Sony: SONY MOBILE Z3

Credits & Description:

CLIENT SONY MOBILE
PRODUCT SMARTPHONE
ENTRANT MEDIACOM MENA DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
TYPE OF ENTRY MEDIA: USE OF MEDIA
CATEGORY USE OF SCREENS & AUDIO IN A MEDIA CAMPAIGN
TITLE SONY MOBILE Z3
PRODUCT/SERVICE SMARTPHONE
MEDIA AGENCY : MEDIACOM MENA DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
ENTRANT COMPANY : MEDIACOM MENA DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
MEDIA AGENCY 2 : MEDIACOM MENA DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
PRODUCTION COMPANY : XAXIS DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
BURT REYNOLDS MEDIACOM MENA ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
HERA ALBARIAN MEDIACOM MENA MEDIA EXECUTIVE
MEHDY MAMODE MEDIACOM MENA DIGITAL DIRECTOR
RAZZAK OSMAN MEDIACOM MENA HEAD OF AD OPERATIONS
SHAM MELAH MEDIACOM MENA MEDIA EXECUTIVE
MARCUS SIDDONS XAXIS MANAGING DIRECTOR
Results and Effectiveness:
At a time when Sony’s two biggest rivals were outspending and outbranding us, we found a truly innovative way of using their launches to our advantage. By cost-efficiently building visibility and a comparative context for the Z3 to shine, we’ve succeeded in boosting to Sony’s two key metrics. Awareness of Sony as a premium smartphone increased by 15% and our second-screen execution has contributed to a 28% improvement in brand preference.
Creative Execution:
We became the first in the Region to deploy pioneering technology allowing us to serve Sony creative simultaneously across multiple-screens every time a Samsung/Apple ad was broadcast on TV. It works by tapping into peoples ‘meerkating’ behavior of viewing TV whilst constantly shifting their attention from the set to their devices. Now that may sound sinister and spy-like but no cameras or bugs were installed in people’s living rooms! The process is very straight-forward and non-intrusive. It begins by recording the audio from the Samsung and Apple TVC’s to form a digital code that can be detected by technology monitoring the broadcasts of satellite television. When the code is identified it knows an ad is being aired triggering programmatic buying systems to serve Sony ads and content across mobile, laptop and tablet in demographic/ psychographic targeted residential areas. A truly unique and innovative way of connecting audiences with Sony!
Insights, Strategy and the Idea:
Sony Mobile was launching its new Z3 handset - a super-premium smartphone packed full of ‘best-in-class’ features that make the difference between good and great. However, awareness as a premium smartphone was low and there were two big barriers; Both Samsung and Apple were releasing their own upgrades creating a very cluttered category and Sony fell a long way behind when it came to consideration. We knew that if we went to head-to-head with the competition on ‘features’ we could give our audience a positive reason to connect with the brand. But with Samsung outspending Sony 6:1 and Apple being heavily supported by networks, maximizing visibility by piggybacking on their launches would be a tough challenge. So what if we hijacked the competitions campaigns by turning the strength of their adspends into an advantage to communicate Sony’s superior product offering?