We used an innovative twist on influencer-generated content to crank up awareness of Yamaha’s Revstar guitars
Challenge
Yamaha needed a strong hook for its push into a crowded guitar marketplace.
The guitar field is crowded, and loyalty for existing brands is high. Yamaha’s launch of a high-tech-but-vintage-inspired guitar called the Revstar needed a breakthrough moment that convinced skeptics that it sounded good and fit their aesthetic. The guitar needed to play a hero’s role in the new campaign, which Yamaha hoped would capture the attention of a younger, hipper consumer.
Solution
We played up the idea of a “sonic experiment” to show the capabilities (and cool factor) of the new guitar.
We knew to put the guitar in the hands of someone who could really play it. But we needed an innovative way to showcase the capabilities of the guitar as well. We dreamed up, scripted and produced the “Meet Your Other Half” video series that showed musicians Twin Shadow and Andrew Aged “meeting” the Revstar guitar. The musicians met in room in a sound stage in Los Angeles that was empty except for a pair of guitars and amplifiers and started jamming, letting the capabilities of the instruments become the impactful voice in the room. As interest in the experiment grew, we used the artists and Yamaha executives for interviews that we further leveraged by pushing the content to social media channels and the Yamaha website.
Results
We struck a chord with the target consumer across digital channels and collected earned media placements along the way.
Forbes: “‘The Sonic Experiment’ is a raging six-string success full of potential for Yamaha”
87M
earned media impressions
Top-tier media placements including Entertainment Tonight, CBSNews, FastCompany, and more