Punctually co-inciding with the Anniversary of the Olympus PEN Camera, this summer the international company has launched a new model of the Olympus PEN which boasts the latest technology. DSG developed for Olympus the complex viral Stop-Motion-Clip »The PEN Story« internet application to promote the product. Now the Video will be seen on the cinema screen. Currently the clip is showing on MTV and in mid-October will be on view nationwide in German cinemas. This demonstrates how the success of the clip online confirms the video’s status as a classic and endorses inclusion in the second stage of the marketing campaign. The viral clip and the adaptions for other media is all the work of DSG in Hamburg.
The first 100 Days – consumers decide the relevance of a product.
Already months before the release of the camera and the Clips the net was full of rumours about the new design of the old Olympus PEN which had existed since 1959. Much was speculated in forums and blogs about the new Micro Four Thirds Product. A viral platform was ready to appeal to an active marketplace of committed professional and amateur photographers.
In order to bring back to mind the classic features of the Olympus PEN and refresh the memories of avid photographers as well as promote the advantages of the new model, Olympus began a widely targeted campaign in July that principally consisted of a mix of online and print media content. Since the beginning of the campaign in July, YouTube alone recorded over 1.4 million hits along with innumerable ratings and comments. In order to raise and reinforce awareness of the Compact Camera, Olympus extended the range of methods in Germany to include TV and cinema advertising.
Heino Hilbig, Head of Communications and Marketing Services for Olympus is delighted with the success that the clips have enjoyed and states: »We are grateful to our many active online viewers who have made this campaign a success and have clicked this video into the realms of cinema.«
Christian Wilfer, Head of Client Advisory Services and Strategy at DSG and responsible for the viral campaign and subesequent adaptation for TV and cinema is impressed by the results of the campaign:»The success of the viral clips impressively demonstrates how users decide on the relevance of content and products and actively influence the marketing process through online sharing of consumer viewpoints. Apparently the clips have struck a nerve in a wide-ranging target group. This has made the viral conception an attractive means of enhancing entry into TV and cinema.«
Content of Viral Clips – a cult camera becomes a work of art
Bigfish, the Berlin-based film production house, uses an emotional storyboard Stop-Motion-Technique to visualise highlights in the life of a man beginning in the 1950’s up to the present day.
Love of tradition and a passion for photography is clearly manifest in this complex and elaborate Spot. Over 60,000 shots were taken, a selection of 9600 prints were deveoped and 1800 pictures were finally selected for inclusion in the video. Pictures were physically laid out in carefully chosen order and made into the film using handmade animation techniques, and can now be seen on YouTube.
Inspiration for this methodology came from the YouTube video featuring the work of the Japanses Stop-Motion-Artist Takeuchi Taijin. The music of Johannes Stankowski, produced and arranged by Michael Kadelbach transforms the Spot into a complete work of art. Many hundreds of daily Music-Downloads have given the Spot cult status – and the Olympus PEN unmistakable recognition.
