Judges said online retailer ASOS was a worthy winner in this category, for producing a number of campaigns that were entertaining and which 'stood out in front' of other contenders. They singled out the retailer's use of technology and innovation across a number of its campaigns, including Urban Tour and Savvy Sunday, and were particularly impressed with the way activity worked so well across multiple platforms.
For its Urban Tour campaign, ASOS wanted to target the elusive 16- to 34-year-old male market. Spontaneous awareness was low, at about 13%, compared with 41% for women. Research revealed young men get their fashion ideas from people they admire in bands, films and wider culture and ASOS created an interactive platform featuring its menswear range.
Five of the world's best urban dancers appeared on the platform and viewers could check out what dancers were wearing and place an order there and then. This set-up was integrated with stock systems for the first time. Social media was key to the campaign and the brand collaborated with influential bloggers to showcase material. Facebook and Twitter competitions and games encouraged users to share content.
ASOS Urban Tour became the third most watched brand video of 2011 on YouTube, clocking up 7.36 million views.
To publicise its summer sales campaign, ASOS created a series of games where users could gain points enabling them to elbow their way to the top of a digital queue.
The campaign lifted ASOS' Facebook base by 33%, with more than 211,000 new likes, and was also run on mobile platforms, a key part of ASOS' business, delivering up to 20% of visits to its site. The medium was integral to the campaign, in light of its time sensitive nature, as customers could shop for early bargains wherever they were. Activity delivered the retailer's biggest mobile results to date.