At the centre of this strategy is the decision that from now HTC will only ever advertise real people using HTC handsets in real-world product demonstrations – leveraging the insight that positive personal experiences power personal recommendations. This strategy will also play out through the line across digital, social media, PR and retail.
To kick off the new strategic direction HTC has put two consumers and their personal experiences at the heart of its’ latest TV commercial. For the new campaign creative, HTC challenged two amateur photographers to capture the world’s first free fall fashion shoot on a mobile phone. Created to launch the new HTC One™ series, the global campaign will run in over 40 markets and features Nick Jojola and Tony Mac, HTC fans who have a keen interest in photography. Having never shot any commercial photography before or sky dived, they were challenged to capture high production fashion imagery on the HTC One handsets whilst freefalling at 126mph. This unique campaign delivered them both an unforgettable personal experience but also created an amazing real-world product demonstration.
The campaign which launches in the UK on 4th of April was devised and created by global advertising agency Mother in partnership with HTC. Filmed on location in Arizona, director Sara Dunlop from Rattling Stick Productions put together a team of people including skydiving cinematographer Norman Kent, world champion skydiver and model, Roberta Mancino, LA Times fashion stylist Hayley Atkins and Hollywood Costume Designer Martin Izquierdo to deliver this complex and demanding advertising creative.
Shot at dusk and dawn this creative is designed to bring to life the simultaneous video and photo capture functionality and instant capture capabilities of the new HTC One handsets. Both the HTC One™ X and HTC One™ S challenge traditional digital compact cameras by delivering a range of features including high quality images even in low light conditions, instant image capture, auto focus, burst mode and backlight HDR technology and the ability to take stills from already shot HD video footage that operate effectively in both normal and adverse conditions.
Greg Fisher, Vice President of Marketing at HTC, comments “In a world where consumers have more say and more means to share their opinion than ever, personal recommendations are one of the most important factors in purchase decisions. As a brand that has also put the consumer at the heart of its innovation, we wanted to give consumers the chance to make their own minds up about HTC and so enabled them to harness the power of personal experiences with the aim of turning them into personal and authentic recommendations.”
The ‘As Recommended By’ strategy aims to capture and share recommendations to tell the HTC story which will be played out across all HTC communications. Product trial and previews will be a key component to drive and collect these recommendations with consumers in over 40 markets being invited to take part. Over 1,000 handsets will be delivered to HTC fans, consumers and influencers for real-life trials ahead of retail launch. This will be activated through digital and PR with participants invited to share their experiences through social media, PR and word of mouth. This builds on HTC’s existing social media activity with HTC fans invited to local market ‘meet ups’ to get hands on time with the new product early.
At retail the ‘As Recommended By’ strategy will be brought to life via retail staff and consumer recommendations. Shoppers will be prompted to experience the HTC One Series for themselves and their recommendations will be captured to show other consumers and drive consideration for purchase. The creative utilised across retail will place the emphasis on ‘you?’ which has been created to provide a clear invitation for consumers and retail staff to experience the product themselves.
Greg Fisher continues “We believe this is one of the most transparent campaigns in history, as we are set to embrace our consumer’s first –hand experiences and impressions of our new product and put their recommendations at the forefront of our communications. This ambitious marketing strategy is at the centre of driving HTC’s significant global growth targets in 2012 and beyond. ”