Direct > Data & Technology

PUTIN TURNS ON THE RAIN

VOSKHOD, Ekaterinburg / TV RAIN / 2019

Awards:

Shortlisted Cannes Lions
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Overview

Credits

Overview

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

The target audience - young politically active people interested in obtaining true information. They actively use social networks.

We used face recognition technology, as it was necessary to show Putin's portrait into the web camera. The portrait is easy to find in any office of a government official. The campaign made it possible to touch upon an important topic and address the issue of censorship in Russia.

The information spread in social networks, blogs.

The project was trending both in press and among ordinary users, as it resulted in lots of posts and

Background

The only Russian independent TV-channel was taken off air by all satellite and cable providers because of an order from ‘above’.

The TV-channel continues to broadcast online through paid subscriptions.

The goal was to increase the number of channel subscribers.

Describe the creative idea

In 2014 the country’s only independent TV-channel was taken off air by all satellite and cable providers because of an order from ‘above’. The TV-channel, however, hasn’t stopped covering the real state of affairs in Russia. Now one can get an access to truth only through paid subscriptions.

In 2015 Vladimir Putin promised to help the channel ease the censorship burden. He did it again in 2016 and 2017 during his annual press conferences. But the miracle has not happened yet.

A week before the regular press conference-2018 we made his promises true. Everyone could get access to TV’s broadcast for 24 hours if they demonstrated the president’s portrait to the web camera.

Describe the strategy

The target audience - politically active people interested in obtaining true information. They actively use social networks and live in metropolitan cities.

A week before the regular Putin`s press conference we launched ‘Putin turns on the Rain’.

Everyone could get free access to TV-channel for 24 hours if they demonstrated the president’s portrait to the web camera.

The information spread in social networks; interest to it reached the peak by the time of Putin's press conference. At the press conference, a journalist ‘turned Rain on’ with the real president’s face.

Describe the execution

Face recognition technology identified Putin’s face and opened access to TV-channel’s broadcast.

At Putin`s press conference representatives of the TV-channel opened the channel using the real face of the President.

The officials actively used the channel's new feature too, as they all have the necessary portrait.

List the results

As a result

14,520,076 Media impressions.

Conversion rate 16.7% (every sixth person opened the access).

For two weeks only the number of subscribers grew by 3.9 %

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