2015 Winners & Shortlists

XPERIA AQUATECH STORE

BrandSONY MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS
Product/ServiceMOBILE
EntrantFP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryUse of social in a promotional campaign
Entrant Company FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Advertising Agency FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The Brief

Apple and Samsung dominate the mobile market in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Sony has quietly improved its products so much they’re now arguably better. 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 let us highlight this unique feature in a way that turned potential customers into Sony fans.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

The world’s first underwater store was only open in Dubai – but we wanted people from across the region to enjoy it. So we launched a Facebook competition inviting people from the wider Middle East to participate for the chance to visit the store in Dubai. They simply had to upload a picture of themselves telling us why they were prepared to come and ‘drown their smartphone’ to win an Xperia Z3. The winners brought their non-waterproof phones with them and quite literally drowned them. We recorded these phone drownings for additional content.

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

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%). 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 Internet film earned over 5.25 million views, and our Twitter followers increased 21%. Total earned media was over $4.5 million. And best of all, Xperia sales increased 115% with retailers across Dubai selling out of Xperia products for over a week.

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

The world’s first underwater store was not only a perfect fit for the Xperia Z3’a unique waterproof feature, the uniqueness of the concept created an emotional connection with the brand that helped us win new fans. The Facebook competition allowed us to make the experience more inclusive and real for people from outside Dubai. 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 wanted to win.

Credits

Name Company Role
Paul Banham FP7 DXB Executive Creative Director
Mo Aram FP7/DXB Art Director
Chris Booth FP7/DXB Copywriter
Karl Uhlemann FP7/DXB General Manager Manager Business Unit
Alston D'sa FP7/DXB Account Manager
Khaled Hamza FP7/DXB Head Of Creative Services
Brence Dsa FP7/DXB Producer
Erol Salcinovic FP7/DXB Design Director
Kuba Skowronski FP7/DXB Senior Designer
Sameer Ketkar/Celia Jaber FP7/DXB Senior Designer
Tahaab Rais FP7/DXB Head Of Strategic Planning And Insights
Sameer Islam FP7/DXB Strategic Planner
Aakriti Goel FP7/DXB Digital Strategic Planner
Aisha Khan FP7/DXB Events Manager
Srinivas Kuniyil FP7/DXB Assistant Production Manager
Syed Rizwan Ali FP7/DXB Senior Graphic Designer
Nasir Iqbal FP7/DXB Production Assistant
Sasan Saeidi FP7/DXB Managing Director
Gita Ghaemmaghami Sony Mobile Communications Marketing Communication Manager
Nicolas Firdy Sony Mobile Communications Marcom Digital Manager/Sony