The Sony W Series MP3, a waterproof MP3 enabling people to listen to music underwater, was struggling to grab consumer attention because of a unique problem – it sounded too good to be true. Many grappled with the belief that the product really worked. As a result, FCB PR & Activation faced the challenge of finding a way to engage consumers and increase sales, while proving without a doubt the Sony W Series MP3 is 100% effective. The solution? Engaging target audiences by providing the ultimate product demonstration, the bottled MP3; an MP3 available for purchase within a water-filled bottle.

The campaign began with a PR activation. Bottled MP3s were installed in vending-machines at gyms and aquatic centres around Auckland, targeting consumers where they needed the product most. Phase two saw the roll out of a contra-based PR programme, using the bottle as “new news” to re-engage consumer media that had already featured the MP3, effectively swapping a $99 product for valuable editorial space. Phase three involved targeting social influencers, encouraging them to trial the product and share feedback with their followers.

Phase four focused on content seeding, creating video content around the activation and sharing it with key media.

As the sole activity around the MP3, this resulted in the product completely selling out in the New Zealand market, as well as coverage in 20 coutries, across 139 media, reaching a potential audience of 520,200,000. The product also rose from the 35th to the 3rd most popular item on www.sony.co.nz.

• Filled the top two shelves of an energy drink vending machine with our bottles

• The vending machine moved around three Auckland aquatic centres during December/January

• Using the water bottle as “new news”, we re-contacted many of the consumer media that had already featured the W Series MP3, offering a free bottled MP3 as a reader promo-prize

• We then rolled-out a social media outreach programme, targeting:

o People that were talking about the aquatic centres that housed our vending machine, identified through social listening

o High profile sports people. Seventeen active social media users were identified and sent an image of our water bottle

o A handful of swimmer “super influencers” that offered potential earned reach and were known swimmers

• Interaction with the activation was filmed and seeded as sharable content to online national and international advertising publications, celebrating the innovative idea and encouraging global coverage

Because it was such a unique item, word of The Bottled Walkman spread across the globe. Reaching a potential audience of more than 672 million people across print, broadcast, online and social media.

This exposure saw sales of The Bottled Walkman increase by 400% (target of 20%), taking it from being the 30th to the 3rd most purchased Sony product. Sony New Zealand completely sold out of all available stock in the country, and their next shipment has already sold out a month in advance.