The Seattle tech scene is booming and with several Silicon Valley companies including Facebook, Twitter, Apple and reportedly Snapchat opening engineering offices here, the burgeoning tech sector is undoubtedly having a positive impact on our local economy. With new tech jobs comes an influx of new residents, eager to find lucrative positions within IT, technology, and software design.

Our client Ya Joe recognized this tech-infused trend and created a new clothing company aimed specifically at the functional needs of “tech guys” to help them find a new way to look great with a minimal need for shopping. Founded by former CEO and Co-founder of ExOfficio Joe Boldan and Chief Creative Officer Aaron Hicks, Ya Joe selected Communiqué PR as its agency of record to help support PR initiatives around their groundbreaking launch.

“In our market research,” said Boldan, “we found that our guys often had a hard time analyzing a look or style to find something that worked for them, as well as how do you analyze a look, feel or style? I teamed up with Aaron to design the first-ever clothing line using an analytic approach with our tech guys in mind. Ya Joe’s primary goal is to alleviate the stress and anxiety these guys often experience while shopping and provide them with an alternative that has them in mind and gives them the clothing they deserve.”

The two passionately addressed these issues, basing each apparel item they designed on three fashion elements that can actually be quantified and measured: comfort, ease of care, and functionality.

By analyzing tech guys in their day-to-day lives, Boldan and Hicks were also able to better understand the features of apparel items that would make their lives easier, such as pockets that easily fit a work badge and mobile device or pockets that guys can comfortably place their hands in— elements that fashion pieces had previously neglected.

“Since we wanted to make the process for our shoppers as easy and stress free as possible, we decided to also offer selected options and colors for various occasions” said Hicks. “We use high-quality fabrics, and customize each piece to fit within our customers’ lives. The clothing is interchangeable, allowing the casual yet professional pieces to easily transition from day to night. This allows our customers to purchase a range of clothing items that all look good together.”

As a result of working with Communiqué, Ya Joe launched with great success with the following secured media placements in TechCrunch, The Seattle Times, Geekwire, Network World, and CIO:

• TechCrunch: Ya Joe Makes Clothes for All Us Nerds, Geeks, by John Biggs
• The Seattle Times: Ya Joe Makes Clothing for Analytical ‘Tech Guys,’ by Rachel Lerman
• CIO: Best-Dressed Techies? Retail Startup Designs Cargo Pants and T-Shirts for IT, by Ann Bednarz
• Geekwire: Meet Ya Joe: A new apparel company targeting ‘tech guys’ who struggle with fashion, by Taylor Soper
• Network World: Best-dressed techies? Retail startup designs khakis and t-shirts for IT, by Ann Bednarz
• Silicon Angle: Ya Joe Aims to Give Nerdy Tech Guys a Fashion Makeover. By Collen Kriel
• Beta News: New clothing company aims to make geeks chic, by Ian Barker
• Reposted on Zicos

In addition, the press release was reposted on over 100 websites and the launch accounted for an exponential increase in Ya Joe’s web traffic, directly attributed to PR activity. At launch, website traffic soared to nearly 7,300 active users with an additional spike on day 2 after the company was announced to the public.

A huge congratulations to Ya Joe for a successful launch and we look forward to wearing your fantastic clothes!