Silver

HTC, "HTC One," M2M (Local)

HTC is a mobile device manufacturer, yet they are a small player in a highly competitive category. For the launch of their new HTCOne they had to create a campaign that was smarter and more innovative using a fraction of the budget their competitors are working with. The HTC consumer is a millennial who lives their life through a socially connected, digital world. This demographic would reject or ignore brand messages that are simply pushed on them. HTC needed to involve them and engage at every step. So they partnered with three key media suppliers – Cineplex, VICE and SAY Media. Each play an important, but unique role in the lives of the HTC consumer. Each partnership had a social extension and all activity was unified with the hashtag #HTCOne. HTC sponsored a VICE concert series across Canada featuring artists that appealed to their most influential consumers and gave those consumers exclusive access. On-site activation enabled concert-goers to post a branded photo to their social network, increasing brand exposure beyond the live event. The concert series was also amplified through artists own social networks and the whole concert series ran as branded content on the VICE digital network. HTC leveraged SAY Media’s network of grassroots editors and their dedicated audiences to create custom content using the HTC device. Content was featured on the editors website, their social network and within an engagement unit that ran throughout SAY’s network. A first of its kind contest was also launched – Canada’s Next Influencer, where up and coming bloggers could win a ‘start-up’ package to turn their blogging passion into a career. The contest not only increased HTC’s social reach, but also their favorability among millennials.