The communication goal(s)
To appeal to young professionals we
decided to move
Siemens Mobile from a technology brand into a fashion brand.
One element of this campaign was turning Turkey’s latest designer cinema –
the exclusive
200 seat Towerside - into a powerful Siemens Mobile brand experience.
This provided an important
access point into the
‘style leaders’ allowing us to convert them into legitimate brand
ambassadors.
Innovative Media Strategy
In Turkey midlevel
handsets cost 250-300 USD – the average monthly income.
Hence mobile phone usage is
concentrated to affluent urbanites in Istanbul and Ankara.
To reach this audience we
decided to first convert ‘style leaders’ and to use them to carry the
Siemens
Mobile message to the wider audience.
This would mean
repositioning Siemens Mobile as a fashion brand rather than a
technology brand.
So we only used targeted
media with a high lifestyle context including key TV programmes;
lifestyle
magazines, websites and specific venues and events.
The new luxury, designer
cinemas that were opening around Istanbul provided ideal
environments to talk to this normally elusive style crowd.
Whilst we took presence in
all these cinemas, Towerside was our flagship.
Engaging Creativity
The cinema is the message.
Negotiations began
while
Towerside was still under construction so we controlled everything from
branding to internal décor to opening night events.
We even changed the name to
“The Siemens Mobile Towerside Movie Theatre”.
The foyer branding included
wall paintings, staff uniforms, posters, plasma screens showing the TV
spots,
exhibition cases displaying the handsets and piles of free
merchandising.
On the screen we
had
sponsorship accreditation; ‘please turn your phones off’ messaging and
further
TV spots.
Branded pop-corn bowls and
coffee mugs replaced paper and we put ‘cuddle blankets’ in the salons.
Integrated/Harmonized Effort
With a small arena like
Towerside it is important that we always exploit it fully.
We run regular ticket
competitions on Siemens Mobile sponsored radio shows, websites and
magazines.
In-store
promotions include
free tickets to see latest releases.
The cinema is used for
regular retailer, subcontractor and internal presentations.
We appear in all
cinema
listings as ‘The Siemens Mobile Towerside Movie Theatre’.
Siemens Mobile also
sponsored local film productions and tickets for special pre-view
screenings,
with the cast present, are much sort after.
And in-foyer activity always
matches the above the line campaigns.
Effectiveness
In the 1st six months
40.000 people have visited the 200 seat Towerside.
The value of on-screen
advertising, branding, free tickets, venue usage and cinema listings is
valued
at 280% of the cost.
In 2003, spontaneous
awareness increased 26%; consideration 10% and sales a whopping 307%.
The strategy is producing
dramatic results and Towerside remains a prominent brand symbol and key
access
point into the ‘style crowd’.
