A small phone stand, priced at $35, is owned by many big-name celebrities—one in hand for each of them. It is PopSockets, also known as Pao Pao Sao in Chinese. Founded in 2014, PopSockets has now sold over 250 million phone grips in 75 countries. As early as 2018, it sold more than 60 million pieces, generating $200 million in revenue. It now has a constantly expanding ecosystem of related products, including phone cases, wallets, stands, and chargers. Source: https://www.popsockets.com/
With the increasing popularity of smartphones and other consumer electronics in both developed and developing economies, the demand for digital accessories is also growing exponentially. Accessories such as phone cases, earphones, and screen protectors have all seen significant growth. It is reported that the global 3C digital accessories market will reach a market size of $102.8 billion in 2023. In the coming years, it is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.7%. The huge market is also accompanied by fierce competition, with countless domestic and international sellers entering this field. PopSockets has established its foundation in the 3C digital accessories market by using its unique accessories to personalize their products.
Turning Inspiration into Reality
01 The founder of PopSockets is an American philosophy professor, David Barnett, who invented the airbag stand in 2010 and only launched the PopSockets brand in 2014. (Figure: The development journey of PopSockets)
The initial inspiration for PopSockets came from a simple solution that founder Barnett thought of to solve the problem of tangled earphone cords. He stuck two buttons on the back of the phone and wrapped the earphone cord around the buttons, thus avoiding the problem of tangled earphone cords. Subsequently, he continued to improve this idea, developed hundreds of prototypes, and eventually created an accordion mechanism that could be unfolded and folded, allowing the buttons to function both as a stand and as a grip.
In 2012, Barnett launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for an iPhone case that integrated two PopSockets grips into the case. As PopSockets continued to develop and innovate, it has become a globally renowned brand, selling over 250 million grips. It has a mature in-house factory and R&D team and has developed many co-branded styles: Marvel, Harry Potter, Friends, Coca-Cola, and so on. By continuously introducing new products and designs, it meets the needs and preferences of different users.
The core and star product of PopSockets is the phone airbag stand, which is mainly divided into three parts: the detachable bubble cap, the airbag, and the base. (Source: PopSockets JD.com official flagship store)
The core selling points of its products are:
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Phone airbag stand: One of the main selling points of PopSockets is its function as a phone airbag stand, which can free up your hands for watching videos and taking selfies.
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Variations of the bubble cap: Another selling point of PopSockets is the variation of the bubble cap, which can change in patterns, shapes, and textures, allowing users to show off their style and personality.
(Figure source: https://www.popsockets.com/)
A Part of the Fashion System
The bubble caps of PopSockets can be used to decorate bags, hats, shoes, or even serve as accessories on their own, becoming a part of the fashion system to display individuality and style. The infinite possibilities brought by phone accessories have made PopSockets a unique expression of lifestyle, providing people with fresh fashion inspiration. This year, they have even launched a revolutionary product: the AI Customizer.
Launching the AI Customizer
02 Image source: PopSockets
As consumers seek to personalize their gadgets with unique accessories, the trend of device personalization and customization continues to grow, driving the development of the market. In September of this year, PopSockets announced the launch of its groundbreaking AI Customizer, which was officially launched in November. With the theme “Imagination Knows No Bounds,” it allows users to “turn their vision into reality” in the custom design of selected products such as MagSafe Case and MagSafe PopGrip, achieving self-expression.
The principle of PopSockets’ AI Customizer is to use text-to-image generation AI models, allowing users to generate custom images based on text prompts or upload their own photos and use text prompts to modify the creativity. The AI Customizer supports application on the company’s popular PopSockets phone grips, phone cases, and wallets (both standard and MagSafe options), as well as the upcoming new Looks graphic phone case inserts.
The process is as follows:
1. First, visit the AI creation on the PopSockets website and enter the prompt describing the image you want to generate. Before starting, a pop-up window will appear, requiring you to agree to the relevant terms and conditions, including having ownership of the uploaded images and not infringing on third-party rights. (Image source: PopSockets)
To celebrate the launch of the AI Customizer, PopSockets held a competition. The competition will award a prize worth $100,000 for the best AI artwork, with the grand prize winner in November receiving $50,000. The list of daily winners will also be announced before December 25, 2023.
2. Enter the theme you want in the text box. For example, you can enter “a dream
land of rainbow rivers, mountains, and cotton clouds” or any other ideas. If you don’t know where to start, you can also create various themes, trends, styles, colors, actions, and places based on guided prompts. It even offers some suggestions, such as “Futuristic New York,” “Neon Mountains,” “Galactic Skyscrapers,” “Marshmallow Gradient,” and dozens of other popular category prompts, currently including travel, flowers, animals, nature, surrealism, butterflies, and other patterns.
3. The platform also provides an optional background removal feature, allowing you to place photos of people or pets into AI-generated scenes (for example, you can place your cat in outer space). From submitting design ideas to generating images, the entire process takes less than 60 seconds, which is highly efficient. Users can choose to modify the results, generate new images, or apply them to available products.
Molly learned that the PopSockets Customizer AI is built on a large model engine, which, compared to many text-to-image generators today, offers “higher resolution, finer details, and more realistic images.” This is because the images must be printed on products, not just displayed on a computer screen. However, the AI customizer cannot fully implement the ideas in the text, and there may be cases where the generated images do not match the descriptions. In other words, like the AI image generators on the internet, the actual results may vary and may require multiple attempts to get the correct image.
Overcoming Challenges in Online Business
03 From mid-2015 to mid-2018 was the period of the fastest revenue growth for PopSockets, with a growth rate of 7,142.4%. This growth was achieved without any venture capital investment. However, after the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, they had to quickly cut costs, reducing their workforce from 300 employees by nearly one-third. This was the most difficult period PopSockets had ever experienced, and they were prepared for a 50% drop in performance. In reality, they only declined by about 20%. This was largely thanks to their online business.
Their online business mainly includes sales on their independent website as well as online platforms such as Amazon, Target, and Walmart. The website’s traffic for the past three months was 2.46 million, with organic traffic and organic search traffic being the main sources. Paid traffic and social traffic also made significant contributions.
Paid promotion: (Image source: SimilarWeb) They spend an average of $20,000 to $30,000 per month on paid keywords, mainly focusing on the brand term “PopSockets.” Their Google Ads materials and reviews are also more attractive compared to other competitors. (Image source: Google Shopping)
Advertising on Meta is also one of the channels for traffic acquisition. Currently, they have 16 active ads. They update 9 to 12 new materials each month, usually running one ad per material, and rarely using the same material for multiple ads at the same time. The main focus is on their MagSafe PopWallet product.
Social Media Promotion
For growth, PopSockets’ strategy is not simply to place products in large stores. They focus on increasing brand awareness through social media, influencer, and popularity activities. PopSockets is a brand with strong social attributes. Celebrities such as Sofia Vergara, Serena Williams, Reese Witherspoon, Sia Mitchell, Demi Lovato, Gigi Hadid, and Molly Marsh have all used PopSockets grips on their phones.
(Figure source: INS)
The main social platforms PopSockets operate on are Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok, all of which are very popular overseas. The accumulated followers on these platforms are 320,000, 367,000, 15,700, 16,000, and 281,900, respectively.
On social platforms, they mainly focus on showcasing their brand products and actively participating in trending activities. They also collaborate with KOLs in various fields, using Instagram as their base. By partnering with KOLs and user-generated content, they expand their brand influence. Under the positive influence of KOLs’ recommendations and sales, PopSockets has increased its user base in various fields. For example, PopSockets once collaborated with a fashion and music blogger with 830,000 followers. He showcased PopSockets’ products in a selfie mode on his social platform, bringing a lot of exposure and traffic to PopSockets. PopSockets also regularly invites KOC bloggers to post content featuring their products to ensure continuous traffic. When selecting KOLs to collaborate with, PopSockets mainly looks for those whose personal brand aligns with the brand’s tone, as highly individualistic influencers are the best spokespersons for the brand’s attitude.
Conclusion
04 From the case of the PopSockets brand, we can see that a successful brand is not a coincidence. How to turn inspiration into business? How to break through in difficult situations? How to turn a small accessory into a symbol of popular culture? This requires companies to continuously find their brand positioning in operations, while also constantly innovating and improving, in order to stand out in the market and win the trust and loyalty of consumers.
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