2015 Winners & Shortlists

Creative Execution

In the run-up to the store opening we set people across the Middle East a challenge through Facebook: come visit the store and ‘drown your smartphone’ to win an Xperia Z3. They simply had to upload a picture of themselves with an entertaining reason for wanting to drown their non-waterproof phone. In 3 days, over 60,000 people watched the competition invite video and more than 2,000 submitted pictures of themselves telling us why they should win. The winners then brought their smartphones to Dubai, and we filmed them quite literally drowning our competitors.

As our story spread from Dubai to more than 80 countries, the store was covered by Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Wired, Gizmodo, GQ, CNN, T3 and hundreds more. Our online film earned over 5.25 million views and 225,000+ Facebook Likes, and Twitter followers increased 21%. Total earned media was over $4.5 million. Within 4 weeks brand preference was up 4 points, and our brand sentiment score jumped to 91% positive (Sony global average: 40%). And best of all, Xperia sales increased 115%, with retailers across Dubai selling out of Xperia products for over a week.

Apple and Samsung dominate the mobile market in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Sony has been quietly improving its products to the point they now outperform the leaders in many ways. But to win “share of pocket” vs. iPhone and Galaxy, Sony first needed to win “share of desire” by repositioning itself as a brand that people really wanted to spend time with. So when they launched Xperia Z3, the first ever fully waterproof range of smartphones and tablets, we saw an opportunity. THE WORLD’S FIRST UNDERWATER STORE created the emotional connection we needed, highlighting Sony’s unique feature in a way that created a powerful response in the people who experienced it (both live and through our social activity and news/articles).