The Playstation 4 and the Xbox One were going head-to-head for Christmas 2013, sharing specs and software titles. So how did we make sure PS4 was the victor?
Our strategy was to focus on the one area where Sony could beat Microsoft hands down – heritage. The PlayStation brand has an unmatched cultural cache and we wanted to celebrate that difference with a stunt that was uniquely PlayStation.
We identified London’s iconic OXO Tower – flouting the rule that bans advertising on the Thames with its unique windows – as the perfect location for our stunt and gave the tower a clever and unique makeover using PlayStation’s instantly recognisable symbols.
But the OXO takeover was only half the story, because the night of the big switch-on the OXO brasserie played host to a very exclusive preview event for celebrities, lifestyle media and influencers with the objective of getting the PS4 into the hands of the right people as early as possible.
It worked perfectly. With the eyes of the media on the OXO Tower, Jonathan Ross, Charlie Brooker, Professor Green, McBusted, Dara O’Briain, Dizzee Rascal, Dynamo, Rufus Hound and many more got hands on with the new console.
533 pieces of coverage including ten different pieces with The Guardian in the 7 day launch window
38 broadcast hits
Global reach of 217,446,925
The Sun, Daily Star and Daily Mirror showbiz coverage
36.5 million Twitter impressions with 24 hours – with approximately 1.5 million people seeing PS4 launch related messaging per hour.
12% uplift in sales across Amazon and Dixons versus the previous week
10m views of ‘For the Players Since 1995’ video
