Sony Ericsson Wants Bond Fans Shaken, Stirred by New Phone
Sony Ericsson has launched a tie-in campaign between the upcoming James Bond film “Quantum of Solace” and its latest advanced mobile phone, the C902 Titanium Silver Cyber-shot.
But the integrated global campaign, slated for a rolling launch in 42 countries around the film’s November debut, may not make it in full interactive force to North America.
Launched in Britain this week, the campaign centers on an interactive Web game called “Directive C902”, hosted on a microsite. The site contains an interactive movie of four “missions” that test users’ espionage spy skills while showcasing the features of the Sony Ericsson handset.
As users complete a mission—filmed in spy-thriller style—they get a code that unlocks a downloadable mobile phone application and grants access to the next game level. The apps range from a “fingerprint scanner” that can supposedly determine if their friends are fellow agents or evil masterminds to actual camera software that lets users set up their mobile phones to take time-lapse photos and e-mail them to their mailboxes.
Players who successfully complete all four missions and gain all the download codes are invited to enter to win a trip to Monte Carlo to live the Bond lifestyle. The Web site also hosts a trailer for the film, the 22nd in the Bond franchise.
“This is a great opportunity for Sony Ericsson to leverage its ongoing relationship with the most eagerly anticipated release of the year,” director of global marketing communications Cathy Davies said in a statement. “As well as enabling our customers to actually own the James Bond phone, we’re able to offer them unique experiences online, in-store and through partner marketing as well as through the phones themselves.”
While the campaign is centered on the new C902 Cyber-shot, the applications will work on a range of other Sony Ericsson handsets.
Users in more than 40 countries from Europe through Asia are being driven to the Web site via e-mail, timed to arrive a week or two before the movie opens in their markets. The campaign is also using online marketing and has lined up TV, movie ads, outdoor and in-store retail materials to promote the tie-in.
But in North America, Sony Ericsson will rely primarily on in-store marketing in its more than 40 Sony Style stores rather than on driving users to the online game. At press time, it’s not certain that the game site will have an American host; since the applications are built on an open platform, U.S. players can access one of the foreign sites—currently the U.K. Ireland and Poland– and play the game if they wish.
“We’ve leveraged one of the most iconic film properties in the world through a global digital campaign,” Tori Winn, creative director of campaign agency Iris Digital, said in a statement. “Visitors get entangled in a web of espionage where they can test their secret agent skills in cool and engaging ways. They’re rewarded for their efforts with access to exclusive mobile applications and entry to a global competition.”
