HUAWEI IJACK

TitleHUAWEI IJACK
BrandHUAWEI
Product / ServiceHUAWEI MATE20
CategoryG05. Breakthrough on a Budget
EntrantDENTSU X Singapore, SINGAPORE
Idea Creation DENTSU X Singapore, SINGAPORE
Media Placement DENTSU X Singapore, SINGAPORE
PR DENTSU X Singapore, SINGAPORE
Production DENTSU X Singapore, SINGAPORE

Credits

Name Company Position
Joao Flores dentsu X Executive Creative Director & Head of Creative
Woon Chien Chng dentsu X Art Director
Emilio Rodrigues dentsu X Copywriter

Why is this work relevant for Media?

People were camping outside the Apple Store in Singapore 24 hours ahead of the launch of the new iPhone - we wanted to leverage the moment and the exposure around the queue to generate word-of-mouth and create an experience through one of the key product differentiators of the new Huawei Mate 20: battery performance.

Background

In a year that's seen a great deal of innovation from Huawei, some of our competitors have rested on their laurels. We needed to find a way to reach those defaulting to old favorites. With the iPhone XS's battery actually going down in size from last year's X. The new iPhone XS Max carries a 3,174 mAh battery while the Huawei Mate 20 Pro has a 4,200 mAh battery. And we also know via GMO research that "Battery life is the #1 feature when buying a smartphone.” We wanted to elevate the level of awareness among non-Huawei users with a gesture that would resonate well with them, and at the same time, driving conversations on one of our product differentiators such as battery performance.

Describe the creative idea/insights (30% of vote)

People were queuing outside the Apple Store in Singapore 24 hours ahead of the launch of the new iPhone - it was an opportunity for an ambush and if you are an Apple fan you'll know it, powerbanks were the perfect accessory to help them pass time while waiting. We thought it would be a good idea to give them a boost of charm and charge. So we hijacked the queue and gave them free Huawei powerbanks to help them save through the night. Along with the powerbank came a card with the message: Here’s a power bank. You’ll need it. Courtesy of Huawei.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

During the pre-launch of the new Huawei Mate20, we wanted to take advantage of the news and the exposure around the queue in front of the Apple Store for the launch of the new iPhone, because after a decade, and more recently, no real innovation being developed by one of our competitors, we were quite stunned that such a sophisticated and mature market as Singapore was still excited by an inferior product.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

The overall impact of this ambush to one of our competitors brightest moments, the decade long queue outside Apple Stores the evening before iPhone launches, not only drove global headlines in 48 hours but more importantly, it uplifted Huawei to a brand level that allowed us to connect with new audiences. We’ve added the element of surprise and delight by handing out Huawei powerbanks to hardcore Apple fans who have spent many hours and effort waiting in line. It elevated the level of awareness among non-Huawei users with a gesture that resonated well with them. The results and public feedback have been phenomenal; driving conversations on one the key product differentiators, such as battery performance. Ultimately, Huawei has jumped ahead of Apple in quarterly smartphone shipments for the first time, moving into second place behind Samsung. Globally and in Singapore.

List the results (30% of vote)

With Total spending of $14,077.30 and $0 invested in Media, the intention was to have a complete organic strategy, where the public, people in the queue and bloggers from across the region captured the stunt in action and uploaded the content as user-generated content. 200 powerbanks @ $70.00 each = $14,000 Print of 200 flyer = $77.30 $14.1k Total investment $0 Invested in Media 41 Countries Reached 5.26 Billion Media Impressions 341k Social Media Shares 11.9 Million Views $395 Million USD in Earn Media From hijacking the queue, we created a queue for the launch of the new Huawei Mate 20 selling in Singapore 4x more phones (38k) than during the same launch period of the previous year. And ultimately having a direct impact specifically in Singapore where Huawei market share increased by 775% from August 2017 to November 2018.