This month's 'Planner's Favourite' goes to...
This guest post, the second in our 'Planner's Favourite' series, is written by David Benson, Global Head of Communications Planning at ZenithOptimedia. We've asked David to chose a favourite between three exciting campaigns from Nike, 20th Century Fox and Sony. Many thanks to David for a great post. - Ed.
Nike, the king of event lead marketing strikes again. I love the way these guys conjure up events and formats that put a twist on the day to day reality of kicking a ball, then leverage their stars to bring personality, attitude and street values to a Global Uber-brand, that, if there was any justice in the world, would be collapsing under the weight of its own success.
Unfortunately, as the brand moves from strength to strength, this idea quickly succumbs to the effects of scale. It is difficult to get a sense of place or destination among the online presence. Large amounts of average footage, shot in the mandatory “urban” grainy style, draw a few comments and the odd flame but little continuity. It feels strewn across the Internet existing in YouTube and on Nike.com without either seeming like its true home.
That is not to say the campaign didn’t work, I am sure that, on a grass roots level - for the teams taking part - it was a blast, but as a piece of structured communication, it doesn’t know where its heart is.
My heart goes out to the guys on the films accounts, having launched 52 myself, I know how hard it is getting from 0-60 in 2.2 seconds to deliver all the heat on the opening night. Doubly so when you have Wolverine, the 3rd edition of a super hero franchise film, and the much feted Star Trek movie sucking up the oxygen of publicity.
The temptation to do endless sneak peaks, Easter eggs and a Wolverine app must have been huge, but they didn’t neglect scale – on an epic form. Hence they had a great opening weekend, £6.6m vs. Star Trek’s £5.9m (Source: UK Film Council). Not only that, a quick glance at the ongoing box office suggests that subsequent weeks held well during the Star Trek release. Additionally they are using the event to better understand the value of the contact, which as the ROI Agency we can only applaud. Job done - well done.
Little Big Planet is at the opposite end of the spectrum to the previous campaigns. A quiet revolution in gaming, LBP has completely captured the hearts minds of those who play, it is invisible to those who don’t. How can you keep the heat in a diffuse community? How do you add experiences and excitement quickly, easily and cheaply? How do you get those people to take part, talk about their passion, and show off their creations? Without looking like... well, let’s not go there.
This channel does it all and in spades. The channel works well with the brand website, retaining the feel while expanding functionality and experiences without confusing or duplicating. The competitions and giveaways emphasise rather than over shadow the values of the game. The conversations generated are continuous and instructive, with people swapping build tips and favourites and, well, genuinely "communing". Given the demographics of the target audience and their proclivity for free stuff, you could be tempted to accuse LBP of having an easy task, but their strategy is seamless and execution flawless. 15,000 subscribers vs. the mighty Nike’s 10,000 says it all.
Not only am I giving Little Big Planet this month's gong, I bought the game, which is really putting my money where my mouth is.