Think of any brand associated with an athlete, and in most cases the brand will have approached the athlete as a result of the athlete’s brand/consumer fit and will be paying them a hefty sponsorship fee in return for a number of rights.

In “What We Love” this month though, we explore a brand who took a much more innovative and engaging approach to sponsorship by inviting a number of athletes to compete for a sponsorship contract, with their consumers ultimately choosing the winning athlete.

So who is the brand and what did they do?

In March this year, Sony Ericsson – a long time supporter of women’s tennis – launched a new format entertainment show, “Xperia Hotshots,” which followed the lives of six globetrotting, aspiring stars of the WTA, all of whom were competing for a sponsorship contract from Sony Ericsson.

The competition centred around the online buzz each tennis star could generate for themselves, with the player receiving the most number of votes on the official Sony Ericsson Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/xperiahotshots) receiving €100,000 of support from the brand.

In order to help with the challenge, Sony Ericsson gave the players exclusive access to major music, film and fashion events as they toured the globe playing tennis. The players were also able to use their own stardom and contacts to aid them in generating the most interesting content, as long as it was shared via social network sites using the Xperia handsets that were given to the stars.

As an extra incentive for fans to get involved and follow the series, all of those who “Liked” the ‘Hotshots’ Facebook page were also entered into a prize draw to win tickets to the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami

Over the course of the campaign, which ended on 5 September and was won by Wimbledon Semi-Finalist Sabine Lisicki, the competition generated huge awareness for Sony Ericsson including 820,000 friends on Facebook; 3 Million video views on YouTube; 100,000 mobile app downloads; 1,200 pieces of media coverage; 70 videos produced; and 530 hours of footage shot.

Why we love it

We love this campaign here at Synergy for several reasons. Firstly, by prescribing that the players must use their Sony Ericsson Xperia Android touch smartphones to communicate with their fans through Social media, Sony Ericsson were able to showcase the product’s unique features in real life situations, thereby providing consumers with a much better understanding of its unique selling points, benefits and potential usage occasions.

Secondly, by focusing on the use of the phone for entertainment purposes and social media (as opposed to purely a communication device) the perception of Sony Ericsson as THE communication entertainment brand was greatly enhance.

Thirdly, by engaging fans in the athlete selection process, Sony Ericsson were able to generate a much deeper bond between their potential consumers and the ultimate Ambassador than if the athlete were contracted behind closed doors, and fans who engaged in the voting process are now more likely to follow that athlete going forwards than if the athlete had been selected on the basis of whom the marketers thought would offer the best brand/consumer fit.

Finally, by profiling six players, Sony Ericsson very cleverly linked themselves to all of these world-class athletes when they only contracted one; six great brand endorsements for the price one . . . not bad going!

By Liz Brown on October 13th, 2011

Tags: Blogging, Brand marketing, Celebrity, Communications, Default, Facebook, Media, Mobile, Online communities, Sponsorship, Sport, Synergy Loves, Synopsis, Tennis, Viral Marketing, YouTube

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What happened

Tourism Toronto and Tourisme Montreal have erected “The Cheating Wall” as their newest campaign to promote tourism between the rival major Canadian cities.  The new marketing programme, developed by Crispin Porter + Bogusky Canada, is encouraging residents of the two cities to have a summer fling with one another.

The Cheating Wall consists of separate HD video panels, located in high-profile locations in the two cities. Each wall is equipped with its own camera, microphone, sensor and speaker, enabling residents of each city to engage in live video chats and participate in a series of scheduled events, in real time.

The insight behind the creative concept is driven by the long-standing rivalry between the two cities, which is driven by the two cities’ statuses as Canadian business hubs and, of course, the rivalry between the two ice hockey teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens.  It has resulted in a common perception that any visit to Montreal or Toronto is viewed as a ‘betrayal’ of your home city.

The Cheating Wall has been installed in the TIFF Bell Lightbox in downtown Toronto, and at 350 de Maisonneuve Boulevard in Montreal. The live interactive portals are open for live chats between 6am and 2am, and also host a number of live events such as “Tai Chi at the Wall” and “Street Magic”, as well as fashion and comedy shows, amongst numerous others.

The campaign is also available to view online at TheCheatingwall.com, and TrompeTaVilleMuramur.com, both of which link to Facebook pages where visitors can win flights to the respective cities, courtesy of Air Canada.  Participants are encouraged to share their experiences on Twitter, using the hashtags #cheatingwall and #trompetaville.

The initiative is being supported by transit shelter and poster ads in Zoom Media’s resto-bar network, which feature QR codes that take users to the Cheating Wall’s Facebook pages.

Why we like it

This live interactive portal provides a new and innovative way of promoting tourism. Rather than the typical tourism campaigns involving scenic landscapes and cheesy poses, this avant-garde campaign gives the users a corporeal, almost voyeuristic look into the lives of the other city.

By engaging the consumers and actually tapping into their personal interests, rather than forcing them to withstand a corny commercial or print ad, The Cheating Wall brings a whole new meaning to conventional advertising.

With its catchy and risque name, visual appeal, interactivity, enticing social media incorporation, and its ability to feed the voyeuristic tendencies of our contemporary world, this is the tourist campaign of the future. The annihilation of time and space gives us a live window into these two cities.

What the brand says

“We wanted to work on improving the travel between the two destinations,” said Tanya Churchmuch, assistant director, international relations at Tourisme Montreal.

“We wanted to remind people that there are two amazing destinations that are very different from each other and offer extremely different things to do, but are very close and very cool cities. You don’t have to go thousands of miles away to have a great experience.”

Let’s hope other cities think it’s as great as we do.

By Melissa Oberman on September 1st, 2011

Tags: Blogging, Communications, community, Content, Default, Facebook, Synergy, Synergy Loves, Synopsis

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What happened?

It would be remiss of us to ignore the social disturbance, unrest and rioting that wreaked havoc on the streets of London and around Britain in early August. What really struck a chord with us here at Synergy was the response of local communities to counter the destruction and rally together,  specifically the role social media played in doing so.

Everyone will be au fait with images of Clapham’s broom wielding army lead by Commander-in-Chief, one B. Johnson, who set about cleaning up their local neighbourhood the day after the carnage. Organised by the very same social media sites that were at the heart of spreading the riots, communities gathered first virtually and then physically to start the clean up. Check out Jam’s infographic on the buzz created around the riots and the call for social change.

One of Engine’s other companies, Partners Andrews Aldridge, started a campaign called De-Loot London. Their mission was to make sure that not a single shop that was looted during the riots was forced to close as a result. By setting up a website with an interactive map, people can highlight local shops that most need their community’s support. Embracing the power of social media they established the #delootlondon hash tag for people to share amongst their friends.

Why we liked it?

Firstly they acted fast, the campaign was up and moving within days of the looters running riot. This allowed people to act quickly and really feel as though they could make a difference to their local community.

Secondly, social media was at the heart of the campaign and provided the online community with a mechanism to make a difference to their own physical communities.   Brands often talk about building a community of advocates, fans or followers and this campaign tapped into a passion point. It turns out that people are passionate about keeping local businesses afloat in the face of adversity.

Thirdly, it was philanthropic, and after fear and uncertainty spread across London it reassured the population that good people are out there…and there are lots of us!

Finally, the riots may not be headline news any more, but local communities will need long term support. De-Loot London already has 1,900 Facebook fans, so keep the campaign going by sharing your support here.

By Caroline Ayling on September 1st, 2011

Tags: Blogging, Default, Social Media, Synergy, Synergy Loves, Synopsis, Twitter, Viral Marketing, YouTube

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Oakley‘s immersion into athletic eye wear began in 1980, when the company released its first model of motorcycle goggles. Dubbed the “O-Frame,” the goggle consisted of an arced cylindrical lens that would eventually become the brand’s hallmark. Over the last 30 years, Oakley has been awarded more than 600 patents and developed, through strategic sponsorship, enviable relationships with sport’s elite.

The first professional athlete to be sponsored by Oakley was the three-time winner of the Tour de France, Greg LeMond, in 1984. Since then, Oakley has sponsored a diverse range of leading sportspeople. The most notable of which, Lance Armstrong, has been with the brand since 1988. Here he is in the current Oakley Rebellion campaign.

In the Rebellion campaign, Oakley positions itself as a brand that is built on being against the status quo, against conventional thinking and against underachieving. It is this attitude that Oakley looks to share with its athletes so as to emphasise the credibility of this positioning.

To dovetail this Rebellion campaign, Oakley Europe has kept innovation at the forefront of their mind by launching its ‘You Vs’ digital campaign. The goal of this innovative social media campaign is to build Oakley’s European Facebook community while creating awareness about the Oakley athletes. We think it’s been done brilliantly!

What happened?

‘You Vs’ takes viewers inside the world of professional sport by putting ‘you’ against the Oakley pro athlete. The videos, which viewers are directed to after ‘liking’ Oakley on Facebook, have been filmed in a point-of-view style and allows viewers to compete against the athlete. The fact that the film plays through Facebook, ensures each viewer enjoys a personalized experience with their name and profile pictures appearing at key narrative points. This personal touch creates a sense of individuality and elitism that resonates strongly with Oakley.

The first experience has been created with world champion cyclist Mark Cavendish. In this challenge the user gets to race against Mark through Italy’s beautiful Tuscan hills. The interactive film allows the viewer to make ‘live’ decisions that affect the outcome of the race, from how to take corners to when to start the final sprint.

Oakley eyewear is also integrated into the decision-making, allowing fans to select different lenses at the start of the challenge and custom-build a pair of frames at the end of the experience, bringing them closer to the world of professional sportsmen.

Other experiences will be released over the next six months with Oakley athletes including Kevin Pieterson, Ian Poulter, Janko Tipsarevic and Sebastien Loeb. These videos will be timed to coincide with major sporting events, having started with Mark Cavendish and the Tour de France.

Why we like it

We like the ‘You Vs’ digital campaign because it gives us the chance to challenge some of the world best sportsmen. More importantly, it offers us insight into the key decisions that athletes are continuously making when competing. It is these decisions that end up separating first and second place, but it is very seldom that fans are exposed to the stragic side of sport. This campaign by Oakley now enables the everyday athlete, who is usually constricted to shouting ‘advice’ at their TV, the opportunity to experience competing against the world’s elite and making those all important decisions.

Oakley has planned the release of the films to coincide with high profile sporting events throughout the year. This has been done to encourage long term engagement and to allow fans from a particular sport to discover and develop an interest in other Oakley athletes.

This, together with the great cinematography, has produced an exciting campaign that has the potential to be shared by many on Facebook. As the campaign gathers momentum, so too will Oakley’s digital presence in Europe.

What the brand says

Tom Cartmale, marketing director for Oakley UK, commented: ‘As a technology driven brand Oakley has always invested in digital media and looked at new ways of engaging social media communities’. He continued to say, ‘Our aim is to create immersive brand experiences that engage a wide audience of sports fans, showcase our hero athletes and bring our products to life. We hope to build a significant Facebook community as a result and boost awareness of key product stories, in particular lens adaptability and customized frames’.

We feel that the innovative ‘You Vs’ campaign achieves exactly those goals and, after 61,000 Facebook likes, is already having the desired effect for Oakley.

Now I suggest you click here and give it a try for yourself. Let us know how you get on.

By Mike Russell on July 26th, 2011

Tags: Blogging, Default, Digital marketing, Facebook, Media, Online communities, Social Media, Sponsorship, Sport, Synergy, Synergy Loves, Synopsis, Viral Marketing, YouTube

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By Adam Raincock on May 18th, 2011

Tags: Advertising, Blogging, Brand marketing, Celebrity, Default, Digital marketing, Music, Social Media, Synergy Loves, Synopsis

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I for one was pleased to see the recent news that FIBA has given the British Basketball Team the chance to represent Team GB at the Games in 2012 – a result that sees Team GB represented in all sports at  London 2012. This also means that  Britain will field a basketball team at London 2012 for the first time since last hosting the Games in 1948.

By allowing Team GB to compete, FIBA has given British Basketball another platform from which to shout about their brilliant sport. A sport that has the potential to be huge in this country.

GB's NBA star - Luol Deng

Basketball in Britain has struggled to grab the attention of young men and women on a mass scale like Football does, but in recent years, the tables seem to be turning and there is an ever increasing interest in the sport as a whole. Andy Hunt, chief executive of the British Olympic Association rightly pointed out that ‘FIBA’s decision is recognition for years of hard work British Basketball have put in on and off the court’.

Interest in the sport has undoubtedly been fuelled by images of David Beckham and his boys courtside at the LA Lakers. For others, it might be down to hit US TV shows like One Tree Hill. But one of the biggest factors has to be the introduction of the NBA Europe Live at the O2.

David Beckham attends Lakers game with sons

For those unfamiliar with the NBA’s foray to British shores, they made basketball history when the first-ever regular-season games were held in Europe, between the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors at The O2 in London this year.

It was quite a spectacle and a great advert for the game in the UK and now, with the news that FIBA have allowed Team GB a place in 2012, British Basketball has another reason to shout about its beloved game.

NBA at the O2

I will certainly be looking to get some tickets in the Olympic ticket ballot and why don’t you?

(If you’re not into Basketball, maybe this will change your mind! Check out the Toronto Raptors mascot in action, below…)

By Jonathan Gale on March 15th, 2011

Tags: Athletics, BBC, Blogging, BOA, David Beckham, Default, London 2012 sponsorship, Sport, Team GB, YouTube

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As the excitement of Britain’s medal haul at the European Championship fades, the media and public turn the spotlight on our chances at the much anticipated London 2012 Olympic Games.  Many sports journalist have discussed the hopes of Idowu, Farah and Ennis but what the sports media are missing is more coverage on the potential of the talented Men’s GB hockey team.

It may have been over twenty years since Great Britain’s men’s hockey team won gold at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games, in the days of Kerly, Batchelor and Sherwani (who? you are most probably asking yourself), but now Great Britain has a new breed of stars that could become heroes.  After recently reaching the final of the Champions Trophy they are in real contention for a medal, although Great Britain will have to overcome an extremely dominant Aussie team…which could make an incredible final at London 2012.

Hockey is a mass participation sport; registering over 100,000 people playing in the UK every week (and not just by girls, before my colleagues launch in to their predictable banter).  Whilst this sport won’t be at the top of every potential sponsors wish list, hockey could provide the right brand with a really unique opportunity to engage with the passionate and dedicated audience of this great game.

By Simon Roche on August 11th, 2010

Tags: Blogging, London 2012, London 2012 sponsorship, Olympic sponsorship, Olympic sponsorship consultants, Olympics, Sport

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Microsoft has announced the release of a new mobile phone designed to capture the hearts, minds and standing orders of ‘younger, chattier, socially switched-on’ users.

Developed in conjunction with former Manchester United sponsor Sharp, the brand is to be known as KIN, and represents a range of mobile phones – currently dubbed KIN One and KIN Two – the former in particular a pretty neat-looking device somewhere between a Palm Pre and the chubby widescreen variety of iPod Nano.

From left, KINs One and Two

It’s not a Blackberry, neither is it an Android-a-like, and it’s definitely, categorically not an iPhone challenger. With social media feed functionality placing it in an interesting limbo between smartphone and old-fashioned ‘dumb phone’, the KIN may, in fact, be more of a long-term stepping stone for Microsoft in converting a wider audience to the upcoming mobile Windows 7 OS.

Check the KIN website: it’s all very ‘youth’ (and not even in a ‘this is what all the kids are doing these days, isn’t it everyone?’ Gap style), informative, pretty and dynamic…nice, and contains only the tiniest nods to Microsoft…phew.

Does this mean Microsoft has broken free from its infamous track-record of dad-dancing that has confirmed the world’s third largest company as one of its dorkiest? Of course not, as confirmed by the following shot of Microsoft exec Robbie Bach from the KIN’s press launch last week – probably not the Generation Y shot in the arm the product required, given its offering and audience.

Robbie Bach at the KIN press launch

So why do Microsoft rule the uncool, and how do they manage to make things so effortlessly undesirable?

The much-ridiculed Window 7 Launch Party video holds one or two clues…

If you never saw this, please watch as much as is humanly possible of the video above (I’d say about 12 seconds) and then have a look at the Remix version on this ‘tribute’ site, which, through the tiniest addition has produced something eminently more watchable.

So why will people line up to shoot Microsoft down for this? Is it because the original video is so replete with cheese, yet so bereft of irony? Is it because of the public’s distaste for celebrating what is effectively a stress-purchase, in this case designed to solve the problems created by Microsoft Vista, W7′s predecessor? Or is it simply that the idea of hosting a party to launch a computer operating system is just incredibly bizarre?

Go back a little further to Microsoft’s ‘I’m a PC’ campaign. This was a response to Apple’s ongoing advertising creative which pitched a ‘typical’ PC user against a Macophile. In the US this campaign included Justin Long (of Dodgeball and Die Hard 4.0) as ‘the Mac’, but UK consumers will be more familiar with the localisation featuring Mitchell and Webb.

Whilst a comedic exercise in stereotypes – termed as bullying from certain pro-PC quarters – ultimately, Apple’s campaign was grounded in the functional versus the inspirational: on the whole people have to use PCs, but choose to own a Mac. If this isn’t an indicator of brand love, then I’m not sure what is.

Were Pharrell Williams’ claims that he’s a PC enough to turn the heads of unbelievers? What about when they see him on his  iPhone? Did Eva Longoria’s endorsement make PCs any sexier? Tough to say, especially when she was subsequently captured at the airport on her MacBook. Isn’t this indicative of the difference between obligation and aspiration?

Whatever way you look at it, in the constantly-updating, virtually-democratised world of the web, where transparency is a badge of honour, there’s very little room for the clumsy manufacture of cool. And even if you did want to – Microsoft boffins, take note – there’s a formula you need to apply…

Generated through research conducted between InSites Consulting and MTV Belgium amongst 13-29 year-olds, the above represents the key factors (at an official ratio of 22% originality, 23% popularity and 55% attractiveness) that contribute to make a brand, product or service ‘cool’.

The same study demonstrated that 73% of all brand loyalty is about the coolness of the brand, with young people today buying twice as many cool brands than uncool brands, while the future purchase intention of these brands is no less than three times as high. It doesn’t really matter whether this is right/wrong/lowlands-specific, but there’s little argument in the study’s assertion that trying to be cool is the worst thing you can ever do. Ever.

A tragic confirmation of this is Microsoft (honestly, I don’t actually dislike the company, there’s just so much cannon fodder) and its foray into the digital music market…the ill-fated Zune. They have the set-up, the know-how, and the can-do attitude, but this couldn’t save Microsoft from failing on the Originality, Popularity or Attractiveness fronts, in the face of Apple’s iPod. In fact,  in what is probably my favourite comedy product on the internet, you can even buy what has been termed the ultimate Apple anti-theft device, the ‘Hide-a-Pod’ - a Zune-disguise for your iPod.

Who knows what the fate holds for Microsoft’s latest mobile offering, but unless they learn the lessons from past product launches, there’s a chance it could be KIN useless.

By Jonathan Izzard on April 19th, 2010

Tags: Blogging, Brand marketing, Default, Digital marketing, Media, Mobile, New Product Development, Online communities, Viral Marketing

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Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

- Ferris Bueller

Sentiments borne of teenage frustration and a need for escape, rebellion and self-expression from the master of the ‘80s genre, the late great John Hughes. A simpler time, one might argue: the days before the web, wi-fi, information aggregation and real-time status updates live-streamed from a virtual community of billions.

Nowadays, information overload is well-documented, but to put things into context, it’s worth reviewing a snippet of the review of web use in 2009 from the legends at Pingdom.

So, in 2009:

- 90 trillion emails were sent…of which 81% were classified as spam (that’s 200 billion mails a day)
- A total of 234 billion websites were catalogued…with a further 47 million added last year
- There were 1.73 billion internet users worldwide…an 18% increase on 2008
- 126 million blogs were tracked by BlogPulse…with 84% of social network sites with more women than men
- Microblogs weighed in with a hefty 27.3 million tweets per day…although 57% of Twitter‘s user base is in the US
- Facebook reached 350m users…50% of whom logged on every day
- 4 billion images were hosted on Flickr…however, 2.5 billion per month were uploaded to Facebook
- 1 billion videos were viewed per day on You Tube…with the average user watching 182 videos per month

And breathe.

In an age where the relentless pace of technological change means that many of us feel like we’re running to stand still, how do we find the time to stand and stare? If only there was some kind of machine that could take you back, pre-tipping point, or at least let you remember what things once looked and felt like…

You’ll be needing the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Whether it’s for research, curiosity or simple nostalgia, this is a really fascinating resource. Type in whatever website you’re interested in and the site will offer you glimpses of archived pages from as far back as the mid ‘90s.

Just to get you started, how about:

Hotmail circa 1997

Google circa 1998

BBC.co.uk circa 2000

Sky Sport circa 2001

You Tube circa 2005

Granted, hardware, software and coding changes mean that not every page works perfectly or looks exactly as it used to. However, it’s a great way of frittering away a couple of minutes online, and even acts as a would-be stomach pump for the reclamation of forgotten morsels of data that Google, like a virtual sarlacc, has swallowed up but is now unable to regurgitate via organic search, such is the ceaseless growth of cyberspace.

Whether you find what you’re looking for or not, such online time travel confirms that LP Hartley knew what he was talking about…the past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

By Jonathan Izzard on April 12th, 2010

Tags: Blogging, community, Content, Default, Facebook, Media, Online communities, YouTube

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Whilst browsing Twitter last night, I came across an interesting survey, via @mediaguardian, on journalists’ treatment of social media as a source. The US survey conducted by Cision and The George Washington University is based on responses from 371 journalists, almost half of which have spent over 20 years working in the industry. It reports that 56% of reporters and editors believe social media is important for reporting and producing their stories and cites blogs as the major source with networking sites like Twitter and Facebook in second place.

The inclusion of user generated content, from YouTube, to substantiate media reports has become an established practice – highlighted so evidently through the use of bystanders’ videos of the police assault on Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protest. However, the use of information taken from other social media sites seems to be moving things forward a stage.

Predictably, of the journalists that acknowledged using social media as a source, the vast majority (84%) admitted that they treat the information taken from these sites as more cautious and less reliable than traditional media. Whilst on first reading that might seem sensible, surely this depends on the context in which they are planning to use the information taken from the ‘source’.

I’m not sure that anyone that regularly contributes to blogs or social networking sites would propose that their daily tweets and posts be considered as ‘fact’. In contrast, I would suggest that the purpose of consulting social media should be to add colour to a report by drawing on different people’s opinions to shed light on any given subject, rather than providing the ‘facts’ themselves.

From my own experience in PR, I can happily admit to being a source for a journalist on more than one occasion via Twitter. From a combination of my own posts about the projects I’m working on and following a number of relevant journalists, I’ve managed to set up a number of stories in press. Rather than the content of posts being used as content, they instead highlighted a common interest and shared goal which made me the source. Certainly from my world, social media is becoming an increasingly effective and common way of communicating with journalists.

My advice to the 46% of journalists that don’t consider social media to be important in their line of work would be to give it a go. It won’t tread on the toes of your reliable, traditional sources, but it might just provide you with access to additional resources, colour and opinion than the ‘facts’ on their own could offer.

By Kelly Russell on February 16th, 2010

Tags: Blogging, Public relations, Social Media, YouTube

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