20.07.2010 | New Work
Last week, Wieden + Kennedy Portland and Old Spice took a fresh approach to online brand engagement with a unique interactive strategy. The Old Spice guy who has featured in the recent, 'Your Man Could Smell Like' campaigns, engaged directly with his fans and consumers, by sending those who responded to the work, a personalized message.
This was an opportunity for fans and consumers to learn more about the Old Spice guy and the Old Spice brand by asking questions or sending responses.
Through monitoring online chatter, W+K created a list of individuals they thought they should target immediately and with just a week to shoot, they built a customised web application to manage the real-time production work flow. This application allowed them to respond so quickly - in real time.
In total, there were 186 video responses created.
In one day - the following was achieved:
Top of Digg
Top of Reddit
Trending topic on Twitter
Inventor of Twitter tweets it
Marriage proposal carried out, AND ACCEPTED
@Alyssa_Milano's home address acquired
Coverage in mainstream news / tech news / industry news
Twitter followers multiplied by 10
In 48 hours, the brand's Twitter following (@oldspice) multiplied by x21 - jumping to 63,000
At the end of the first week of the campaign, Old Spice accounted for seven of the top 10 videos on YouTube.
Editorial comments included:
Mashable.com - Wieden + Kennedy have set a standard marketing experts will admire and follow in years to come. This is the future of marketing.
TechCrunch - You know you've got a viral marketing hit on your hands when the CFO of Google mentions it in an earnings call. 'It just gives you a glimpse of where the world is going' he said with a touch of awe in his voice.
The Atlantic Wire - The makers of Old Spice have pulled off a cheap and quick marketing coup that could change the way consumer products are promoted.
Business Week - To all the companies out there who've been trying to use social media: you've just been schooled'.
Iain Tait, Global Interactive Creative Director W+K Portland said, 'In a way there's nothing magical that we've done here. We just brought a character to life using the social channels we all use every day. But we've also taken a loved character and created new episodic content in real time.'
See the work at http: //www.youtube.com/oldspice. And follow on Twitter
(http://www.twitter.com/oldspice)
16.07.2010 | Our news worldwide
Nike Football's 'Write The Future' campaign, created by W+K, has written some history, according to reports so far.
In one day the film was viewed online 12,000,000 times and Nike Football facebook fans tripled from 1.1 to 3.1 million. It set a new record for most views of a viral video ad in its debut week, according to web video analytics company Visible Measures.
At July 15, the film on Nike's YouTube channel alone had had over 19,500,000 views. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idLG6jh23yE
The success of the campaign has bee widely reported and celebrated, prompting comments such as:
'The World Cup has been won, and the winner is Nike' - The Telegraph
'An immediate candidate for best soccer ad of the year, and maybe of all time.' - Adweek
'Adidas May Be Official World Cup Sponsor, but Nike Wins the Battle of the Buzz' - Fast Company
'The success of the campaign is indisputable.' - Harvard Business Review
'When your grandchildren ask who won the World Cup in 2012, you can tell them, with pride, that it was Nike' - Campaign Magazine
'Ambush marketing gives Nike leg up for World Cup - Nike mentioned twice as often online as sponsor Adidas' - Reuters
'Nike wins social media buzz marketing for World Cup' - Brand Channel
'We're dealing with one of the most successful adverts of all time...It's not just advertising gold, it's visual crack cocaine.' - Creative Review
'Nike's Write the Future is a viral hit, insanely awesome... this is as good as advertising gets' - geek.com
01.07.2010 | Awards
Wieden + Kennedy took home three Grands Prix trophies at the 2010 Cannes advertising festival: one for Old Spice in the film category, the other two for Nike in the cyber and integrated contests.
Nike ‘Chalkbot’ by Wieden + Kennedy Portland was awarded the Cyber Lion Grand Prix in Interactive. The campaign was acclaimed as a prime example of two themes that emerged from the best work seen during the judging process: invisible technology and "real-time" interaction. The greatest innovations supported "this notion that technology will reach its peak when you don't even realize it's there," said Jury President Jeff
Benjamin (of Crispin Porter Bogusky). "The stuff that was so innovative was the stuff that seemed magical. It had technology, but that's not what was showing."
Nike's Livestrong campaign, of which Chalkbot was a part, took home the integrated Grand Prix. The campaign incorporated everything from events, outdoor, online, web films, and "Chalkbot”. "We saw brilliant work in every aspect of the campaign - print, broadband, an event and specifically Chalkbot, that in itself showed true innovation in numerous channels," said Jury President Bob Greenberg. "The execution was flawless in every way shape and form and we voted unanimously." And while "Chalkbot" has been the most celebrated aspect of the campaign so far, some jurors found the campaign's most brilliant component to be its opening gambit -- Armstrong's decision to return to the Tour De France in the name of Livestrong.
"We have to look at that as part of the advertising," said juror Rob Reilly, CCO of Crispin, Porter & Bogusky. "That's where integration is going. It's not just another TV spot. His coming back was a calculated move to start this campaign. To me, that's the most important part. Chalkbot is an incredible tool, but the decision to come back in the first place, as a marketing idea, is brilliant."
W+K were also awarded the bronze lion for Digital Agency of the Year.
21.06.2010 | New Faces
Wieden + Kennedy London announces today a new, senior addition to the creative department – Dan Hon. Dan’s expertise lies in games, play and story-telling: he believes that we can learn from all different types of play to create more engaging experiences for consumers. He joins the agency to work across a range of clients including Nike and Honda and will be based primarily in London but will have a wider network remit in the coming months.
As media and technology continue to evolve rapidly, it has become evident that agencies need to attract creative people with diverse talents and broad skills in order to engage further with audiences. Dan’s appointment reflects this.
Dan said, "I'm incredibly excited to have the opportunity to join one of the industry's most respected and creative agencies. The world of advertising, media and entertainment is changing in such a fundamental way, and to be part of an agency that's embracing that change and open to new ideas is fantastic. I'm really
looking forward to infusing W+K with a sense of play and games in London and Portland."
Dan joins Wieden + Kennedy following three years at Six To Start www.sixtostart.com, an award winning entertainment company he co-founded with his brother in September 2007. His work there included ‘We Tell Stories’ for Penguin, which re-imagined how a publisher could adapt to producing internet native fiction. The project was received to great critical and commercial acclaim, winning the awards for both Innovation and Best of Show at South by Southwest Interactive 2009. The company's work also includes Spooks: Code 9 - Liberty News for BBC THREE; Smokescreen, winner of Best Game at South by Southwest Interactive 2010; and most recently, Misfits for E4.
Dan speaks extensively on ARGs, transmedia, cross-platform entertainment and video games and has served as a jury member for the BAFTA Videogames and RTS Education Awards. A winner of the 4Talent Multiplatform award for new talent, and one of Broadcast's Hot Shots in 2009, Dan has most recently spoken at and served on the board of The Media Festival, and spoken at b.tween, Hello Digital, Sheffield Doc/Fest, WildScreen, South by Southwest and the London Games Festival. Previously, Dan helped create Perplex City, an international alternate reality game, at VC-backed startup Mind Candy.
Dan is also one of Wired UK’s ‘Wired 100’.
W+K Director of Operations, Nic Owen said, ‘Story telling will always be at the heart of what Wieden + Kennedy does, it’s just the context, depth and ways in which we tell them that has changed. Dan will help us make our stories richer and more exciting - we’re really pleased to have him.’
