Amazon: Case study

Credits & Description:

AGENCY: AKQA / Portland + Amazon D1 / Seattle
CLIENT: Amazon
WRITER: Riaad Van Der Merwe
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Whitney Jenkins / Keri Zierler
DESIGNER: Ian Liu / Alice Chiapperini / Patrick Lumb
PRODUCTION COMPANY:
Unit 9 / Los Angeles
Absolute Live / Los Angeles
DIRECTOR: Izzy Hyams / Michelle Craig
PRODUCER: Mindy Lubert / Erica Monje
AGENCY PRODUCER: Dustin Freeman / Heather Harlow
CREATIVE TEAM
Brad Hall - Associate Creative Director
Sebastien Arrivault - Strategy Director
Katie Klein - Senior Advertising Program Manager
Alia Burley - Delivery Director
John Martin - Senior Project Manager
Christopher Maddock - Director of Technology
Sunil Mohan - Business Director
Brian Skahan - Managing Director
David Rosenberg - Head of Brand
Hans Weiss - Creative Technology Director
CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIST: Mike Schroffel
DIGITAL ARTIST / MULTIMEDIA: Brian Aebi
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Sean Ohlenkamp
IN-HOUSE AGENCY: Amazon D1 / Seattle
MEDIA COMPANY: Twitch / San Francisco
TAGS: TECHNOLOGY HARDWARE - ELECTRONICS / COMPUTERS / BUSINESS EQUIPMENT / MOBILE PHONES
INSIGHT
Millennials are the biggest embracers of technology, yet they often overlook the thousands of capabilities that come with voice-first interfaces.
Amazon wanted to expose Alexa to this advertising-resistant audience by creating an immersive experience that required an active exploration of its wide range of skills.
IDEA
Lock the internet into a room with only Amazon Echo to help them escape.
As the top attraction at New York Comic Con, Amazon Echo Escape gamified the smart home by creating the world’s first escape experience powered by voice. Set in the world of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, players fully exploited Alexa’s capabilities to gain intel, crack codes, control smart-home devices, interact with live actors and ultimately set themselves free.
The experience culminated in a Twitch broadcast featuring top gaming personalities CaptainSparklez, Swiftor and OMGitsfirefoxx. Each tested their wits live while over 1 million online participants intervened – choosing either to help or hinder their progress.
IMPACT
Amazon Echo Escape commanded attention during a live cultural moment by blending story, product and experience seamlessly – turning participants into willing evangelists.
During four days at New York Comic Con, hundreds of attendees used Alexa to escape, while 5,000+ queued for a chance to play, with reservations claimed within the first hour of opening.
The Twitch livestream event amassed over 1.5 million online participants during the 3-hour broadcast, with over 43,000 gameplay comments and engagements.