rugby racing, designer bottles, flower growing phones and pedal powered vending machines/a lounge group trend report on challenge

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This edition’s theme of ‘challenge’ is all about brands embracing their own competitive spiritand that of their consumers by taking up different challenges or by challenging themselves whilst creating engaging content.

Lounge view/Technology and the presence of online

leader boards mean that the competitor

can choose a time that suits them to

complete the challenge, rather than

having set times (as seen previously with

challenge events such as Nike Grid).

So consumers can have further exposure

to the brand through vending machine

sampling en route.

Experiential/

Technology such as Radio-frequency identification (RFID) has allowed brands to create more interesting and appealing challenges that straddle on and offline worlds. RFID tags are intelligent tracking chips linked up to realtime social networks, websites and email.The New Zealand based “Powerade Challenge” is a 9km running course in Auckland. Competitors register online to receive a RFID wristband, then run the course checking in at Powerade vending machines along the route. Their time is automatically updated on the Challenge website’s leader board. The brand’s message is “go stronger for longer”, so runners also had to push themselves to compete and gauge their fitness against the Powerade sponsored All Blacks rugby team.

©2011 The Lounge Group / theloungegroup.com

Offline Meets Online Challenge: The Powerade Challenge

Lounge view/Crowd sourcing creative activity is both

an efficient way of generating ideas as

well as creating consumer engagement

with a brand. Desperados has added

a competitive element and a measure

of achievement to their crowd sourcing

efforts which gives the consumer further

incentive to contribute, increasing the size

of the community.

Digital/Virtual Challenge: Desperados “Imagine Your Bottle”

The previous example shows real world challenges with a virtual element. By being held entirely online, there is no limit to the creativity of brand challenges and they can also reach a much wider audience. Beer Brand Desperados challenged members of “Imagine Desperados” (their online community) to design limited edition bottle labels using an in browser studio. Entrants then submit their designs which are published in an online gallery and their creations are voted on by other community members with the chance to win 200 Euros and have their designs made real.

©2011 The Lounge Group / theloungegroup.com

Lounge view/RFID technology allows for real time

Facebook likes and updates, enabling

consumers to promote the park to their

friends online. By incorporating the

“Extreme O Meter” element into their

activities, Luna Park builds an online

community of advocates.

Social Media/Fun Challenge: ‘My Experience’ Luna Park, Sydney

Challenges need not be about winning prizes or gaining status. The reward element or consumers could simply be fun interactions in a fun environment.Luna Park, a theme park in Sydney, has employed RFID technology to integrate SMS, email, web and Facebook into their visitors’ experiences. Visitors register their wristbands online and then compete with their friends for their “Extreme O Meter” rating.

Users swipe their wristbands before going on a ride and compete with each other to see who can go on the most rides. Users can also update their Facebook status as well as upload live ride photography, which helps to promote the park to a wider audience online. The theme park offers are also sent via SMS throughout the day, driving additional engagement and loyalty.

©2011 The Lounge Group / theloungegroup.com

Sampling/Experiential/Personal Challenge: Activate Pedal Powered Vending Machine

The previous examples all illustrate the thrill of competing with other people. But how about just competing against yourself? With the tag line “bring your legs, not your quarters”, California beverage brand, Activate, who sell vitamin infused water, have installed a vending machine in Los Angeles which rewards customers with free drinks. Every 30 seconds of pedalling earns participants one free bottle of activate.

©2011 The Lounge Group / theloungegroup.com

Lounge view/This example grabs attention because of

its unique approach to sampling – making

the consumer work for the product, rather

than getting something for free. However,

as this challenge is based on physical

activity, it becomes appropriate for a

fitness oriented brand, such as Activate,

to create an immersive, rewarding

challenge-based brand experience.

Lounge view/Sony Ericsson has used challenge as

a theme for the campaign in which the

phone is hero, challenging its features

and functionality to communicate their

superiority in a cluttered market. Their

outputs as online films creates instantly

shareable content for consumers.

Viral/Brand Challenge: Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc – Challenge the Greenhouse

We’ve seen how the previous challenges operate to engage the consumer and bring them closer to the brand. What about the brand challenging itself in order to communicate that it’s ‘best in class’?Sony Ericsson has developed a new viral campaign in collaboration with McCann Eriksson Munich to promote their Xperia Arc mobile phone. Six challenges were set for the phone to demonstrate its exceptional features and a range of videos document the process and results. Most notably, in Challenge the Greenhouse, Xperia Arc faced its first challenge to make a flower bloom using only the light from its screen.

Further challenges include “Challenge the Driver” and “Challenge the Fast Lane” in which a stunt driver and skateboarders have their vision obscured and replaced with Xperia Arc screens to navigate bustling cities.

©2011 The Lounge Group / theloungegroup.com

Click here to check out the video/

a lounge group trend report on challenge‘Challenge’ is a great way to connect with consumers by offering both satisfaction and reward for making an effort. Ensuring consumers feel a sense of personal achievement - leading to further brand engagement, generating word of mouth and greater recall.This includes the following:

• Providing consumers with a brand experience that brings your brand and/or product values to life

• Engaging with consumer’s personal ambitions, competitive spirit and their desire to achieve and win

• Facilitating sharing their experience with friends and family using technology and social networks

For Consumers: We want to feel special. If a brand can relate to us and make us feel rewarded for our efforts in engaging with them, then we are more likely to engage in an ongoing interaction with them. Without this element of reward, consumers won’t feel inclined to make the effort. Challenge provides a raison d’être to engage and can also give the strong reward element that comes with seeking the thrill of the win.

For Brands: Offering reward for engagement by challenging their consumers with competitions and events is nothing new. However, often aided by the latest technologies, brands are constantly coming up with new and exciting ways to connect with their consumers in the form of challenges. This allows brands to increase the level of engagement that they have with audiences through interactivity and therefore drives stronger recall and loyalty.

We’re a creative communications agency with a network of 10,000 consumers at our heart. And we’re passionate about understanding their world and connecting with them in the right way. If you’d like to know more about how we do it, email sara.gil@theloungegroup.com or call her on 020 7940 4381.

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