After creating the most memorable ads of the noughties, Fallon London had to re-pitch for the global Sony account in late 2009.
With enough traditional creatives to sink a ship, my brief was to diversify their pitch offering by conceiving platform ideas across every facet of the Sony Corporation.
- The Adwords Novel (Experiment #2) -
Sony is an entertainment company. But people don’t necessarily think about it that way.
So we create a series of experiments that challenges consumer’s perceptions about what ‘entertainment’ actually means in a world defined by digital media. And we get them to re-evaluate Sony in the process.
The Adwords Novel is one such experiment, redefining search as entertainment.
Using Google’s Adwords system, we create a choose-your-own-adventure-style novel across the internet. We commission a series of authors to begin the process, and we then open it up to bloggers via the Adwords system on their own sites. The result is an ever-evolving narrative. At any point people can purchase the novel as a physical object via Lulu.
The consumer experience starts when you type that most well-worn of beginnings into Google: “Once upon a time…”. But when does it end? How deep does the Rabbit hole go? Read on to find out…
- Audio Engineer -
Streaming music services have revolutionised how we listen to music, but often do not appeal to audiophiles due to a perceived lack of quality.
So there is an opportunity to create a service allowing you to get the most out of your hi-end equipment without sacrificing your favourite streaming service.
Sony Audio Engineer is a monthly subscription that automatically provides custom EQ settings for every song that ever existed and adjusts your system on the fly. Sit back and relax knowing that you’re hearing each and every song in all it’s glory, from Brahms’ choral classics to Beyonce’s crooning.
- GeoDrop -
GeoDrop is a service that allows you to leave digital messages and media at physical locations for your lovers, friends and colleagues to collect when they pass through the same area. Imagine you’re walking to work and your friend Sarah has left you a song that she bought yesterday and thinks you’ll like.
Interestingly Caterina Fake (the co-creator or Flickr) launched Pinwheel in early 2012 which is exactly the same concept.
But GeoDrop is more than a virtual geocaching service. Coupled with a game mechanic, it becomes a platform for launching new albums and/or films.
Random clips of unreleased content are left around the physical world, and tactical location-based ads/media are used to create a game to hunt them down. A simple mobile app is created that works much like a radar, beeping “warmer” around content caches.
But the snippets are not time-coded, so the community is encouraged to post whatever they find online. Because you don’t know if it’s the beginning, the middle or the end, the challenge then becomes to reverse engineer the track. The first person to correctly engineer the clips gets to meet then artist and also gets their name/s in the credits.
Used in this way as a launch platform, GeoDrop not only ensures deep engagement but also a ready-made pool of remixes by the time the original version is released.
- UMMDB -
The Un-Made Movie Database links aspiring directors and writers (and everyone else associated with film production) with investors around the world to collaboratively create indie films.
Think Angelist but for movies.
- Second Unit Bazaar -
Sony creates a global marketplace for second unit shots. Directors can post a briefs and budgets and have local crews respond. For example, Spike Jonze needs a shot of a lonely cottage in the Scottish Highlands.
Think 99 designs but for motion picture production.
