The first week of May saw P&G skincare brand and IOC sponsor SK-II extend its evolving Tokyo 2020 activation through multi-channel initiatives including a pop-up, mobile gamification and a virtual premiere of its ‘VS’ film series.
Continuing its ongoing Olympic and Paralympic work, SK-II opened its first mobile-centric pop-up shop in a mall in Hainan (China) for a social-retail Tokyo 2020 initiative which offers Augmented Reality (AR) and gaming experiences for shoppers through a WeChat mini program which allows consumers to use a contactless, AI-enabled skin analysis tool to receive personalised information and product recommendations in a contactless manner.
Through the WeChat mini program, visitors to the pop-up are ab le to unlock a content hub built around SK-II’s new ‘VS’ series. The hub comes in the form of a virtual city in which users can watch the six new films in a ‘virtual cineplex’ and participate in an interactive AR experience alongside Olympic athlete Liu Xiang.
The shop thus enables visitors to interact with the brand through multiple channels during a physical shopping experience: even including whilst they wait in the queue to pay in an initiative called ‘The Line Is The Ride’.
Alongside a physical premiere for ‘VS’ Series at Sanya Hyatt Hotel in Hainan (China), which saw audiences view the episodes via an immersive cinema experience alongside a private live performance by singer-songwriter Lexie Liu who composed the soundtrack for one of the episodes, agency VaynerMedia APAC conceptualised and produced a global ‘VS’ film series virtual premiere via an array of dynamic experiences led by a virtual premiere streamed on YouTube Live and Twitter Live for Japan.
This celebrity-studded event was hosted by comedian Naomi Watanabe and YouTube Star Kemio and saw thousands of fans hear from the athlete cast of ‘VS’ Series alongside SK-II celebrity brand ambassadors (actresses Haruka Ayase and Kaori Momoi) and post live comments.
This virtual premiere also featured an exclusive performance by John Legend of never-before-heard song ‘Take A Look’: the official soundtrack for the ‘VS’ Series film “VS Trolls” starring Simone Biles.
Within a week of the premiere, a million viewers had watched the Twitter Live, and more than 50,000 had watched the YouTube Live: making this the most watched livestream from any beauty brand in Japan to date.
“The virtual premiere of the ‘VS’ Series by SKI-II STUDIO brought fans from all around the world together to enjoy this incredible animated series. Through six unique short films, we are presenting powerful stories of world-class athletes and how they overcame societal pressures and have changed their destiny,” said SK-II CEO Sandeep Seth. “In line with SK-II’s #ChangeDestiny purpose, our partner, VaynerMedia came up with a game-changing virtual launch, overcoming the barriers of time zones, language and other perceived limitations for a Premiere during these unprecedented times. We are excited to share the ‘VS’ Series inspiring stories with the world in such an innovative and engaging format.”
VaynerMedia CEO Gary Vaynerchuk added: “VaynerMedia is proud to partner with a visionary brand like SK-II and to bring alive a virtual premiere of this magnitude. Whether you’re a sports fan or a music fan, our team put together an unmissable experience that redefines how brands engage with their consumers. Blending technology, world class athletes and celebrity talent with the message of #ChangeDestiny, we are celebrating the spirit of SK-II and the future of consumer engagement.”
Comment:
Tying the pop-up shop to WeChat aims to extend SK-II’s consumer reach in China where as many as 1.2bn smartphone owners use WeChat (according to Statistica).
This is part of P&G’s ongoing experimentation and innovation programme in engaging in-person shoppers through ‘phygital’ experiences.
The pop-up links to P&G’s umbrella #ChangeDestiny purpose-driven platform and its new ‘VS’ animated series showcasing how six Olympians have addressed a variety of societal pressures.
The initiative was created for SK-II Global CEO Sandeep Seth, Vice President (Japan) Mayu Arao, Global Senior Brand Directors Delphine Buttin and Yoegin Chang, Global Senior Brand Communications Director Shuqi Fu, Brand Director Karan Mehta, Global Content Leader Marco Corsi, Global Media Leader Gaurav Virkar, Senior Communications Manager Pamela Camargo Rosas and Senior Brand Manager Geraldine Lai by agency Vayner Media.
The agency team was led by Agency Head Avery Akkineni, Account Director Rimjhim Srivastava, Associate Account Director Alec Odahara, Senior Account Manager Joanne Ong, Account Manager Yvonne Chan, Project Manager Charmaine Wong, Executive Producer Jonathan Gerard, Producer Sofia Yemelyanova, Social Strategists Shirlee Akazawa and Lauren Wang, Executive Creative Director VJ Anand, Creative Director Steve Nakamura, Associate Creative Director Krystle Morais, Senior Art Director Brenda Li, Art Directors Rei Minagawa, Izzy Tan, Joscelyn Heng, Siokkan Chow and Carol Goh, Copywriters Emilio Rodrigues, Marie Nishibu and Chihiro Sato, plus Video Editors Justin Lim, Zak Ross, Olivia Tan, Shawn Aik, Jay Tan and Cyrel Delos Reyes.
The NY livestream production was handled by Media Monks and OS Studios, with further input from WPP Black Ops, MANO Copenhagen and HUGE Singapore.
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