Motorola brings images to life for its latest offering

The new digital campaign titled Motograph 360 showcases the features of the smartwatch Moto 360 by creating five different stories using cinemagraphs.

The global telecommunications company Motorola has come up with an exclusive digital campaign for the launch of its smartwatch Moto 360. Conceptualised by Motorola's digital marketing agency Mindshare, and in partnership with FoxyMoron, the new digital campaign titled Motograph 360 showcases the features of the watch by creating five different stories using cinemagraphs.

Cinemagraph is a fusion of living photography and video where just one or two elements are in motion, creating an effect of continuous motion in static pictures. The stories revolve around five Moto 360 users covered from different walks of life, using the smartwatch in their daily lives. The campaign has been released on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, along with a separate microsite of the company.

Commenting on the campaign, Vinod Thadani, chief digital officer, Mindshare, says, "Our aim was to single-mindedly launch the product in a never-before-done manner by highlighting the product features, while at the same time stay true to Motorola's philosophy of doing things differently. The main aim of the campaign is to drive product awareness through unique digital experiences."

Thadani feels that in order to gain the audience's attention, advertisers need to create something unique which would stand out from the rest. "Keeping in mind the limited attention span of consumers on social media today, the best way to break clutter is a disruptive format innovation. Therefore, we didn't adopt trends, but set the trend in true Motorola style," says Thadani.

He says that cinemagraphs capture the essence of the Moto 360 watch and showcase the wide range of features it has to offer. "Our aim is to break the clutter through the #MotoGraph 360 campaign, and emphasise on what is really important to the consumers," he adds.

Moto 360 made its way into the market first in 2014, with its second generation launched on December 2, this year. It is available exclusively on Flipkart and Myntra. The campaign was initiated on December 6, and has so far reached out to more than 3,00,000 viewers along with over 0.15 million engagement on social media so far.

Commenting on the target audience, Rachna Lather, marketing head, Motorola India, says, "Our target group is an avid smartphone user who understands a lot about smartphones. The phone buzzes all the time with all sorts of notifications. Even when you are in a meeting, you are interrupted by technology. We believe that this device actually frees you from that. We are looking at a guy who has been using the smartphone, who knows about the smartphone, who knows the reason to disconnect from time to time."

Lather gives the example of the mobile phone disrupting important meetings. "You are in a meeting and your phone buzzes, you pick it up to see if it is important, break the flow of the conversation, and reciprocate accordingly. But, with this device, the notifications flash on your wrist, and you have the choice to either dismiss it or attend to it without looking at your phone," she says.

"Our agencies Mindshare and FoxyMoron suggested an interesting way that could depict the usage of the watch in the lives of our buyers. The result was Motograph 360, a collection of five stories told via cinemagraphs that bring out the features of the smartwatch and the passions of those involved," says Lather.

According to Lather, Motorola has used innovative tools and campaigns to reach out to customers. "We are glad to be the first brand in India to use this innovative technology," she adds.

Talking about the brand's exclusive partnership with Flipkart and Myntra, Lather feels that today, there is no other platform which offers such a wide market for a product other than e-commerce brands.

"We were the first brand in India to launch its products exclusively on Flipkart. In 2014 when we came back, we studied the market and the kind of consumers we wanted were actually available and were shopping online. We understand that the kind of penetration which Flipkart or any other e-commerce platform offer, is difficult to get through other channels," says Lather.

Often, customers first search for a product online, and then in a brick and mortar store. "We are eliminating this process. You search for us online, you buy us online. Flipkart is the leader in its space so we partnered with it along with Myntra as our smartwatches were also fashionable."

Pratik Gupta, co-founder, FoxyMoron, says, "Today, brands look out for content that would halt your thumb from scrolling down your news feed. And, I think cinemagraphs have that power to do so. From mesmerising movements to compelling contexts, it has brought a creative edge to visual storytelling. While globally, it has been around for quite some time, this intriguing piece of content will become the next phenomenon in India."

Motorola is currently running two campaigns side by side. One is the Moto 360 campaign, while the other is the Moto G additional campaign, which is on air currently. The Moto G TVCs are aired mainly on the English entertainment channels. The company launches just five-six products throughout the year, and this is the reason why it is not visible on television widely.

A Fresh Start

Gopa Kumar, vice-president, Isobar India, feels that it is amazing to see agencies use innovative techniques such as cinemagraphs for advertising. "I think it is great that brands and agencies are trying to use cinemagraphs for creating brand stories. This is unique and stands to cut through the clutter of brands which use normal flat photos. Moreover, these are perfectly suited for Instagram and Facebook autoplay which makes them move automatically. Cinemagraphs are also great for creating snackable formats that really stand out," says Kumar.

Commenting on the campaign, he further adds, "I think it's been done quite well and it should stand out because in India, currently, only a few brands are using this feature to create interesting content. Since the target audience for Motorola is well-versed with newer technology platforms and innovations, there should not be any difficulty in understanding the concept."

But, at the same time, Kumar feels that there are things that could have been done better in the campaign. "Things could have been done better, but since it is just a start and only a few brands have experimented with this, I am sure learnings from this can be built in to create even more engaging and intriguing cinemagraph content in future," he says.

Ankit Mathur, Group media manager, Cheil India, feels that the use of cinemagraphs has not been carried out on a brand level at such a big level before. The last time the audience came across a cinemagraph was when an e-commerce site had shown live photos to showcase a new collection. "But, the whole thought of 'moving photographs' does catch the attention of the audience, and the partnership with social influencers to bring out the features of the product in the most innovative way worked well for the brand," says Mathur.

"It does catch eyeballs on digital media, especially of the more tech-savvy audience, which is also the target audience. The campaign does work from a sheer branding point of view, but how it fares on the RoI (Return on Investment) chart will still depend on the reviews by early adopters and tech influencers and the overall performance of the product," he adds.

Mathur feels that the campaign will be successful, especially among the target audience. "Assuming that the target audience for this product ranges between 25-35 years and is tech-savvy, and moreover, loves to flaunt the latest gadgets and is vocal on social/digital media, the marketing technique works."