Hand-Picked
Issue 18 | March 2011
Agency
OgilvyOne London
Creative Team
Creative Directors: Charlie Wilson, Emma de la Fosse; Copywriter: James Hodge; Art Director: Neil Aitken
Production Team
Digital Animator: Dave Packer at Sheep Films; Producer: Helen Birkenshaw
Other Credits
Business Director: Phil White; Account Manager: Kieran Bradshaw
Date
September – December 2010
Background
Lotus wanted to overturn preconceptions about the company simply being an email programme and tasked the agency with demonstrating to business decision makers that Lotus software has other important capabilities.
Should anyone in an organisation need to find someone else who knows about Meta data, or someone who has worked in China, Lotus knows the answers.
Idea
To reach the core target audience, the plan was to use 48-sheet-sized Transvision screens in parts of London where business commuters walk each day.
Because they would be passing the screens in rush-hour, minds on other things, with low dwell-time, the concept had to be succinct and visually arresting to gain attention and recognition.
The idea of ‘hand picking’ is a metaphor for what Lotus software can do, grabbing the appropriate information a business leader might need. In addition, early adoption of Transvision screens was just right for ‘grabbing’ the target audience and changing their perceptions of Lotus.
Results
Awareness received a notable boost and weekly web traffic rose to over 2,000 hits a week which helped build on the earlier campaign work (“Lotus Knows”) in Terminal 5 to support sales teams.
Our Thoughts
The creative device of the ‘hand of God’ is not new. In fact I can remember using it myself a few times. But I think gilvyOne can be forgiven because what they saw here was an opportunity to use these huge new screens in a way that makes perfect sense, bringing an opaque brand more clearly into focus for its core target audience.
I suspect designing for digital outdoor is neither like writing a TV commercial nor quite like writing a poster. It’s something of both and as a result we haven’t yet seen what the medium can really deliver. Yet.