XP1 in Australia

B&T Magazine, Australia's highest-circulating advertising, marketing and media publication, has a story about the recent launch of Sonim's XP1 rugged phone in Australia.

Snipped from the article:

The XP1 phone is marketed as the “toughest” GSM mobile phone in the world and to prove it the makers have produced a campaign dedicated to getting people to put their phone to the test.

The XP1 Test Kit has been sent around the world to bloggers, journalists and users, with illustrations showing how to put the phone to the test and directs them to the website www.toughestphone.com, where users can then upload their own experiments. The company is now targeting the Australian market following the launch of the phone last month.

“It’s a fun and successful way to get bloggers to write about the technology,” Sonim president and CEP Bob Plaschke said. The phone was launched in Australia exclusively through Crazy John’s stores, with plans to launch a new XP3 in November this year.

The blogger out reach campaign was created by Sonim’s US creative agency CreativeFeed, headed by Arthur Ceria, ex-creative director at Ogilvy One Worldwide.

“The XP1 test kit allows them to unleash the childish side of who and what they are,” Ceria said. He added they had chosen not to use main media because the product relied on this “word of mouth” marketing, to reach consumers on a more personal level.