How HTC One’s Smartphone Campaign Earned 54,000 Photos Worldwide

Brands using billboards in Times Square to encourage social media engagement is nothing new, but HTC One took things a step further with the brand’s “The Most Beautiful Smartphone” campaign over the holiday season. Over an eleven-week period, HTC One saw over 54,000 photos shared from consumers in five countries: the US, UK, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

HTC One photo sharing campaign [image: HTC web site]
HTC One photo-sharing campaign in Times Square
Submitting photos through Twitter, Weibo, Wiexin, email and the HTC website, consumers used mobile and social to participate in the contest (Mobile Marketer).  Prizes included: one free HTC One smartphone per week in each of the five markets, and a special drawing around Christmas and New Year’s for a 24K gold-plated HTC One phone (worth over $2,500).

Once participants submitted their ‘beautiful’ photo and it was approved for posting, they received a message from HTC that the photo was posted, along with an image showing the participant’s photo appearing on the Times Square billboard. This “digital keepsake” was meant to be shared on social sites, and also remained available in the ‘Keepsake Gallery’ on HTC’s web site (Adotas).

HTC supported the campaign via:

  • paid marketing across social platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Weibo and Weixin
  • a street team on high-traffic dates in Times Square
  • the HTC.com web site and the brand’s Facebook and Twitter pages

The campaign was initially planned for the US only, but quickly expanded to include the additional four markets as photos poured in. The campaign was powered by Aerva’s marketing technology software platform for integrating social and user-generated content.

“This campaign allowed HTC’s fans to express themselves creatively, become part of the campaign. We’re proud that our platform’s ability to seamlessly integrate social media, mobile interactivity and digital displays helped make that happen,” stated Sanjay Manandhar, founder and CEO of Aerva (Adotas).

The numbers speak for themselves; the campaign clearly drew an impressive amount of engagement from consumers. Was it fueled more by the lure of prizes, or the chance to see a personal photo displayed over Times Square? Either way, it was a big success for HTC One.

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