Brief Explanation

To launch the Sony Mobile Xperia Z3, we put the new phone in our target audience’s hands in the center of Bangkok’s shopping district at Siam Square One Shopping Mall. The one-time, pop up activation allowed people to test the smartphone themselves with an ‘enhanced selfie’ experience. During the promotion, passers-by were encouraged to film their own slow-motion video clips using an Xperia Z3 that was then played on huge digital screens for everyone to see. This rewarding experience was enhanced with a ‘free-running' event, promotional stalls and prizes of the smartphone for the best videos. The location was selected as it is nearby retail points of sale, whilst Sony Mobile’s young target audience spend lots of time hanging out in this area.

The Brief

We needed to launch the Xperia Z3 smartphone in Thailand. Although Sony Mobile has always made fantastic smartphones with exceptional cameras, other competitors were gaining a large share of voice, and they were using it to talk about their own cameras. We needed a memorable experience that would highlight the new Xperia Z3's photography capabilities. Sony Mobile's target audience like to express their individuality. They are young leaders, discerning in their smartphone choices and want to test products themselves. Therefore, our strategy was to enable our audience to try out Sony's new handset for themselves in their own individual, creative way.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

This activation was hugely successful. Specifically, we reached over 6 million eyeballs, creating meaningful and memorable connections with our audience, whilst driving footfall directly to the Sony store nearby. More than 1,000 people took part in the event and 750 slow-motion shots were created. The event was hugely memorable for our audience, as proved by the huge spike in Sony Mobile's search traffic during and after the event. Most excitingly, we enabled the people of Bangkok to express and celebrate their individuality in a way that only Xperia Z3 users can.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

We executed our strategy with a striking, experiential out-of-home activation in the heart of Bangkok's most popular shopping district at Siam Square One Mall. We kicked off the 6 week event by bringing “Free Running” to the city. This extreme show created impact and press attention. The event was captured using the Z3's TimeShift, or slow-motion, feature, which inspired our audience to try out the smartphone camera features for themselves. Shoppers could take their own slow-motion shots with an Xperia Z3 to be played on giant screens for the whole shopping center to admire, with the best clips winning a smartphone. The videos ran on the digital screens alongside the 'Free Running' stunt clips and new global TVCs. This created a relevant mix of local and global content that was both branded and user-generated. We amplified this content across Bangkok via public transport advertising, driving additional footfall to the event.