"The navigation and use of video make this site great to explore and leave you wanting to try every product." —juror Oscar Llarena
"Nice balance of simplicity and fun. I’d buy a pair." —juror Jill Nussbaum
Overview: Sony wanted to build a headphone brand that was interpreted more like a fashion accessory and less like an electronics product. Not just pretty toys, PIIQ headphones and earbuds were built to withstand the impact of active sports and designed by artists and DJs, the bright and bold products embody the expression of youth culture. This site positions PIIQ at the intersection of active sports, music and streetwear. As expressive as the brand, it features interactive videos showcasing PIIQ's unique product features and a product showcase that enables easy tabbing through color assortments, fast scrolling through styles and visible product commentary.
• Given the online behavior and social media adoption of the youth demographic, Sony PIIQ concentrated all launch efforts on digital initiatives. The site is part of a campaign that also includes a huge social media effort that launched on Facebook (www.facebook.com/PiiQ).
• Each of the headphones has a video that showcases the different features; through videos of up-close encounters with the headphones it's as close a representation of an in-store experience as possible.
• Big, bold product images were used so that visitors would instinctively navigate to the products that jumped out at them the most.
Comments by Damon Nelson:
What was your creative approach? "PIIQ is Sony's newly-created brand of headphones. They aren't your father's basic black-and-gray headphones; they're all about street-style, fresh creativity and aggressively-bold colors. These brand ideals are best embodied by the headphones themselves, so rather than showboat with a bunch of irrelevant hype, we decided to let the product speak for itself in a nakedly authentic way—with a color-forward, what-you-see-is-what-you-get interactive video showcase. The end result is a decidedly fresh take on a retail experience, with people getting different video views and close-ups of all the headphones in the line."
How are you continuing to engage the audience? "The PIIQ site has successfully kept visitors browsing for long durations, with time-on-site stats at over three times the industry benchmark. After launching the showcase, and building the Facebook hub, we released ongoing content related to music, streetwear and active sports. And, since we wanted teens to experience PIIQ at their favorite events we met them at the X Games and Dew Tour stops nationwide and documented them sporting their newest accessory. Anticipating that reflections of everyday teens in PIIQ headphones would make great look book material, we titled the Facebook photo albums 'Citizen Models' and released them after every event. We also initiated a media supported PIIQ giveaway that offered incentives to like the page. With the combination of a well-crafted fan page, compelling daily content and an appealing giveaway, we built a highly engaged audience for PIIQ."
