Category: Titanium and Integrated
Advertiser: YOTA
Product/Service: WIRELESS BROADBAND
Agency: YOTA
Date of First Appearance: Dec 5 2010
Project Director and Co-Curator: Aleksandra Sanches-Peres (Yota Group)
Marketing Director and Co-Curator: Danielle Atkins (Yota Group)
PR Director: Chris Cook (Yota Group)
PR Director: Alina Kippasto (Yota Russia)
Logistics: Sofia Alexeeva (Yota Russia)
Logistics: Veronika Savchuk (Yota Russia)
Technical Director: Anton Antonov (Yota Russia)
Advertising: Daria Kratnova (Yota Russia)
Managing Director: Warren Johnson (W Communications London)
Head of Publicity: Annabel Fox (W Communications London)
Head of Talent: Kim Machray (W Communications London)
Creative Director: Martin Lawless (300million)
Client Director: Nigel Davies (300million)
Account Director: Merrill McAtear (300million)
Design Director: Natalie Bennett (300million)
Designer: Kerry White (300million)
Executive Producer: Dan Atkins (Broadcast TV Ignite)
Director: Kevin Chapman (Broadcast TV Ignite)
Director: Adam Brown (Broadcast TV Ignite)
Producer: Louise Segal (Broadcast TV Ignite)
Media placement: Digital Arts Festival - St Petersburg - 5-19 December 2010
Describe the campaign/entry
In December 2010, Russian wireless broadband company Yota staged Yota Space, a two-week celebration of interactive digital art, on a scale never seen before.
Following a successful launch in 2009, Yota had already generated high levels of awareness in its key markets. But with the increasing importance of international expansion, Yota needed to create a global impact. Yota needed to create something momentous, bold and ambitious; something that would build an emotional connection with current and potential customers.
The internal Yota team turned its back on traditional sponsorship and above-the-line channels. It took the highly risky decision to commit a massive 80% of its total marketing budget to the curation of its own branded cultural event - the world’s biggest digital arts festival. The decision transformed Yota’s marketing strategy from a simple media spend to an IP investment that would tangibly demonstrate the creativity at the heart of Yota.
Describe how the campaign/entry was launched across each channel in the order of implementation
And so 'Yota Space' was born; a genuine cultural event that was part art exhibition, part music festival and part interactive theatre that launched on 5th December 2010.
A fresh visual identity and sub-brand was created that transformed a five-floor disused Stalinist-era shopping mall in the centre of St Petersburg into an awe-inspiring exhibition space.
Global artists premiered their inspirational work from Chris Levine’s ‘Alright Now’ installation, which projected images onto visitors’ peripheral vision, to legendary music producer Brian Eno's groundbreaking HD LED light displays. Yota Space also included holographic 3D installations as well as a performance by leading electronica band Hot Chip.
Yota Space was backed by an integrated marketing campaign spanning PR, social media, online and outdoor activity that has turned it into globally renowned property. Content was also commissioned for a TV show and syndicated to 19 countries.
Give some idea of how successful this campaign/entry was with both client and consumer
Yota Space received more international media coverage than the Moscow International Film Festival, which is now in its 33rd year. Broadcast coverage reached 21m global viewers across 19 countries, while 500 pieces of international print and online coverage were generated in just two weeks, reaching 25.6m consumers.
Articles included glowing reviews in influential international media including The FT, Monocle and Wallpaper*; Wired ran the headline ‘Yota's tech-art event launches with scale and ambition’, while Shiny Shiny described Yota Space as ‘fantastic in both its ambition and execution’. Blogger references reached more than 1.8m unique users.
Crucially, Yota Space has received acclaim in markets where Yota had no previous footprint.
Yota Space, alongside Art Basel, was recognized by the FT as having exploded onto the international arts scene in its first year – an outstanding achievement and a huge endorsement of Yota’s creativity, culture and ability to deliver on its ambition.