Tag: Belgium

Electronic Arts “SSX Shakes”

Gaming giant EA has recently released SSX extreme snowboarding for the Playstation and Xbox360. But before SSX officially hit the slopes in Belgium, EA wanted to generate extra buzz and free press. So their ad agency Duval Guillaume Modem from Antwerp created an exclusive “SSX Shakes” event for a limited audience of popular bloggers and journalists. During the event, they brought the audience in the right mood with booze, snowboarding, music, chicks, tricks… and game play.

The slope had a cocktail bar where the invitees got to choose 1 of the cocktails that were named after a typical snowboard trick. The cocktails however, were not shaken by bartenders but by pro-riders who performed the corresponding snowboard trick and handed it over freshly shaken. Afterwards every blogger and journalist received a personalized movie with the making of his SSX shake to share with friends, fans & followers. 😎

The movies and photos are now available at www.ssxshakes.be

Mini “Fan the Flame”

Mini along with ad agency TBWA\Agency.com created a social spectacle to increase the number of fans on their recently launched Mini Facebook page in Belgium and Luxemburg.

A Mini Countryman was attached to a thick rope in the parking lot of the “Brussels Motorshow” and a burner placed under the rope. Every Facebook fan was then encouraged to remotely initiate the burner and spit some flames on the rope. A webcam broadcasted the scene 24×7 and the Fan whose flame ultimately broke the rope was the one to win the Mini Countryman. 😎

The Silent Song Contest

People are known to let loose and sing like crazy in their cars. So for the launch of the new Renault Clio, Belgian ad agency, Boondoggle turned this curious human behavior into a Facebook game.

A series of online videos were posted on Facebook that had various Clio drivers singing…the only catch being the sound had been removed. To participate, players had to lip read and guess the correct song as quickly as possible. The player with the most correct guesses at the end of the promotion won the Clio!

Opel Movano Banner

To promote the Opel Movano Van range, McCannLowe created a banner that is both useful and innovative. Working just like websites such as YouSendIt or WeTransfer, the banner allowed users to upload up to 2 GigaBytes of file in the rear of the van and then send it to someone across the web. The recipients would then receive an email to download the file and learn about the Opel Movano.

Simple, practical and spot-on target.

Euro RSCG Check-in

Guerilla recruitment via social channels is gaining popularity amongst leading agencies. In this recent example Euro RSCG Brussels has used Foursquare to seek out digital talent.

The team at Euro RSCG drove around Brussels everyday and checked in at all leading agencies. After they became the ‘Mayor’ of the targeted agencies, they released their recruitment messages… 🙂

Other examples of agencies using social media to attract talent are:

Jeep Compass

One of the oldest and most effective ways to sell a product is with a good demonstration. Leo Burnett Brussels took this approach and gave it a fresh, fun spin. They strapped some cameras on a few Jeep Compasses and set out to discover the most remote post locations they could find. Direct mailers were then shipped from these far-flung places that pointed recipients to a site where they could follow the journey and see the Compass in action.

It was a simple idea with a big impact. Take a look below…

Kia Lie Detector

Most people in Belgium know that Korean car brand Kia gives a 7-year warranty on all its models. That’s a good thing. But, a lot of them think 7 years warranty is too good to be true and that there must be a catch. That’s a problem. If people don’t believe your advertising message then regular advertising is insufficient. A different approach was needed. One where traditional advertising was supported by editorial content and especially a lot of word of mouth.

LDV United came up with a campaign where everybody got reminded that only Kia gives 7 years warranty. And that, although it sounds too good to be true, it is in fact 100% true and that there is no catch.

To prove the warranty was genuine and that there was no catch, a lie detector was used. Legal connections, an official lie detector company, hooked up the CEO of Kia Motors to their lie detector. Consumers then asked him questions on the 7-year warranty during a live online session.

The stunt was communicated through newspaper ads, banners and a press release telling everyone that an actual CEO would be undergoing a live lie detector test. As a result the event was picked up by countless blogs and got featured in various newspapers and magazines. A lot of buzz was generated on the streets.

The campaign’s impact according to independent media company Scripta was…

  • Brand recognition: 42% (instead of 32% sector average)
  • Attribution: 73% (instead of 62% sector average)
  • Resulting in an Effectiveness Rating of 31% (instead of 20% sector average)
  • And last but not least: An impressive credibility of 80%

Print Ads That Really Speak

Print ads are hitting above their weight lately. Recently, you could test-drive a Volkswagen right inside a print ad, thanks to a special app. Now, QR codes are being used to get dictators talking in a set of print ads created by Publicis Brussels for the free-press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RWB).

In the ads for RWB you scan the QR code with your iPhone and then place the phone over the leader’s mouth. The mouth starts talking—but it turns out to be the voice of a journalist discussing media censorship in that particular country.

Currently there are Gaddafi, Ahmadinejad and Putin versions.

For more details visit the campaign micro site.

Nutricia Baby Connection

Young parents all over Belgium rely on Nutricia babyfoods every day. So ad agency Duval Guillaume helped Nutricia find a new unique way to support mums even before their baby is born – with Baby Connection: a unique iPhone app that helps gets the dad more involved in the pregnancy.

Baby Connection works best when you use it as a couple. There’s a mum version and a dad version – and everything each parent adds is automatically synced with their partners’ phone. The app can even transform two iPhones into one big screen.

Have a look at the demo to see how it works:

To launch Baby Connection, Duval Guillaume even came up with a campaign that’s as unique as the app itself. Have a look at what they did:

TV ad that you can step into!

In 2010, AXA was the first insurance company in the market to launch an iPhone application for car insurance. In 2011, AXA took this one step further and developed an iPhone application for fire insurance.

‘Mobile Service Home’ is a first for the Belgian insurance market. So this innovative product also deserved to be launched by a method that displays just as much inventiveness. This is why AXA with ad agency Duval Guillaume Antwerp / Modem developed what they are calling an i-Mercial. A television spot for viewers to step into!