In a highly competitive TV market Philips’ media budget is 10-15 times less than its rivals. Our PR campaign needed to span seasonal sales peaks and demonstrate product functions in an emotive way to raise brand consideration. Films test TV performance. The PR strategy involved building a digital community for a cinematic experience film lovers would want to share via social media. PR built anticipation for the release of five different short films - Parallel Lines - which featured the same dialogue, through leading blogs and off-line teasing tactics. Following release interest was sustained through a UGC competition – Tell It Your Way – to create a sequel, the overall winner was selected by Sir Ridley Scott. The online community was encouraged to make and share their entry via Philips YouTube channel which allowed them to interact with Philips TV functions.

Real-time evaluation allowed on and off-line tactics to be tweaked, and provided comparative benchmarking of online engagement achieved. Annual Philips TV web site KPIs were exceeded within 7 months of the campaign’s launch, contributing to a 3.4% increase in brand consideration. The UGC competition received more than 630 quality entries helping push viewing numbers of the branded content to more than 9.5 million.

Raise Philips TV brand perception with an influential digital audience of film fans to help promote an on-line destination to experience Philips TV range using an interactive media player. Success criteria included monitoring traffic to the brand platforms created on Facebook, YouTube and Philips.com and the levels of engagement and interaction achieved. TV buyers love watching films, therefore, the campaign needed to engage film lovers in a way which encouraged them to share their positive experience with friends. Credible film industry endorsement was critical to ensure the films were not perceived as advertisements.

Pre Launch (Jan-March 2010): Concept seeded via guest blog on Slashfilm.com by Parallel Lines director Jake Scott, linking to Facebook page. Trailer release coincides with on and off-line tactics – dialogue projections in campaign markets and themed packs distributed to bloggers, each containing a different line of dialogue. These packs encouraged reporting and Facebook traffic.Launch (April–July 2010): Premieres in five European cities. RSA’s directors present to introduce the films and announce UGC competition. The directors also participate in creative forums & events like re:publica, onedotzero & cíclope festivals.Post launch: (Aug-Oct 2010): Release of Facebook content including 'Making of' films & directors’ video diaries. Shortlisted entries for UGC competition provide regional media hooks in countries. Winners are announced and share experiences via Facebook.

• 5.8 million film views within 7 months, exceeding the annual KPI. Films can be viewed through a unique media player demonstrating TV functions - including Ambilight.• 9.5 million visits to all online platforms• User Generated Content: 630 entries• Message tone (100% V 80%), penetration (89% V 40%) and Facebook engagement (7% V 5%) KPIs exceeded• 7,973 pieces of campaign coverage• 77% of blog and 56% of traditional media coverage reference the Philips 21:9 TV• 96% coverage contained key messages, more than 50% in Tier A media • 50% of coverage with an AMS Average Media Score of 45 or higher (equivalent to a 7.25)• Shift in brand consideration from 45.6% to 49%

Developed and executed centrally with local amplification, our PR strategy revealed the films’ single unifying theme. Without above the line support, tactics needed to generate awareness sustaining interest in the creative idea. Strategy focused on building credible film sector endorsement for Parallel Lines. This would support every campaign phase, from seeding films’ release with influential bloggers, through their launch and a UGC competition, judged by Ridley Scott. Social media would raise awareness and encourage film views and reviews. The on-line presence would be supported by off-line activities further driving awareness and generating content for on-line community. The UGC competition was structured to provide multiple media opportunities with those shortlisted and also involve and reward the community in selecting entries. The winner’s announcement coincided with the launch of 3-D film to drive awareness during the third-quarter sales period. Real-time evaluation enabled refinement of on/off-line PR tactics, and provided comparative benchmarking of on-line engagement achieved.

Philips’s TV business competes globally in a highly competitive, price sensitive market, where rival brands’ marketing budgets are up to 50 times larger.

The market has two key sales periods – new product launches during the Spring and before the winter holidays. Therefore to have an impact the campaign needed to raise brand consideration around these times. In order to sustain interest during this 10 month period the PR campaign was integral to creating a community who would follow and self promote the Parallel Lines films.