Sony Ericsson’s Pocket TV hits 7m views and is a finalist at Cannes
July 7th, 2010
Sony Ericsson’s hit online music and entertainment show Pocket TV, a finalist for a Cannes Lion award, has already hit 7m views before it has even reached the end of its second series.
The made for mobile show, which this series has featured an exclusive interview with film stars Forrest Whittaker and Jude Law, has followed in the success of last year’s series, which was an instant hit upon launch, recording in excess of three million views.
Other major talent to appear in this year’s series has included some of the music industry’s hottest acts such as Mark Ronson, Basshunter, Ellie Goulding, David Guetta, N-Dubz, Taio Cruz, Chipmunk and Alexandra Burke.
iris developed Pocket TV in 2009 for Sony Ericsson to reengage with the brand’s target audience of ‘digital youth’ – opinion-forming, tech and media savvy 15-24 year olds – in advance of new product launches. Following the success of the first series, the show was recommissioned in 2010 and broadened to include entertainment as well as music guests.
N-Dubz' Dappy
Episodes are aired in four weekly, easy-to-digest segments of four to six minutes in length and feature tongue-in-cheek segments and special features such as ‘Face Invaders’, which shoots bands close-up to allow for the small viewing screen of a mobile.
The show is designed to take guests artists outside of their comfort zone and prompt spontaneous unrehearsed reactions giving viewers insight into guests’ personalities.
Charlotte Soussan, brand entertainment director at iris, which developed the concept for Pocket TV and is co-executive producing the show, commented: “The second series of Pocket TV has taken the show to a new level with wider distribution across YouTube, Mobile, PS3, and MSN, sustained social media activity across all videos and a growing fan base of Pocket TV afficionados.”
The show is presented by stand-up comedian and Radio 1 DJ Matt Edmondson – an ideal host for the show’s 18-25 year old youth audience.
Alexandra Burke gets 'Face Invaded'
The show is being supported by a linked ATL and BTL campaign, including an online competition to win the chance to become a paid ‘runner’ for the show and help with all aspects of the show and document the experience through a YouTube video blog filmed on Sony Ericsson’s HD handset.
Richard Dorman, Senior Marketing Manager for Sony Ericsson UK and Ireland said: “Sony Ericsson’s commitment to bringing groundbreaking, exciting content to market is an intrinsic part of our brand strategy this year, and Sony Ericsson’s Pocket TV is testament to this. The programs provide fresh, engaging made-for-mobile entertainment for consumers, embodying our approach for 2010. Having the show filmed in HD brings the series to a new audience, whilst retaining our loyal fans. Furthermore its HD filmed content will help bring to life the capabilities of the new Sony Ericsson Vivaz – the world’s smallest* HD video phone.”
The first series of the show, which featured some of the music industry’s hottest talent including Florence and the Machine, N-Dubz and Tinchy Stryder, was an overnight sensation, filling a niche in the wake of shows such as PopWorld and CD:UK and marking a new era in the world of branded content.
To read more on last year’s show, click here: http://www.irisnation.com/irisnews/work/iris-launches-pocket-tv-for-sony-ericsson/
Watch the latest episode of the show featuring Mark Ronson here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OGbO6-16VE
You can also read what our digital director for Europe George Nimeh has to say on the future of TV including Pocket TV in this piece, which appeared in creative publication Contagious: http://www.irisnation.com/irisnews/uk_europe/iris-digitals-nimeh-tells-contagious-why-the-future-of-tv-is-changing/
Tags: creative, digital, integrated