Lenovo launches its K900 smartphone in a multi-market Asian campaign fronted by NBA superstar Kobe Bryant called ‘The Everyday Kobe Challenge’.
The umbrella idea, based around Bryant’s reputation for dramatic 3-pointers, is a simple one – shoot hoops the Kobe way and win a smartphone.
One strand of the campaign sees Lenovo challenge people to produce an original and creative jump shot, either from the basketball court (such as this entry)
or in an everyday situation (such as this entry).
Social media agency We Are Social worked with the Chinese-owned IT boxmaker on the K900 campaign creating a Facebook app enabling consumers to submit their own jump shot videos and vote for their favourites
The app is hosted on Lenovo’s individual local market Facebook pages and the most popular jump shot wins a Lenovo K900.
Traditional paid-for advertising,
plus creative on other brand-owned channels such as Twitter and Instagram, drives consumers to these Lenovo Mobile local market Facebook pages.
Another phase of the initiative revolves around an augmented reality gaming app.
Consumers are driven to download the Zappar App, start the game, take your 3-point shot aim at the special code, load the game and shoot hoops.
Users can also use the app to take a virtual photo of themselves with Bryant which they can then share via social platforms.
The wider campaign spans in-store work, mobile and digital initiatives, outdoor ads and print executions, as well as personal Bryant appearances on the ‘Meet Kobe’ event tour themed ‘Challenge Bryant, Let Dreams Happen’.
The initiative, which aims to both promote the product launch and boost Lenovo’s general brand presence in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines, targets millennials, early adopters and technology enthusiasts.
Its objective is to engage those aged between 18 and 25 who are very active on social media and use their smartphones mainly for entertainment.
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Bryant became an official ambassador for Lenovo mobiles and tablets in China and across Southeast Asia in early 2013. The partnership objective is for the brand to use the NBA star to further spread its brand spirit and reinforce its position as a world-class brand.
By choosing a US superstar sportsman the Chinese-based brand (which took over IBM’s PC hardware business) aims to draw parallels between the player and brand in terms of pursuing excellence.
The endorsement deal, which sees the LA Lakers star shooting guard front various marketing campaigns ranging from traditional advertising,
to online work
events and social media initiatives.
Bryant may be a global name and have powerful reach in many Asian markets, however his campaign was not used for all K900 Asian country launches.
For example, an alternative launch campaign in Vietnam for Lenovo’s K900 focused on style and fashion and the ‘What’s Your K900 Stle’ campaign was built around consumer’s putting together smartphone accessories.
As well as Vietnam, the style thread was used in India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Mexico, Peru and Serbia.
Again, the campaign taps into the aspirational nature of the K900, by asking consumers to express their style by putting together items/outfits/accessories that would best pair with the K900 because as we all know, the smartphone is a fashion accessory worth celebrating.
It also revolved primarily around Facebook.
After selecting their K900 ‘Lookbook’, fans of Lenovo can upload their photos on to their market’s Facebook page using a ‘What’s Your K900 Style’ app.
Again, a consumer voting mechanism will choose the most popular ‘looks’, which will be in the running to win a K900 smartphone.
According to Lenovo’s digital and social director Rod Strother both of the campaigns reflect the personality and style of the K900 and position the launch perfectly amongst its target audience.
‘The K900 is a key product launch for Lenovo, so it was important that the creative ideas behind the campaigns were truly reflective of the K900’s dynamic features and positioning in the smartphone market,’ commented We Are Social managing Director Simon Kemp.
Links
Kobe Bryant Campaign Local Market Facebook Pages:
Indonesia: https://apps.facebook.com/everydaykobe_id
Thailand: https://apps.facebook.com/everydaykobe_th
Philippines: https://apps.facebook.com/everydaykobe_ph
Malaysia: https://apps.facebook.com/everydaykobe_my
Style Campaign Local Market Facebook Pages:
UAE: https://apps.facebook.com/lenovomobilestyleuae
Saudi Arabia: https://apps.facebook.com/lenovomobilestylesa
Vietnam: https://apps.facebook.com/lenovomobilestylevn
Lenovo Website
We Are Social Website
