2015 Winners & Shortlists

Creative Execution

We wanted to let customers inside the underwater store connect with the world outside, so that they could share and tweet their experiences live. Of course, WiFi under the sea isn’t easy, as radio waves don’t travel through water. To bring WiFi to the store, we connected to the router of a building several hundred metres away (on dry land), amplified the signal, and ran a long cable under the sea floor, up into the store through a hidden channel in one of the legs, and inside the wall of the store to a router embedded in the ceiling.

We achieved over 95 million total impressions with a total earned media value of more than $4.5 million. Our online video earned over 5.25 million views, and picked up over 225,000 Facebook Likes. We also had a Twitter CTR of 9.70% and increased our Twitter followers by 21%. Within 4 weeks brand preference was up 4 points, and our brand sentiment score jumped to 91% positive (compared to a Sony global average of 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).