Laughlin Constable Encourages Prospective Clients to 'Push It' with IoT Next Button

Finding the right kind of client can be one of the hardest things for an agency. Wouldn’t it be great if the perfect client would just push a button and tell you they’re ready to talk? Midwest-based creative agency Laughlin Constable (LC) thinks so too—literally. They created the Next Button which is as simple as it sounds; it’s a large button that when pushed, immediately summons the LC new business team.

Laughlin Constable has traditionally kept a low profile, which means that a lot of clients who would be perfect for LC simply haven’t been aware of it. Laughlin recently created its IoT Next Button as a way to get in front of those brands. It merges together creativity and technology in a way that gets attention from prospects and hopefully makes them want to engage with LC.

LC identified ideal potential clients and sent boxes out containing a button that simply said “Push It.” The box and messaging was purposefully vague to add a little mystery. The connected IoT button which works anywhere in the world using cellular Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) technology to transmit the button press directly to LC’s new business team. The button is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that can be pressed approximately 800 times before requiring a recharge—but you won’t need those 800 pushes. The first push gets an email response from LC immediately, and a phone call within 24 hours.

“At LC we aim to take brands from now to next by fusing creativity and technology. We challenged  our creative & innovation teams with creating a disruptive, yet fun way to break through traditional communication channels,” said Nicole Stone, Director, Business Development, Laughlin Constable. “We ultimately chose the button because it encapsulated our constant drive to innovatively communicate with our target audience.  Humans by nature are curious and the button was a way for recipients to easily engage with us.”

The innovation team led by LC’s Chief Technology Officer, Paul Brienza, developed the button functionality to send an email to the recipient along with a notification to LC’s business development team when pushed via cellular service. 

Although there’s a direct-response element to the Next Button, it’s intended primarily to increase LC brand awareness, and so far it is succeeding with a 60% push rate.