LIFESTYLE PRODUCTS: "PHILIPS_VS" Promo / PR Ad

Category: Best Use of Social Media
Advertiser: PHILIPS
Product/Service: LIFESTYLE PRODUCTS
Vice President/ Head of Integrated Marketing Communications: Gary Raucher (Philips)
Senior Manager/Global Public Relations: Pijke Oostra (Philips)
Chief Creative Officer Philips: Neil Dawson (DDB Worldwide)
Deputy Global Client Md: Roger Trollope (DDB Worldwide)
Executive Creative Director: Chris Baylis (Tribal DDB Amsterdam)
Creative Director: Tim Voors (Tribal DDB Amsterdam)
Strategy Planner: Joey Duis (Tribal DDB Amsterdam)
Creative: Bart Mol (Tribal DDB Amsterdam)
Creative: Keith Kornson (Tribal DDB Amsterdam)
Technical Lead: Jan Willem Penterman (Tribal DDB Amsterdam)
Account Director: Mark Preston (DDB Worldwide)
Account Director: Gregor McQuattie (DDB Worldwide)
Agency Producer: Jeroen Jedeloo (Tribal DDB Amsterdam)
Director: André Maat (Pool Worldwide)
Producer: William Griffioen (Pool Worldwide)
Production Manager: Laura Rippen (Pool Worldwide)
Director of Photography: Coen Stroeve (Pool Worldwide)
Camera 2nd Unit: Eldar Gross (Pool Worldwide)
Gaffer: Tom Northam (Pool Worldwide)
Art Director: Goof Vermeulen (Pool Worldwide)
Media placement: Internet - Twitter - 15 June 2009
Media placement: Internet - YouTube - 15 June 2009
Media placement: Internet - Flickr - 15 June 2009
Media placement: Internet - Twitpic - 15 June 2009

Summary of the Campaign
To demonstrate the superiority of Philips products, we launched Philips_vs. A madcap experiment spanning Twitter, YouTube and the wider online community. Online influencers were invited to tweet challenges for Philips products in the most imaginative way possible. To get the idea talked about we seeded sample films across Youtube. Our “Philips vs The Sun” film went viral and was even broadcasted on a Dutch prime time talk show. We challenged the Philips Wake Up Light to wake up a farmyard rooster before the sun came up. Probably not the most scientific challenge, but good entertainment all the same.

The Goal
Our job: to demonstrate Philips superiority in a campaign that would generate maximum buzz. To try to reach online influencers and activate them to spread the Philips message. As a result of that: create brand preference for, and product likability of Philips products.

Results
The campaign was highly effective with an invested media budget of only €10K. In just 4 weeks, the Philips_vs Twitter competition received 680 entries from 3.122 active followers, all with a large group of followers (potential reach 2nd-order followers: over 15.7 million Twitter users). It's worth noting that a follower on Twitter has a much higher currency than a viewer on Youtube and is a more active advocate. The Philips_vs campaign was praised for being innovative on 200 websites/blogs in 24 countries. The inspirational videos received over 100,000 YouTube views and were broadcast on a Dutch talkshow reaching 500,000 viewers.

Execution
The campaign ran across multiple platforms. When participants submitted ideas, we instantly reacted. Many challenges were retweeted to the wider community. The best ones were photoshopped to give followers immediate satisfaction whilst providing additional content. On YouTube and via Twitter, we seeded inspirational Philips_vs films. Via the end frame of these films, we drove people to the Philips_vs Twitter page. Over on Philipsvs.com, which could be launched from a URL on the Twitter profile, we explained the competition in detail. Users could also Tweet directly from this page.

The Situation
Philips’ runs a global consumer campaign in which the brand challenges direct competitors to demonstrate it’s superiority. Client’s brief: take this campaign online to the next level. Media budget is limited.

The Strategy
We decided to run a competition, Philips_vs, where the audience could challenge Philips products in any way they imagined. Philips would fund the making of films for the best ideas. At the heart of our campaign lays the Philips_vs Twitter page, because in Twitter creatively minded frontrunners are eager to share their ideas. We first seeded our message to Twitter users with a creative profile plus a large group of followers. They were invited to tweet their ideas on the Philips_vs Twitter page. To attract followers and retain them, we broadcast interesting creative content through all our channels.