Philips was preparing to launch Hue, a revolutionary digital home lighting product capable of producing any colored light in the spectrum, allowing users to custom-tune light to fit the mood or room, and to control their lighting remotely via an app on their smartphone or tablet.

Philips Hue was more than a new product, it was a new category: Connected Lighting. Philips was about to make history and needed a launch to do Hue justice.

But history couldn’t wait. Sales targets had already been assigned to Hue for Christmas 2012. Consumers had little or no knowledge of the product or category. The time from budget approval to launch was only six weeks and had to cover six international markets. Philips was the first-mover in the category, but had to move fast as word of competitive products spread. There would be no supporting ad campaign.

So we stood the launch model on its head. Instead of merely telling the world what Hue could do, we invited key influencers, app developers, consumers and stakeholders to imagine what Hue could do next. The “Hue can….” campaign used the product’s revolutionary capabilities and open architecture to drive publicity from the inside out, as the targeted Early Adopters were encouraged to make history with us.

Within hours the tech blogosphere was buzzing about the new “smart” light bulbs from Philips. Within weeks, enterprising developers had created new uses for Hue. By Christmas 2012, sales of the Philips Hue starter kit had tripled projections, while more than 114,000 curious users had downloaded the app.

• Raise Hue product awareness, understanding and advocacy internationally.

• Position Philips Lighting as a global innovator, and the first company to make light fully digital.

• Meet sales targets for the 2102 Christmas season

“Switching from old-style incandescents to the Hue LED system is like jumping from a horse and buggy to a Tesla Roadster” said Forbes in awarding Hue Best Product of 2012, illuminating the launch’s high-quality, high-volume coverage.

True to strategy, traditional and non-traditional media fed off each other. The developer community took our invitation and created imaginative new uses for Hue, including iPhone and Spotify applications. Online media sent the news viral, and soon Hue was the “must-have” gadget in multiple holiday gift guides. More than 80% of earned media coverage included messages on Philips Lighting being the first and/or best company to make light fully digital, significantly raising both consideration and preference for the entire Philips brand.

And sales of the Hue starter kit more than tripled the projected goal.

• 1,000+ stories in print and on-line media

• 783,039 YouTube views of official videos

• 14,575 Social Media mentions

• 583,000 meethue.com unique users

• 64,111 Hue app users

Philips Hue was only available at Apple Stores/Apple.com. We worked this exclusivity to our advantage, seeding the “Hue can…” campaign and open invitation to developers inside one of the most active, viral and international online tech communities. We gave them Philips digital light “recipes” showcasing Hue’s ability to create custom lighting to inspire relaxation, concentration or energizing throughout the home. Then challenged them to show the world what they could do with this breakthrough technology.

Meanwhile, the agency’s New York office arranged embargoed one-to-one briefings between A-list American media influencers and Hue designer George Yianii and Philips Senior Global Director Flip Jan Depauw. In select cases, we provided custom Hue installations in the journalists’ homes.

In Europe, we cast a wider net. A press event in London targeted key bloggers, journalists and content creators from across the continent, utilizing a mock home setup to bring Hue’s light recipes and remote capabilities to life.

Philips Lighting, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, was launching Hue, the first product in the new category of Connected Lighting. It would catapult Philips beyond lighting and into the broader technological and digital arena, moving away from the perception of light as a standard commodity.

Our central London office was asked to create a PR campaign to launch Hue, support sales goals and raise awareness in six markets; UK, US, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Italy during a six week window prior to Christmas 2012.

There would be no advertising support. The client needed a huge bang for a modest buck.

The team knew the territory and the stakes. Consumer technology launches must connect with select members of the traditional press and court the influential – often skeptical – blogosphere pundits to drive buzz, a discussion typically revolving around product specs and features.

But we knew this was bigger than a product. Philips Hue was a game-changer. Consumer lighting was rarely in the wider technology conversation, and the possibilities for smart lighting were virtually limitless. Our strategy was to get the target audience thinking in emotional rather than functional terms, and to spark engagement on a grassroots level. We’d demonstrate the remarkable things Hue could do, but also encourage our audience to imagine what Hue could do next. Because Philips had given Hue an open architecture, the app developers (hackers) were even encouraged to do it themselves.

By bringing our Early Adopters and key Media Influencers inside the launch we would make them part of history, and highly motivated brand ambassadors.