Sony Ericsson W800i
Creating relevance for a multi-regional launch
The challenge
The Sony Ericsson Walkman® phone is a new-generation Mobile Music Phone that combines cell phone technology with MP3 capability. Before launching it in Latin America, we were asked to devise a strategy that would create credibility for the Walkman® name among the iPod generation target audience. Our communication strategy had to create this new positioning, generate excitement about the new phone's technical capabilities and make it a must-have item for Latin American consumers - in the face of fierce competition.
Our insight
The W800i brings together two lifestyle aspects: as a phone, it connects people with their friends. As an MP3 player, it enables users to enter their own personal world of music. In both cases, the technology satisfies the user's emotional needs.
Our solution
We developed a theme: In Touch and In Tune. This led us to the key idea: 'No matter what you're doing or where you are, you'll always be connected to your music'. This idea was central to campaign implementation in three separate markets - Miami, Mexico and Argentina.
For the Miami market, we designed a fully integrated communications campaign for Emosónica, a programme on MTV's Latin American service. The central idea, played out through sponsored competitions and interactive quiz concepts, was to reinforce the In Touch and In Tune message.
In Mexico, we mounted a campaign aimed at reaching a broad spectrum of music listeners. Using the tagline 'Be connected everywhere', we developed creative implementations for outdoor, online, in-store, press, cinema, radio and cable TV.
For the Argentinian market, we teamed up with a leading travel company to develop a competition to see Coldplay in Barcelona. This was promoted through a commercial which ran at peak times on local TV channels, directing would-be participants to the travel company's website.
Results
- W800i named Mobile of the Year and one of the top five most sold gadgets
- Generated so much demand that W800i stocks ran out
- 82,626 online competition entries and 266,473 page views during the six-week period
- 30,000 people signed up for a chance to win a W800i phone
- 14,000 playlists submitted to the Emosónica website
- Click-through rate from MTV to Sony Ericsson website of 1.3% - significantly better than MTV's average rate of 0.5%
- 80,000 people entered the online sweepstakes
