Stevie-winner BCW is the global communications agency built to move people. BCW partners with clients in the B2B, consumer, corporate, crisis management, healthcare, public affairs, purpose and technology sectors to set strategic direction for all communications and create powerful and unexpected ideas that earn attention.
Through an “earned-plus” offer—earned media plus paid media, creative technology, data, AI and an expanding suite of innovative capabilities—BCW moves people with power and precision to move its clients forward.
One such client is Chinese laser projection specialist Formovie. Formovie planned to launch its “T1” flagship laser projector in an effort to reinforce its leading position in the highly competitive China laser market. Formovie and BCW came together to develop a comprehensive marketing campaign, which earlier this year won a Bronze Asia-Pacific Stevie Award for Innovation in Cross-Media Marketing.
Considering the wide array of existing product choices and increasingly discerning consumers, Formovie faced some big challenges in building a unique product story and developing effective touch points with consumers. What they did was initiate a cross-media launch campaign that aimed to:
- Exposure goal—generate 30 million impressions total.
- Engagement goal—engage with 40 key media & influencers in the consumer projection segment with positive endorsement on product experience.
- Business goal—help with T1 product sales on e-commerce platforms.
According to research, more than 60% of potential laser projector consumers are enthusiastic about an “exquisite lifestyle” that integrates history, art, symphony, etc. Based on this insight, instead of a traditional press event, Formovie launched a cross-over campaign titled “Breathing life to Dunhuang” integrating imagery and connotations of one of the most famous cultural relics in China: The Mogao Caves in Dunhuang. Dunhuang was the first trading town reached by foreign merchants entering Chinese-administered territories along the Silk Road from the west. The city is the site of the renowned Mogao Caves, which form a system of 500 Buddhist temples, some of which were dug out as early as AD366, which were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.
Dunhuang was the first trading town reached by foreign merchants entering Chinese-administered territory from the west. The city is the site of the renowned Mogao Caves, which were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.
At its foundation, the marketing campaign was a tech-centric, projection-based mini-art show. Commercial laser shows are often used for illumination projects like this; instead, Formovie’s new cinema-pro quality, consumer laser projector T1 was utilized to reproduce the historical relics of frescos from Dunhuang.
By merging the most advanced laser technology with traditional Chinese culture, the team created an appealing product story across media channels, including traditional media, digital platforms, advertising, as well as e-commerce channels.
As a cultural icon with nation-wide recognition, Dunhuang successfully helped attract attention from audiences with large-scale advertising placement. Dunhuang images were also utilized to produce the boot screen picture, product packages, and a scarf gift as exclusive incentives to boost sales. Riding on the momentum generated from media and influencers, the topic “digital representations of Chinese cultural heritage with T1” led to larger scale exposure and discussion as a result.
The campaign was a success, surpassing all targets:
- Exposure goal— 32 million impressions were generated from all media platforms; search engine data show that the number of searches about T1 increased 1,378% within a month.
- Engagement goal— More than 60 key influencers in the consumer projection industry shared articles, videos, or posts with positive endorsement, generating 100K+ engagement.
- Business goal— Dunhuang-themed packages and gifts helped drive sales by more than $500k within 24 hours on Tmall (formerly Taobao Mall), a Chinese-language website for business-to-consumer online retail, operated in China by Alibaba Group.
The integrated campaign “Breathing life to Dunhuang” created a unique story of how traditional Chinese culture from centuries ago can be revitalized today by innovative Formovie products. Cross-media approaches including traditional media, digital platforms, advertising, as well as e-commerce channels were utilized to communicate with audiences throughout their decision-making journey with excellent results.
BCW won a Bronze Award for Innovation in Cross-Media Marketing in the 2022 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.
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