed the dog, respond to emails, and prepare for a big meeting later in the day. I just felt like the world was crashing down on me. And I thought, there just has to be a better way.”
Eden in Marja Koopmans’ kitchen, Monday, Apr. 25, 2023. (Amazon)
And build a better way she did. Koopmans walks us through her home, which she describes as a perpetual beta-testing lab. The century-old Seattle brownstone is laden with Amazon prototypes, a lineup from which Eden arose. Out of all these gadgets, she notes, Eden was immediately the standout.
The thing that was so revolutionary about Eden was her intuitiveness. Her four mini cameras can be stationed throughout the house, and they gather information that Eden uses to form “Hunches” that predict the needs of her family. If the floor looks dirty, she runs the robotic vacuum. If they forget to lock the door or turn off the lights when they leave, she does that. If someone unfamiliar shows up, she lets them know.
She can also observe the routines of her family and help them plan their days accordingly. Koopman details how she and her husband like to wake up at 6 am and take some time for themselves before their children wake up. Eden picked up on that, and formulated a wake-up routine for them. She gradually turns on the lights, opens the blinds, projects the time onto the wall across from the bed, and plays a gentle alarm. Then she projects a quick yoga video for them to follow, and plays a news podcast while they enjoy their coffee. “It’s just helped us be more mindful about the way we spend time in our home,” says Koopmans. “It’s so great to have that little slice of time taken out every day just for ourselves.”
After testing Eden in her home and in Amazon’s Day 1 Smart Home Lab for more than three years, Koopmans and her team are excited to see the Ambient Intelligence Assistant help customers worldwide unlock the full potential of their homes.
“There are so many different ways she’ll improve people’s lives, from efficient time-management to staying connected with family and friends to keeping the home safe and secure,” says Koopmans. “This is such an exciting time, and I can’t wait for our customers to see just what Eden can do.”
Media List
Parents.com
Parents is a monthly publication targeted at providing parenting advice and product recommendations. This website has an audience of 6.6 million, 29% of which are within the target age group (Parents, 2021). It also ranks #1 for composition percentage among Millennial and Gen Z women and the median household income of their readers is $81k per year (Parents, 2021). This readership fits perfectly with the demographics of the chosen target profile. An article in this magazine would also be an excellent way to detail just exactly how Eden can make the lives of parents, specifically moms, easier.
Jessica Hartshorn is a veteran writer at Parents with a 22 year history of covering the baby-and-kid product market (Parents, n.d.). She was a former editor, but still writes freelance for the publication. Hartshorn is a mom of two living in Brooklyn and was the former entertainment director at Parents, lending her a sense of credibility within our audience. She frequently posts articles about the latest parent gear and technology that can be used by parents both new and experienced (Parents, n.d.). Hartshorn posted an article last year titled “Best New Family Tech from 2022,” and I would suggest she do another piece like this for 2023, featuring Eden at the top of the list.
Better Homes & Gardens
This magazine is released on a monthly basis and is targeted at providing consumers inspiration and advice for how to furnish and maintain the home. BHG helps consumers “sharpen the vision of the life they want to live,” (Better Homes & Gardens, n.d.). Their editorial is 40% focused on home decoration and furnishing and takes a smart, approachable tone (Better Homes & Gardens, n.d.). As far as readership, this publication perfectly fits with the target profile with a 79% female audience (Better Homes & Gardens, n.d.). Of these women, 43% fall within the target age range and 28% are parents (Better Homes & Gardens, n.d.). Over 90% of Millennials read magazines, so this makes BHG a great place to reach them (Kondakciu, 2023b). Since this publication is focused on the home, it would be a great place to show how seamlessly Eden can integrate into the homes of consumers to markedly improve their lives.
Nafeesah Allen is a real estate writer located in Newark, New Jersey who has written multiple articles about smart home devices for BHG. Allen is a very educated and distinguished writer who’s voice is trusted across multiple publications, one being BHG (Better Homes & Gardens, n.d.a). Allen’s writing about smart devices typically focuses on the security aspects of a smart home like locks and cameras. This is a great opportunity to show off the security aspects of Eden, and how it can securely and safely monitor their homes.
NPR - Life Kit
Life Kit is a motivational, self-help, and advice podcast all in one. The podcast is broadcast multiple times per week on NPR’s 200+ member stations, and Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music (Davis, n.d.). It frequently features episodes full of life hacks and general tips on how to be a human, covering topics from parenting to productivity to work-life balance and financial advice. This podcast has a 71% female audience, 79% age 25-54 audience, and 29% parent audience, making it a great fit for the chosen target audience (National Public Media, 2021). According to a report from Spotify, Millennials are increasingly using audio content as a way to stay connected with family, stay informed about the world, and indulge in “me-time” (Spotify, n.d.). MIllennials are also very likely to form personal relationships with their favorite podcast hosts, making them feel like trusted friends and confidantes, and 77% of American Millennials see podcasts as a mental health resource (Spotify, n.d.). This makes podcasts in general a great choice for this target, and Life Kit tackles many of the struggles these women may face in a non-judgemental, earnest tone.
Marielle Segarra is one of three NPR Life Kit hosts. She frequently covers stories based on human relationships, finance, and life hacks like travel tips, improving to-do lists, and forming better habits. Segarra herself is a Millennial woman, so she would be great for audiences to relate to as a member of the chosen target demographic. She speaks with a friendly tone that is informative yet still authentic to her own personality and voice. She would make a wonderful choice for this story in a tone that is similar to her previous pieces for the podcast. The podcast will air on Veteran’s day, when some people may have time off work and be taking some “me-time” by listening to their favorite podcast.
Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Libby Gregurich, Communications Director
815-325-5659
libbygregurich1@gmail.com
Amazon Announces Release of New AI Assistant: Eden
Eden To Be Detailed on NPR’s Life Kit Podcast
SEATTLE (Apr. 23, 2023) – This holiday season, Amazon will release its latest technological innovation created on behalf of busy customers everywhere: Eden.
Equipped with four free-floating mini-cams, a powerful, multi-room-filling speaker, and a highly intelligent and intuitive virtual assistant, Eden is the perfect addition to any hectic home in need of streamlining and simplification. She’s fully voice controlled and can quickly pick up on the personalities and routines of household members to create personalized experiences for everyone.
Eden was created with Amazon’s tenet of ambient intelligence in mind – meaning she’s active when customers need her, and operates securely and discreetly in the background when they don’t.
Eden is a data-armed sentry that will turn your home into a fortress. Programmed with the latest data security and encryption technology, Eden reliably protects her household’s data and maintains their privacy. Households can also activate Guard Mode, which means she’ll use her ability to recognize family members, friends, pets, and even cars, to alert them when unfamiliar presences arrive.
Eden’s Matter connectivity allows her to securely connect with and act as a control hub for all other smart devices within the home – no matter the brand or ecosystem. With 4K projection technology built into her floating cams and a compact-yet-powerful speaker built into her hub, Eden also functions as the premier home entertainment device perfect for entertaining guests, showing off family vacation photos, or turning the living room into a movie theater.
"The bottom line is that the smart home is a home that works for you," said Director of Smart Home and Health Marja Koopmans. "We know that people’s lives are getting busier and busier, and we wanted to build something to reduce the amount of things to deal with in the home. Because that should truly be the sanctuary."
Koopmans herself is a bona fide smart home resident who was integral in the creation of Eden. Ahead of Eden’s release, she will be featured on NPR’s popular podcast Life Kit to speak with Host Marielle Segarra about how revolutionary the device has been for her family.
“Eden is by far the best smart device we’ve ever created at Amazon,” said Koopmans. “She’s more than just a smart speaker, she’s really a hub for everything going on within the home. And she handles that huge responsibility with ease and reliability.”
The Life Kit episode, titled “How to Secure and Streamline Your Home with Amazon’s Eden” will air on Nov. 11, 2023, and Eden will be available to purchase at Amazon.com on Cyber Monday, Nov. 27, 2023.
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