If you're like me, then Valentine's Day isn't any more special than any other day of the week.
But, you just simply cannot ignore the fact that millions of people choose this particular event to disclose their feelings for another person. Interesting enough, this is the only reason I apprciate this "joyous" day...
People tend to break out of their shell and say "I ❤ YOU" on Valentine's Day, and then live happily ever after. With that insight in mind, and the fact that IKEA has one of the most iconic Valentine's (sic) gifts of all time, the FAMNIG HJÄRTA... we at Tribal DDB Athens set out to create a simple yet effective means of saying "I ❤ YOU".
Using Facebook (but not limited to that) we created the "SAY I LOVE YOU" app, and made it easy for over 2000 people to express their feelings in just under 36 hours.
Even if you're not a "Valentine's Day" person, there's no reason why you can't just say "I ❤ YOU" to someone or something ;)
In December 2010 we launched To Dyari (The Studio - in Greek it also means "the duo"), one of our most ambitious projects ever since I joined Tribal DDB. A six episode webseries which tackles the scepticism of using Web Banking.
On contrary to what many think, security is hardly the issue which keeps people from using the actual application and performing day to day tasks. The greatest obstacle is the lack of knowledge and experience of using any online application, let alone an application which handles their life's savings... The fear of making a mistake or not being able to communicate with a person, drives people to the nearest bank outlet. Something which isn't always the optimal solution...
The Idea
The target group was quite specific: All registered users of Alpha Bank's e-Services which have yet to engage with it. Which in plain english means, "We need to get all our clients who have signeed up for Web Banking, to use the application".
We came up with the idea to create two oppposite characters which would represent two different groups of people. On one hand we had the group who uses Web Banking and enjoys the comfort of such experiences, and on the other the group that doesn't. Quite simple and straight forward. But that wasn't enough. We wanted to give the visitors the ability to explore both situations were either character/group would take the lead. So, every episode has a critical point in the timeline, where the user gets to choose how the story will continue...
The characters
In collaboration with DDB Athens, we created two characters who live under the same roof, but are totally different. Nikos is a very strict, self aware Dentist, who likes to keep everything in order. As with most of his lifes' actions he likes to be in control of everything himself, which lead him to use Web Banking. On the other hand, his brother Tolis, is a very liberal, freeform spirit. Artisitc by nature (he claims to be an artist) who does not conform to day to day obligations... which to his delight, Nikos takes care of.
The plot
Through various situations, we explore the uses and the practicailty of Web Banking. Each episode tackles a specific task, from Bank Transfers (Pay the rent, Travel booking), Credit Card payments, Utility bills, up to more simple stuff like the e-Pass top-up. Tolis is always the highlight of the episode due to his humorous and liberal nature. He can never take anything too seriously which leads to ridiculous circumstances. Users are encouraged to choose how the story will unfold by selecting which character should execute the given task.
The assets
We created a site (www.todyari.gr) which would work as a hub where we would collect all the various assets from services around the internet. Our main Service was Youtube, for all our video hosting needs. Flickr was selected as the photo hosting service. And of course Facebook would be our main campain deployment vessel.
The making
Like most live film projects, the 3 day fliming process was a blast. We managed to capture hundreds of Gb's worth of behind the scenes footage and photographs. For the most part, the behind the scenes content if mostly fun, as always.
The results
The Youtube channel has accumulated over 150.000 views and our Facebook Page so far has garnered over 15.000 fans. Overall, the Web Banking Service has seen a substantial increase in usage, which can be directly linked to the campaign. Unfortunately no specific numbers can be released as of this writing.
Conclusion
While people are very sceptic in engaging with Banks in general (probably the hardest brands you can get people to interact with), we've seen that given the right circumstances, people are willing to open up to new experiences and enjoy a few moments which will allow them to come closer...
When Toyota Hellas requested a tool that would allow visitors to calculate the average cost differences between the Auris HSD and similar cars, we didn't just build a calculator...
The original brief stated that we needed to build a tool(s) that would allow the user to calculate the cost differences based on his subjective use of a car (Klms/year), rendered in a specific depth of time (5 years), proving that the Auris HSD is essentially the best investment he can make, as far as buying a car is concerned.
Firstly, we narrowed down the information the user is absolutely required to enter in order to calculate the average cost of the Auris HSD. Only the annual average driving Kilometers (city and highway) are required by the user. Everything else is calculated behind the scenes.
Secondly, we used four variables to calculate the average cost of the vehicles. Buying cost, taxes, consumption, daily gas prices. We then crunch all these numbers into a beautiful average cost spanning 1 to 5 years.
Once the average cost of the Auris HSD has been calculated, the users are able to select any car from a list of 36 available vehicles and compare it to the Auris HSD. There's also an option to select 1, 2 or 5 years of use.
We started off with a limited number of comparison vehicles, but as we started entering more and more cars into the system, we noticed that the Auris HSD is actually very competitive, cost-wise. Thus rendering the Auris HSD the most cost-effective vehicle on the Greek market.
To make an even greater point, we added the Eco-Board, a number crunching board dedicated to Eco friendly (and not so-friendly) human interactions. We chose this in order to make an extra point, that not only is this a financial decision, but also a chance to make a difference for the environment...
Η πρώτη* interactive ιστορία αγάπης έρχεται πολύ σύντομα κοντά σας!
* Εκτός από πρώτη interactive ιστορία αγάπης, είναι και η πρώτη ταινία μικρού μήκους (17mins) αποκλειστικά για το Internet, γυρισμένη με όλα τα πρότυπα του κλασσικού κινηματογράφου - film, γερανοί, μπόλικοι κομπάρσοι, κυνήγημα του ήλιου, "ωχ πήρε φως το film" κλπ
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