Results and Effectiveness

Players loved Game-On. Over the campaign period, we experienced uplifts against: -Consideration – 37% -Innovation – 30% -Quality – 88% -193,000 downloads (329% over target) -#1 app in the iTunes and Playstore charts -On average, players spent 15 minutes playing, viewing 20 Kia commercials -Generated $2m of PR coverage -Organic website traffic doubled -79% of players were more positive about Kia -Most importantly, Kia achieved record January/February sales (8% uplift year-on-year; category down 4%) By putting viewers in the game we evolved the viewing experience, and in doing so, ensured Kia was the standout brand of the 2014 Australian Open.

Creative Execution

Playing against a tennis pro, let alone the world’s fastest server, at real speed, during a live broadcast, had never been done before. Game-On combined a unique set of smartphone functionalities to make this possible: audio syncing technology; calibrating the app -phone timer; measuring whether a swing is timely -gyroscope; measuring racquet positioning -accelerometer; measuring whether a return clears the net, or not These technologies synchronized a viewer’s return of serve directly with the broadcast, letting them know how they performed within half a millisecond! We pitted players against six different serves, including the 263 kph world record. Live game-play was possible through TV ads broadcast throughout the tournament. To maximise engagement, we housed a practice court within Kia’s website and created experiential zones across Australia, ensuring players no longer had to be on a tennis court or even watching the broadcast; they could play anywhere with a screen.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

The business challenge was simple: Make it onto more buyers’ shortlists, using Kia’s Australian Open tennis sponsorship. We needed to distinguish the brand from a myriad of broadcast partners and resonate with fans; in a world of fragmented television viewing and shifting audience attention towards the second screen. Rather than seeing multi-screening as a threat we saw devices as a path to getting viewers as excited about our ads as they were about the tennis. Our insight shaped our idea: It’s every fan’s dream to be on court, though it’s impossible to gauge the true power and precision of the professional game. Our strategy was to put viewers in the game, transforming traditional viewing by giving armchair athletes the chance to return the world’s fastest serve. Our idea: We created Game-On, an app which turned viewers’ smartphones into racquets, syncing with the TV broadcast, making the screen come to life.