13/02/2017

EE’s 2017 BAFTA Activation Spearheaded By A Custom-Built, World-First, Red Carpet ‘Roboselfie’

At the tip of EE’s 2017 British Academy Film Awards activation was Roboselfie: a high-tech selfie-taking robot that aimed to link film fans to the stars on the awards show red carpet.

 

By housing innovative camera technology in a custom-built, Metal Mickey style robot, the mobile telco linked the device to its Twitter feed to enable thousands of film fans to get a ‘virtual red carpet selfie’ with a movie star

 

Red Carpet host Laura Whitmore introduced the stars to the EE Roboselfie on the red carpet at the Royal Albert Hall as part of EE and BAFTA’s Facebook Live red carpet show and then the robot snapped 5-selfies-a-second before tweeting them back to fans live on the night

 

To be in with a chance of getting a selfie with a star, fans simply had to submit their own head shot pictures via Twitter using the hashtag #EEBAFTAselfie

 

EE’s branded bespoke robot used facial detection, built-in time codes and custom software to synchronise the camera to its display, simultaneously capturing fan images next to real-life celebrities.

 

In real-time, the robot intelligently paired the new fan images with an A-list cameo and then sent it to the @handle of the fan who submitted the original photo along with personalised message.

 

 

 

Amplified pre-event across the telco’s social platforms – such as Twitter

 

 

 

plus ‘how it works’ and ‘creating of’ videos.

 

 

 

The promotional content pieces and executions encouraged film fans and customers to tune in to the EE Twitter feed and Facebook page from 4.30pm on 12 February for the brand’s BAFTA red carpet live stream.

 

 

Highlights from EE’s red carpet show are also be available across EE’s social channels from 9am on13 February.

 

Designed by BAFTA-winning costume designer Jany Temime (known for her work on films ranging from Harry Potter, to Gravity and Spectre) whose inspiration was to develop a timeless robot that grabbed public attention.

 

‘It is the combination of iconic form and innovative technology that makes the EE Roboselfie so exciting,’ explains Temime.

 

‘One of the movies I have been most inspired by this year is La La Land and I wanted to capture the public’s imagination in a similar way. On the one hand, the design plays upon the traditional robot form, it feels familiar, fun and inviting. On the other hand, I wanted the robot to play with the norms, adding new references such as the latest connected camera technology from EE in order to go beyond expectations.’

 

‘At EE, we’ve always tried to bring the magic of the movies a little closer for film fans and our customers through our BAFTA partnership,’ adds Mat Sears, Director of Communications & Sponsorship at EE s:

 

‘As this year marks the 20th anniversary of our long-standing relationship with the Film Awards we wanted to do something for the public, that’s quite unique and creates those exciting and shareable moments, without the need to be there. Hopefully the big stars attending on the night will have some fun with it.’

 

Agency Poke worked with EE and BAFYA on the EE Roboselfie concept, while M&C Saatchi PR ran the delivery and build of the robot and the associated PR push.

 

This robotic photo tech first was the leading edge stunt of EE’s wider sponsorship activation of its partnership with the BAFTAs – managed in harness with sports and entertainment agency Havas SE Cake.

 

The BAFTA activation programme also includes at-event and on-stage logo-led signage, a VIP experience for 100 EE guests (and competition winners),

 

 

 

and a pre-awards party at The Dorchester, as well as real-time and low latency exclusive content focusing on awards news, images, video and interviews across EEs own platforms.

 

 

 

The other core pillar of the partnership is The EE Rising Star Award – the only award open to the public vote.

 

The mobile telco spearheads the promotion and voting mechanisms around the Rising Star Award with activity hubbed around its digital site at http://ee.co.uk/why-ee/tickets-events/ee-baftas/rising-star-nominees

 

 

The EE Rising Star Award was won this year by Tom Holland.

 

 

For further details of EE’s Rising Star Award activation see our 2014 and 2013 case studies.

 

Activative Comment:

 

Awards shows and selfie stunts have something of a history – dating back to 2014 The Oscars when a stunt by sponsor Samsung saw host Ellen Degeneres use a Note 3 device to shatter Twitter records by live posting a celebrity-fuelled selfie taken during the telecast (see case study).

 

This EE robot tech stunt builds on that same tactic with a new approach that actually includes the fans and viewers in the selfie stunt.

 

Indeed, EE continues to use technology as a leading edge innovator in its sponsorship activation as it aims to drive home its tech-leading credentials.

 

Recent examples of this approach range from its tie-up with BT Sport last month in staging a virtual reality initiative enabling football fans to experience a VR-Premier League football clash between Chelsea and Arsenal live in four flagship EE stores in London as part of a new BT Sport trial and October’s giant Google location pin stunt at London’s Marble Arch to surprise London commuters and promote the tech giant’s new Pixel handset, to its Wembley Stadium partnership with work ranging from its ‘Wembley Cup’ YouTube initiative,

 

 

to its ‘Light The Arch’ kids coding initiative leveraging its Wembley Stadium partnership (see case study).

 

Links:

 

EE

http://ee.co.uk/why-ee/tickets-events/ee-baftas

http://ee.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/ee

https://twitter.com/EE

https://www.youtube.com/ee

 

Poke

http://pokelondon.com/

 

Havas SE Cake

http://havas-se.com/

 

M&C Saatchi PR

http://mcsaatchipr.com/

 



Related

Featured Showcases

London Marathon

Best Of The NHL

The Masters

April Fools Day

Major League Baseball > Opening Day

IPL

Ireland Rugby

Marathon Marketing

Rugby World Cup

Valentine's Day