In April 2010, Kodak launched a new HD video camera called the Playsport. Our brief was to create some video content to showcase the camera’s key features:

• Shooting HD video underwater
• 1080p HD and 720p HD at 60fps
• Rugged design so it can go anywhere
• Built-in image stabilisation

In conjunction with the videos, Kodak also ran a sweepstake on Facebook to win a Playsport bundle.

The solution

The Playsport isn’t only aimed at extreme sports fanatics and adrenaline junkies. Specialist video cameras already exist in this market which are smaller, lighter and a lot more expensive. So whilst our content had to look good, we decided that it also had to be a lot more rough and ready – achievable by anyone with a bit of imagination and some gaffer tape.

The key thing for us was that every single piece of footage (and sound) had to be shot on the Playsport. We also didn’t want any post-production, overdubs, video enhancements etc. So working within the constraints of a tiny budget, we shot all the footage ourselves (with the help of a small production company), and then edited it all in iMovie (I did all of them apart from At the Car Wash).

Feeding time

Get your skates on

At the Car Wash

Gone with the Wind

Gone to the Dogs

We created a branded Youtube channel to host the video content…

as well as a tab on the KodakUK Facebook group to promote the campaign and host the sweepstake.

The brief

Kodak partnered with Rossignol on a promotional tour of 150+ ski resorts across Europe, setting up ‘villages’ located at the bottom of the slopes. Each village included a Kodak tent showcasing key products and offering visitors the chance to trial the latest Kodak camera for free. All triallists were registered to Kodak Gallery and the photos they took during the trial were automatically uploaded to their new Kodak Gallery account.

Our brief was to help bring this association to life.

The solution

The Kodak ‘Make Something’ brand was centred on people using cameras to share their experiences, so we came up with the idea of Snow Stories – a multi-channel campaign across web, mobile and POS in 11 different languages.

Microsite

At the centre of the campaign was the Snow Stories microsite, which included a UGC section where users could add their Snow Stories to win prizes (450 uploads at the last count), as well as getting photo tips and exclusive product promotions.

Launch site >

Mobile

We commissioned a specialist travel writing agency to create exclusive content for 40 of Europe’s top ski resorts. We defined what we wanted and they supplied the insider knowledge of all the best things to do on and off the slopes. We then made this content available as a Snow Insider guide for mobiles, as well as on the Snow Stories microsite.

• So far it had received a phenomenal 148,000 downloads
• Won silver for ‘Best Marketing Campaign’ at the Mobile Content Awards 2009
• Finalist in the ‘Best Content’ category at the 2009 Meffys Mobile Entertainment Awards

Promotional films

With precious little budget at our disposal, any kind of photo shoot was out of the question. Undettered, we got hold of some Kodak cameras and video cameras and flew out to Switzerland, where we spent three days running around Zermatt shooting as much footage as possible to create two films showcasing what Snow Stories was all about.

We then edited and built the films ourselves, wrote some music and they ended up looking like this:

POS

Tent flags, banners and product displays within the Rossingol village.

This was the first major campaign in the new Kodak ‘Make Something’ brand, which combined loud and occasionally garish colours with personal stories to show how we help capture all your experiences and then share it with friends.

With this as a backdrop, Kodak wanted to launch a brand new camera in Italy, and showcase its key feature – Smart Capture technology. This feature is basically an intelligent auto setting that sorts out all the different settings for you so you get perfect pictures at a touch of a button. And as Kodak don’t have an online shop in Italy, our next taskwas to direct customers to third-party retail sites to buy the camera.

The solution

We created a campaign that put the product centre-stage, using before and after shots to highlight the benefits of the Smart Capture feature. The campaign was a success, comfortably hitting our sales targets.

Microsite

Acting as a destination for the entire campaign, we created a standalone site which included:

• Full 360° interactive panorama with before/after shots showing off Smart Capture
• Interactive 360° product demo
• Links to buy at preferred online retail partners

Launch site panorama >

Outdoor

We created three ad concepts and had as many days to complete all the video and photo shoots. The principal challenge was bringing the key benefits that the Smart Capture feature has to life in a way that was entirely honest and made no over-claims whatsoever. The technical team at Kodak were relatively strict about what the camera can and cannot do,  so our ideas had to exist within fairly tight frameworks.

• Bus stops
• Large scale billboards

Films (used in video banners)

Driving school

A kind of magic

Old master

Radio

Driving school

A kind of magic

Old master

We spend a ridiculous amount of money on printer ink in this country (£600m last year alone), and Kodak wanted to highlight this and position their cheaper ink as the solution to all your printing woes.

Their US agency created the ‘Print & Prosper’ campaign,  and our task was to adapt and enhance it for the UK and German markets. Our campaign had to run for several months, divided into two distinct phases: ‘raise the awareness’ and then ‘ferment the belief’.

The solution

Working with multiple clients on both sides of the Atlantic, we developed a range of new concepts which worked over two distinct phases of messaging, whilst remaining faithful to the original US creative. The campaign was a success, quadrupling sales in the UK and exceeding the client’s  targets by over 20%.

TV

The challenge here was to have as strong and as controversial a message as possible, whilst working within very strict legal guidelines set by both Kodak  and Clearcast.

Press

Whilst press had barely been used in the States, our UK campaign was pretty intensive, involved 4 different insertions in a week across 11 national newspapers. We worked closely with the media team to buy as many interesting and engaging formats as possible.

ONLINE

A microsite was created in the US as the destination hub for all media, but there was very little online advertising. So we concepted and created a suite of banners, ranging from simple ones that referenced the animation in the TV ad through to expandable ones with interactive calculators.

View MSN homepage takeover >

View Bild takeover >

View Falk takeover >

MSN Tech&Gadgets takeover

Site-specific messaging

POS

We developed standard POS materials including decals and an interactive ink calculator, as well as some more light-hearted promotional items.

In-store calculator

Leaflet

Printer decals

Promo items