Sony, Mediacom, AdColony create first UK Aurora interactive ad experience
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Joseph O'Halloran
| 29 October 2018

In a move that it says brings to life the capabilities of the new Xperia XZ2 mobile handset, Sony Mobile UK and Mediacom have partnered with AdColony to launch the UK’s first Aurora Interactive HD mobile video unit.


As part of its campaign for the new device, Sony said it wanted to create a unique advertising experience when launching the new Xperia XZ2 handset in order to demonstrate its video and entertainment experience capabilities. Working with AdColony, Sony and Mediacom created an interactive mobile video campaign that allowed consumers to interact with and experience the video in a variety of new ways to better enhance the campaign messaging.

To appeal to gamers, the campaign aimed to highlight their natural instincts to interact with content in front of them, wipe away features were built into the video. Dust kicked up by race cars settled on the screen with users having to clean debris off the screen. Immersiveness was accentuated with haptic effects, making the phone rumble and shake at opportune moments. This connection between the video itself coupled with real actions and feelings was said to be paramount to driving home the unique capabilities of the Xperia XZ2.

The campaign was said to drive video engagement rates to 78%, more than 25 times higher than the benchmark engagement rates of standard video campaigns or rich media executions. Over a third of these engagements came from unique users, with more than 1.5 million users engaged with the ad overall. The Aurora HD video also drove healthy lifts across key brand metrics. A brand study certified by Nielsen showed an increase in purchase intent of the campaign recipients of 8.6% over an unexposed control segment. Brand recall vs competitor handsets saw a 4% uplift.

“Video advertising combined with the power of sight, sound and motion has long been proven as the best method to build awareness for brands,” said Will Dorling, UK brand director at AdColony. “Mobile technology now enables brands to layer on unique immersive experiences such as touch and vibration to draw users deeper into the creative. Sony Mobile UK and Mediacom were excited by the possibilities of interactive video and set a clear, defined brief for an experience designed to excite users,” Dorling explained. “Driving the project from its inception, Sony ensured that the final product was considered prior to AdColony building the campaign, allowing us to build the best possible creative execution.”