A Canon In its 2017 winter campaign, instead of the usualproduct communication, it showcased everyday moments
Christmas noise
The message of the advertisements draws attention to the period after Christmas. Taking advantage of the year-end shopping enthusiasm, it had to reach various target group segments amidst the usual loud advertising noise starting from November 2017. It needed to stand out from many advertisers in the heightened festive sparkle, so clichés had to be avoided, both in imagery and text. Business considerations should not be forgotten either: purchases are made not only before Christmas but also afterwards – especially for technical products – during the season, so the creatives had to remain viable in the January period as well. The year-end battle for purchases starts with Black Friday, and one must have ammunition (meaning: money) to be present in people's minds during the exhausting period of shopping and idea-seeking. But even afterwards, as a new customer can easily buy an accessory for a Christmas gift even after the holiday during the extended discount period.
Diversity of personas
Canon targets multiple audience segments simultaneously with its product range. One persona is the professional, who seeks the best tools for artistic and business photography. Another is the beginner, who wants to indulge in a new hobby and is aided by a user-friendly camera for their first successes. The commitment that develops from initial attempts sparks the next persona's desire to upgrade their equipment to prove themselves and their environment with more challenging photography. The videographer wants to attract an ever-growing follower base with shorter or longer content, and for their dynamic everyday life, they need a compact, stylish, and smart device that fits in the palm of their hand. We also have a persona who is not interested in technology but needs to capture their enviable stories or loved ones in a way that allows for flexible editing of the image, which can even be used as wallpaper to decorate the living room wall.
At the beginning of the 21st century, we must also consider that different cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and lifestyles coexist in our communities. A global brand can be responsible and respectful by formulating its message with these differences in mind.
Moments as stories: „Get ready _„
While a popular soft drink is consumed by everyone for the same reason, Canon products are used by everyone for different purposes. Cameras come into play when someone seriously thinks about preserving interesting moments to tell a story vividly. Adventures experienced with friends or a small child's first steps are just as important experiences as preparing for a larger celebration. The unexpected experiences and the „wow” feeling of first emotions can be preserved by the personas described above if they always have a great camera at hand.
Therefore, we built the advertisements not on the Christmas spirit, but on the new stories of the new year that we can surely expect after the holiday break. This sets the tone for optimism and readiness for action, providing a positive emotional charge. The snapshots in the advertisements reflect everyday life, anyone can imagine themselves there. We see action scenes that can be preserved with a „loaded” camera (or an activated camera) on standby. It is the existence and attention that everyone desires: we are present in the moment, paying attention to our surroundings. Many times we can relive that wonderful moment if we manage to capture it. We can share it with those who were not present, or years later we can show it to that little baby who may not remember what happened.
The message can be understood in the time it takes for the camera to expose. Click, and it's done. The observer is captivated by those few seconds, watching the end to see if they guessed what happens in the next moment. Here, the promotional message fit perfectly, and they waited to see if what they thought happened. This is also an analogy to our lives: there will always be planned moments and those that unfold unexpectedly.
Did the tactic work?
Yes. The varied execution achieved effective reach of different target audience segments. Depending on the targeted persona, we integrated the products into the frame stories, from entry-level cameras to advanced hobby DSLRs to brand new lenses for professionals. The advertising budget lasted until the end of January, with the higher bids before the holiday being compensated by the unit costs of the post-holiday campaigns.
In the integrated campaign, the creatives were effective on both online and offline channels: in addition to static and video banners, the advertisement also looked good in magazines and on a backdrop at the year-end Photo Expo. Its main message was also relevant:„”Prepare for every first moment_", which also applies to the joy of creation.
How was it made?
The videos were made with a Canon C700 camera at 100 frames per second slow motion to enhance the viewer's curiosity: the tricks of the basketball guys, the flight path of the snowball, or how the little one tastes lemon for the first time. We grouped the creatives into three main styles (and thus target audience segments), the idea and execution of which were the work of the British VCCP London advertising agency.
- Segment: Adventurous, bold, challenge-seeking audience
- Segment: Youthful, active audience in everyday life
- Segment: Audience enjoying the company of family and friends
80 types of banner mutations were created, 2 types of printed press advertisements, 10, 20, and 40-second videos. In the media mix, we used interest-based targeted programmatic campaigns, PPC video campaigns, and fixed time-based banner campaigns on professional sites. The Index Nagykép section is our natural environment, and here we experienced a 178% overachievement*. The advertisements performed well in both static and moving image formats. The video advertisements, which showed the stories with more details, were more entertaining and captivating, but the static versions were also easily decodable, helping the memory effect for those who saw the videos.
The online campaign resulted in an overall 13% higher AV* than planned. One of the best-performing formats was the Facebook carousel, which brought in an average of 2.5 times more CTs* than we expected. This is an excellent format for generating interest in the product range.
In the Facebook video format, among the 10-second versions, the snowball and rope bridge videos were watched the most. The Instagram videos were clicked twice as much as we planned. On YouTube, the targeted audience watched 40%* of the ads. A large part of the audience turned out to be exotic adventure lovers, as they mostly watched the rope bridge video. In programmatic, the dodgem video was clicked the most (*Campaign results source: PHD Hungary Kft. January 2018).
In retail units, the eye-catching snapshots also worked well on flyers and as decorations. We brought a dodgem car to the Photo Expo as a photo theme at the event, as if it had just come off the film frames with the right girls, and the audience was eager to test the tools for professional light representation. We also considered a suspension bridge, which would not have been impossible to implement in the Millenáris hall, but it would have been too loud among the other exhibitors.
Effective creativity
It is essential for effectiveness to retain the creative core idea after brainstorming that can be variably adapted to the diverse channels of today's media market. It is necessary to apply various lengths and formats simultaneously while maintaining harmony for brand goals. The artistic right hemisphere and the more numerically adept left hemisphere must work together.
The easily adaptable core idea is a good contrast to the increasingly complex developed products.
The consumer can be reached through an easily understandable message to their heart and wallet, and emotions must also be considered.
We can also keep the brand's value on a higher shelf with elegant restraint: there is no need to over-explain and no need to shout to achieve the desired result.
Thanks are due to the staff of PHD Hungary Kft. for media planning and buying, and to the staff of TBWA Budapest Advertising Agency Kft. for the Hungarian localization of Canon's central creative materials. Working with both agencies was excellent.
The online videos of the campaign can be found here,
The online banners, without claiming completeness, can be viewed here.
