HTC case study

Our challenge

HTC already had one of the top smartphones of the year, but even hiring Ironman himself wasn’t enough for them. In a highly competitive market they wanted us to find a way to draw attention to their best ever phone the HTC One, strengthening relationships with customers, retailers and operators. No small ask!

What we did together

Our research indicated that there was media fatigue reporting on similar looking rectangular smartphones. Furthermore, the HTC One had already achieved good initial buzz and five star reviews. To go further, we wanted to disrupt the smartphone space, reach the design and luxury press and be reported wider in popular culture. And to do this, we proposed creating the first real gold HTC One, a premium version that would inject excitement into a maturing market.

What happened?

We developed the gold phones with a partner and proposed a Golden Ticket competition for an operator to offer one lucky customer a Gold HTC One. O2 agreed to carry out a national promotion with HTC to give away one device in 472 branches.

The Gold HTC One was launched as a complete surprise to media. The device was shown to media in a bomb-proof security box, with security guards in attendance to lend an air of exclusivity and disruption to the campaign.

Changing HTC’s story

Not only did we secure 425 pieces of coverage where journalists were telling consumers to “forget the gold coloured iPhone” and calling the HTC One “the no1 smartphone of the year” we also teamed up with the MOBOs to present the exclusive handsets to winners. The campaign was so successful that HTC replicated the campaign in other major territories.

In the US, HTC paid an additional six-figure sum to take over Times Square with a campaign to win a Gold HTC One. But the results didn’t stop there… as a direct result of its success, HTC released a Gold HTC One in the market.