Category: Best use or integration of gaming
Advertiser: SONY ELECTRONICS
Product/Service: SONY VAIO
Agency: 180LA
Executive Creative Director: William Gelner (180LA)
Creative Director: Gavin Lester (180LA)
Creative Director: Paul Bichler (180LA)
Copywriter: Ben Barney (180LA)
Art Director: Ryan 'Pocket' Fluet (180LA)
Designer: Richard Harrington (180LA)
Managing Partner/Executive Producer: Peter Cline (180LA)
Integrated Producer: Christopher Neff (180LA)
Producer: David Emery (180LA)
Account Director: Go Wakimoto (180LA)
Account Manager: Mike Slatkin (180LA)
Director: Robert Bader (Unit 9)
Director Of Photgraphy: Rob Corradi (Unit 9)
Technical Director: Gilles Boisselet (Unit 9)
Front End Developer: Silvio Paganini (Unit 9)
Back End Developer: Aerjom Vassiljev (Unit 9)
Motion Graphics: Sophie Langohr (Unit 9)
Composer: Gareth Williams (Human Music And Sound Design)
Design: Jarrod Castaing (Unit 9)
Technical Lead: Keita Kuroki (Unit 9)
Media placement: online - facebook - april 18, 2011
Campaign Description
Technology has fundamentally changed the way consumers access content. Companies used to buy their way into a consumer’s mindset through paid media but today, with over 40% of consumers owning DVRs and over half watching content online, brands need more unique ways to reach their audiences ways. Branded Entertainment is simply content into which the brand is organically integrated. Companies are increasingly turning to Branded Entertainment to drive engagement. While not a restriction per se, we were well aware that if our content were to be overwhelmed with Sony branding, the effectiveness of the work would be lessened because it would come across overt marketing rather than content that inspired their emotions.
Effectiveness
We were tasked with promoting the new Sony VAIO laptops powered by Intel Processors, a parity product in a commoditized category. Our goal was to prove that with the right tools, amazing things are possible. We also wanted to demonstrate that with their technology we had the power to change the lives of those using it.
We challenged 5 students to undertake the ultimate science project – discover a lost shipwreck using the latest multi-beam sidescan sonar powered by Sony laptops and Intel processors. While finding a shipwreck used to take sheer manpower, we proved that now using their latest technology, all it takes is raw computing power. Best of all, 5 students discovered something greater than a ship – their potential.
In implementation , we created a 360 degree experience centered around our hunt for sunken ships in the treacherous shipping lane of Lake Huron’s Shipwreck Alley. Web-films, online games, exploratory websites, digital advertising, social media and a documentary special provided a multi-faceted way to get involved the adventure.
Our web films and documentary special, which aired on Current TV, chronicled the high-seas ship hunt, starring our 5 students and their mentor, world renowned oceanic archeologist James Delgado. Partnering with NOAA and Woods-Hole, we used the latest in ocean exploration technology, complimented by our Sony and Intel products. And while the hunt set forth on its exploration, we brought a piece to that experience to users around the globe in our Oceans of Treasure Facebook game. Eager would-be adventurers navigated the oceans of Google Earth, leveraging the same tools used in our actual exploration, to hunt the sea for sunken treasure. Thousands set sail to search for the grand prize: $1m in a chest, sunk deep in our digital sea.
Implementation
Consumers were driven to our Project Shiphunt experience using paid and unpaid media in the digital and social spaces. Targeted, digital banners, video pre-roll and Facebook video banners featured trailers for our films and games, driving traffic to those experiences. Blogger outreach and additional PR activities help promote the campaign on websites dedicated to consumer technology, science, education and online games and contests. The Sony team also promoted the game with weekly updates in their social feeds and a landing page tab on their Facebook page.
Outcome
The campaign was incredibly successful. Looking at the exploration, we uncovered 2 sunken ships, the shipping schooner MF Merrick and an unknown freighter. This information, shared with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) will help them with their ongoing exploratory/preservation efforts in the Great Lakes marine sanctuary and the development of an interdisciplinary educational programme based on ship hunting.
From a digital metrics perspective, the campaign delivered at benchmark. Click rates, conversion percentages and total revenue were all reported at or above 100%. The game averaged an incredible 12 minutes average session time with over 20,000 people playing. It’s been rated 4.4 out of 5 stars on Facebook.
The film premiered in Saginaw with over 1,000 people in attendance including the Saginaw mayor, superintendent of schools and multiple state officials. Notes of Congratulations were provided by both US Senators from Michigan, Senator Carl Levin and Senator Debbie Stabenow.
Moreover, beyond all this, we succeeded in positively changing the lives of the students who participated in this programme. These kids were transformed, inspired by science and this educational experience. They were motivated to attend college and look beyond the world they had known at the rich possibilities of their wide-open futures.