The communication strategy was based on the theme: yours is a perfect 1.disc 2. place. This was the underlying message for the magazine and radio campaign - positioning MD as a leading edge format that has longevity and a ‘cool factor’ combined with real functional benefits. We needed to build upon this strategy and take the campaign theme “out of home” to our 16-29 year old target, whom are highly mobile, leading active lives and live for the enjoyment of music and culture associated. Our intention was to tap into relevant media environments which reflect MiniDisc’s values and core attributes of portability, personal expression and interactivity, thus building credibility and desirability further. The selection of ‘out of home’ allowed us to simultaneously target: Early adopters - target precisely, maximising reach through a high impact message. Wider audience - bring MiniDisc into their world to connect with them when they least expected it. Billstickers allowed us to be highly targeted, and to reinforce MiniDisc’s portability. However, we needed to find a way of letting an outdoor medium talk about personal expression and interactivity in a way that had never been done before. Communicating with our target whilst they were experiencing their music, culture and lifestyle resulted in the development of:NEW ZEALAND’S FIRST INTERACTIVE BILLSTICKER* * For Phantom Billstickers The world is evolving at a rapid rate – people, fashion, lifestyle, music and especially technology. Gone are the days of ‘record your own’ as digital ‘skip and play’ technology has surpassed the previous king of flexible format - tape. MiniDisc is a natural progression in Sony's quest for an ideal music format. MiniDisc combines the flexible recording traits of tape with the sound quality of CDs. MiniDisc is portable, personal, highly interactive leading edge technology with the main driver being the ease of making high quality digital compilations that you can take anywhere. Given the competitive environment to date is still very limited, it gave Sony MD the chance to own the category within mainstream and “outside the square” mediums. Key to the media solution was the ability for the chosen media to reinforce MiniDisc’s key product attributes: Portability, Interactivity and Personal Expression thus providing the ‘Out of home’ solution. Out of home was chosen to extend the campaign for its ability to precisely target the early adopters, and to connect to a wider audience by bringing them face to face with MiniDisc in their everyday lives. Whilst also adding relevancy, tangibility and interactivity to the campaign; therefore the solution was to: Build on the advertising theme ‘yours is a perfect 1.disc 2. place. With the thoughts make your perfect 1.disc 2. place'.Give both our early adopters and broader audience the means to do it – a blank minidisc! Resultant: NEW ZEALAND’S FIRST INTERACTIVE BILLSTICKER** For Phantom BillstickersHuge awareness levels were generated with a total of 3,640 discs being in the hands of prospective consumers. That’s 350 discs a week in Auckland & Christchurch and 210 in Wellington, putting MiniDisc back on the map. “With many of the posters we place we sometimes know and often hope they'll be souvenired as this is the most direct, sincere and positive response a poster can receive from people at street level. But the Minidisc campaign took this to the next level by fixing something to the poster that, without instruction and without fanfare, proved irresistibly pinchable. We've never attached something removable to the poster before and they were snapped up like the proverbial hotcakes”. Jamey Holloway, Account Manager Phantom Billsticker. The media team’s insight to our potential target habits, lifestyle & media consumption led to the media creative solution - an interactive billsticker. A cohesive campaign was developed, impacting on our core prospects as they went about their everyday life. Our input and recommendations drove the success of the ‘disruptive’ placement strategy through strong negotiations securing premium placement, organising the blank minidisc distribution coupled with a highly visible creative concept. We worked with the billsticker distribution company managing specific site placement to ensure that only ONE Sony MiniDisc AO size poster went up. These were strategically positioned in relevant environmental sites in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. And … the results speak for themselves. An innovative solution developing New Zealand’s first interactive Billsticker* with 3,640 minidisc taken from the posters over a four week campaign period. Innovation is the essence of the Sony brand, therefore the development of this media campaign needed to have an element of originality. Out of home was chosen to extend the campaign for its ability to precisely target the early adopters, and to connect to a wider audience by bringing them face to face with MiniDisc in their everyday lives. Key to the media solution was the ability for billstickers to reinforce MiniDisc’s key product attributes: 1. portability 2. personal expression 3. interactivity. The media solution was the creation of New Zealand's first interactive billsticker*. The poster itself was a clever tease with a life size minidisc printed beneath a real disc which was lightly fixed to the poster with adhesive glue that the target could take themselves to ‘make your perfect 1.disc 2.place’. The interactive concept proved irresistible to the potential consumer, who was confronted with the dilemma – shall I take the minidisc or not? (refer enclosed video). Traditionally, street postering runs by a “run of station” where large numbers of posters are installed across various infrastructures. Media negotiations ensured one poster was placed at premium environmental sites in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch all within reach of our targets everyday lives. Sony MiniDisc media strategy acknowledges the Sony brand attributes and personality and effectively reflects these in ‘out of home’ communication for Sony Minidisc substantiated by fantastic results – 59% increase in unit sales.

The media team’s insight to our potential target habits, lifestyle & media consumption led to the media creative solution - an interactive billsticker. A cohesive campaign was developed, impacting on our core prospects as they went about their everyday life. Our input and recommendations drove the success of the ‘disruptive’ placement strategy through strong negotiations securing premium placement, organising the blank minidisc distribution coupled with a highly visible creative concept. We worked with the billsticker distribution company managing specific site placement to ensure that only ONE Sony MiniDisc AO size poster went up. These were strategically positioned in relevant environmental sites in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. And … the results speak for themselves. An innovative solution developing New Zealand’s first interactive Billsticker* with 3,640 minidisc taken from the posters over a four week campaign period.