How to prove thanks to digital?

Brand always had things to prove: Washing powder which wash more than white, shampoo to make your hair softer, food that product won’t make you fat but will make you feast… And they still do.
Digital gives new tools to carry those messages. For example, Ariel created a connected pressing in a station, Unilever shampoo organized violin concert with hair instead of strings, Coca-Cola trick their passage to show them their product Coca-Cola Zero is as good as the original. In this article, I would like to focus on Sony that produces a virtual music festival experimenting 3D sound of its new audio helmet. This would be opportunity to talk about augmented reality.

What’s new: Turn consumer into active player 

To begin, it is very important to understand what kind of changes come with digital communication. Rather than carry proof of their speech by scientists in white lab coats, thanks to television advertisement, they create events for customers and consumers to experience the real proof of the product. These real experiences, featuring mostly false witnesses are filmed and broadcast, reinforced by purchase of advertising space on the web and sometimes TV. Then, millions of consumers discover the result of an experience they have not lived in real life, exactly like those they encountered at the time with scientist in lab coats. Moreover, its is an opportunity to create buzz around a brand or a product.

To sump up, what is new is that, in advertising, “consumer actors” have replaced scientific actors. Indeed, with digital, the consumer is more and more involded in the brand.

Sonny Head phone Music Festival: The 1^st virtual music festival

The Challenge or the insight

While the use of Smartphone continues its expansion in Japan, more and more people listen to music from their phone. Yet, the majority continues to use headphones provided by default with the mobile. Sony wanted to change this behavior. 

How to influence consumer to switch to Sony Headphone for a higher quality music experience?

The big idea

To launch its latest headphones, MDR-1, designed and optimized for smartphones, Sony has created a virtual music festival with its headphones, which benefits a 3D augmented reality technology. In collaboration with the four most prominent rock bands at the moment in Japan, Sony has invited fans to enjoy virtual concerts via their smartphone in several stores around the country. People were able to ‘attend’ the virtual festival via their handsets on the streets of Tokyo, at retail outlets and electronics stores across the country. At each venue, people could view the virtual gig and were offered a free trial of Sony’s latest headphones.

The purpose is to showcase the advantages of its headphone and smartphone technology, thanks to a digital experience, where the consumer is involved.

In this action, Sony achieves to create a complete concert experience: hoards of people merchandise and print advertisements. Everything you would normally experience at a real concert.

Augmented reality is at the center of the consumer experience

First thing first, here is a definition from Wikipedia of augmented reality:

“Augmented reality (AR) is a live, copy, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data”

During the Sony Head Phone Music Festival, to activate the AR functionality, users must launch the HMF app and point their device in the direction of posters. Once the marker is activated via camera, the app launches the stage and the bands start playing. Images talk better than words. Let’s take a look at this video:

Augmented reality has been used by many brands, but only to showcase the technology rather than offer an experience linked to the brand issue. HMF has a direct link to the produce: the MDR-1 is at the center of the experience. This campaign gives a relevant way to test the new headphones, so consumers stop using their default headphones, and invest in headphones specifically designed for smartphones. It has been a very good strategy. As proof, the following numbers.

Result: Mission accomplished!

- 1 million$ of free publicity
- The festival attracted 469160 fans
- In January 2013 the MDR-1 was the most sold in Japan
- The festival attracted 60,000 people

Key points to remember:

- Brands use new digital tools to give proof
- Consumer has to be involved in the experience
- The notion of Augmented reality
- Every campaign must be built around a specific issue

Credits
Client: Sony Marketing Japan
Agency:  Naked Communications, Frontage
Production: Kakezan, MTV Japan, Plannet, P.I.C.S.
PR:  ANTIL.
AR System Development: Sony Corporation Intelligent System Development

References : 

http://leblog.wcie.fr/brands/sony/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality
http://blog.midem.com/2013/02/contagious-insight-sony-drives-headphone-awareness-via-virtual-music-festival/#.Uv01Cc2vo9E

Pauline Laurent