Case Study: Getting creative with technology

Marketing communications with byte

As the old axiom goes, it’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it that matters.

Technology is re-shaping modern marketing — and not just in terms of platforms, or channels. Creative agencies are using technology as an unlimited canvas with which to create and deliver new, compelling experiences.

Studio teams that bring together designers, artists and editors with coders, UX specialists, and more, are expanding the scope and art of ‘communications’.

At Creation, creative use of technology is a core component of many of the client campaigns we run. Below is a small snapshot of some of our work to give you a flavour of what we do, ranging from the simple to the large scale (but none requiring blockbuster budgets, despite some blockbuster outcomes).

But as with every element of the mix, the choice to use technology has to be driven by the strategy — not simply because you can. After all, we’re in the business of creative solving problems — and we go wherever that leads us in terms of execution. That’s what you get with open minds.

In our experience, creative technology typically helps achieve three key objectives: presence, reach and engagement. But it can go much further and deliver value in of itself, if it solves a need for consumers or other stakeholder communities.

Tech nerds everywhere, we salute you.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -

Your digital experience, only better

For newly diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis patients, researching about the disease can be daunting. Search online and often all you get is impenetrable medical mumbo jumbo. Working with Novartis, we wanted to change that.

The Living Like You community already provided a destination to hear real stories from real patients, but we wanted to go further and make the web a slightly less scary place. So we created a browser extension for Chrome, which automatically scans web pages and hyperlinks the most frequent medical terms to rich, informative and sometimes humours content to provide down-to-earth, relatable explanations. Applauded by patients, advocacy associations and media alike; we met patients where they needed us most.

Excitement unboxed

The ‘unboxing’ experience is sacred to any sneakerhead. From hunting for their favourite limited edition sneakers to successfully balloting for them, all that excitement builds to that moment where they finally get to cop that drop. We literally took that experience up a few notches — to the skies.

Key fashion and lifestyle influencers were invited to a mystery location in Singapore where they were told a gift from Adidas awaited them. When they arrived they found a camera crew, and nothing else. But all became clear when a drone flew in sight, carrying a pre-launch pair of Adidas NMD R1. We filmed their reactions, and gave them unique content to share with their fans and followers to drive pre-launch excitement. Adidas got the kudos, and we helped them sell out the NMDs under 24 hours.

Making social more social

Koffee with Karan is one of India’s most popular talk shows, driving a huge amount of conversation and buzz across the country. So when it came to launching Season Five, we wanted to caffeinate the social experience for fans.

We teamed up with Twitter to turn the show’s iconic coffee mug into an emoji (fans just had to tweet the hashtags #KoffeeWithKaran, #KWKonSW or #KWK). But that was just the start. In an original twist, every week we announced a new hashtag based on the name of celebrity guest appearing on the show, which activated the specially curated emoji. This simple tactic delighted fans, helping fuel record social conversations and viewership.

Making fans the centre of your (virtual) universe

OnePlus is one of the world’s fastest growing smartphone brands. A bit part of its success has been due to the relationship it has with its fans. From the CEO down, through forums and social media, it has incredibly close direct interaction with users — who, as a consequence, are passionate about the brand. So when it came to unveiling its newest flagship device, we decided fans should have a front row seat at the launch event (normally reserved for media), and introduced The Loop — a virtual reality experience.

Visitors were transported to OnePlus’ ‘space office’, where the CEO, live and in holographic form, launched the handset. But more than that, it was the world’s first VR shopping experience where fans could tour each room and each feature of the phone, and then purchase it directly in-app. The VR app was downloaded more than 600,000 times, and the device became an instant best seller. Sometimes, being in the moment beats being in the overnight queue.

Amplifying passions

How do you take a high-performance running shoe brand, popular with triathletes and elite runners, and extend its appeal to everyday, active consumers — a crowded and highly competitive market?

We knew that the common ground shared by pro athletes and amateur runners was the love of how the sport made them feel — the physical sense of well-being and emotional pay-off it generates. So we created the Newton Running ‘Run It, FEEL It, Spell It’ challenge — the world’s first mass-participation GPS experience.The mechanic was incredibly simple: spell out a word that expresses how you feel about running using a GPS app and share the map via social media using the hashtag #FeelNewton. The campaign generated 80 million impressions and thousands of runners spelt a rich dictionary of words: ‘satisfied,’ ‘able,’ ‘free,’ ‘young,’ ‘relaxed,’ ‘unstoppable,’ and even ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.’

Exploring your story

Microsoft carried out the most in-depth study ever undertaken in Europe to find out why young girls lose interest in studying STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). It knew a lack of a shared, baseline understanding was impeding effective action — whether formulating governmental policies, identifying and sharing best practice in education, or figuring out how to best engage girls themselves to positively shift attitudes and behaviour.

As part of an integrated regional campaign to promote the findings, we launched customizable, online data visualizations of the key findings using Microsoft Power BI. We wanted people to be able to interact with the data in a simple and accessible way, and explore their story — what’s happening in their country, how it compares with others or across academic disciplines. It helped turn dry data into something much more personal. And overall, the campaign generated more than one billion impressions.

Read more about the Girls in STEM campaign here.