Tag: Wunderman

#The8N8 Twitter Campaign

A celebrity tweets a question about the new Nokia N8. You spot the clue, follow the celebrity, and race to reply with the correct answer before everyone else. Do it fast enough, and you earn the follow-back. Repeat until you have eight.

The brief. Launching the Nokia N8 on Twitter

Wunderman Buenos Aires is given the task to launch the new Nokia N8 smart phone. They create a Twitter-based activation campaign called #The8N8. Here, “activation” means a participatory game on Twitter, driven by clue tweets and timed replies.

The real question is whether you can turn product features into a race people choose to replay.

This is a strong Twitter launch mechanic because it forces people to learn features under time pressure, while making the reward publicly visible.

How it works. Clues, speed, and follow-backs

  • Nokia enlists top celebrities to tweet questions, clues, and features of the phone.
  • Users find the clues, follow the celebrity, and respond correctly in the fastest time.
  • The reward is the celebrity following the user back.
  • The first eight people to get eight celebrities to follow them back win the new Nokia N8.

In consumer electronics launches on fast-moving social platforms, attention windows are short and social proof is a primary currency.

Why the follow-back works

By making the reward a follow-back from a celebrity, the mechanic converts speed and accuracy into instant social proof, which is why participants keep replaying the hunt.

Extractable takeaway: When you attach a visible status reward to answering product-feature clues fast, you can make launch messaging feel like a game instead of an ad.

Results. Reach and follower growth

The campaign is reported to reach 300,000 Twitter users. It is also reported to increase Nokia’s fan base on Twitter and Facebook by over 100%.

How to reuse the mechanic in a launch

  • Turn features into clues. Write prompts that translate key features into quick, answerable questions.
  • Make speed the differentiator. Keep the rule simple. First correct reply earns the follow-back.
  • Keep the reward visible. A follow-back is public, so the prize doubles as social proof.
  • Use a clear finish line. “Eight follow-backs” makes progress legible and creates urgency.

A few fast answers before you act

What is #The8N8?

A Twitter-based activation by Wunderman Buenos Aires to launch the Nokia N8.

What do participants actually do?

They follow participating celebrities, answer their clue tweets correctly, and do it faster than others to earn follow-backs.

What is the win condition?

Be among the first eight people to get eight celebrities to follow you back.

What are the reported outcomes?

Reported reach of 300,000 Twitter users and reported fan base growth on Twitter and Facebook by over 100%.

What is the transferable mechanic?

Turn product messaging into a speed-based game that rewards social proof. Here, that social proof is the follow-back.

The first pre-launch of a car using Twitter

Twitter is only just taking off in Argentina, and Wunderman Buenos Aires managed to convince Ford to run the pre-launch on Twitter, with great success.

The idea was to give the most followed twitterer in Argentina the one and only new Ford Fiesta available in the country, with the condition that he drive it for 5 straight days, tweeting about his experience. That alone is not new, but the twist was smart. Some of the most famous TV stars jumped in the car and tweeted mini interviews while being driven around in the new Fiesta.

After just 5 days, the campaign had reached over 200,000 people. That is 50% of all Twitter users in Argentina.

Why this pre-launch mechanic works

It turns product access into a live narrative. One car. One highly followed driver. A fixed time window. That constraint creates focus and makes the story easy to follow in real time. The celebrity ride-alongs add a second layer. They keep the feed fresh, they pull in adjacent audiences, and they make the tweets feel like content rather than a running spec sheet.

Extractable takeaway: when a launch gives one person visible access, a tight time window, and guest moments that refresh the feed, the audience gets a story worth following instead of a stream of product claims.

What Ford was really buying

In early social-platform launches, the brand advantage comes from turning limited product access into visible public momentum.

The real question is how to make scarcity feel socially alive before the wider market can experience the product.

The smart move here is not the tweet volume by itself. It is the decision to turn one hard-to-get car into a public format that keeps generating reasons to look again.

What to steal for your next social launch

  • Give someone real access. Scarcity is a stronger signal than claims.
  • Put a clock on it. A defined window creates urgency and repeat checking.
  • Add format variety. Mini interviews change the rhythm and widen appeal.

A few fast answers before you act

What made this a “pre-launch” on Twitter?

The story unfolded through live tweets before broad availability, anchored by one high-profile driver and one car.

What was the core execution?

Argentina’s most followed twitterer drove the country’s only new Ford Fiesta for 5 straight days and tweeted the experience.

What was the twist beyond a standard influencer test drive?

TV stars joined the ride and tweeted mini interviews while being driven around.

What result is highlighted?

After 5 days, the campaign had reached over 200,000 people, described here as 50% of Argentina’s Twitter users.

What is the main takeaway?

Make the launch feel like an event, not an announcement. Access plus a live format beats static messaging.