Yahoo Gets Brand Boost from Sony Ericsson Flash Mob Campaign

Sony Ericsson took over the Yahoo U.K. homepage today, in an innovative, if slightly underwhelming attempt to create “the world’s first online flash mob.” At 3pm GMT (11am EST) users visiting the site were greeted with around 100 user generated hopping avatars, bouncing around the page to promote the launch of the manufacturer’s Satio and Aino handsets.

However, initial reactions on Twitter suggest the effort may have done more to promote Yahoo than Sony Ericsson.

In the past five weeks, display and video ads across the Yahoo network have driven users to a dedicated campaign site — hopperinvasion.com — to design and create their own virtual “space hopper.” A space hopper is a large inflatable ball with handles people sit and bounce on. According to Sony Ericsson, over 50,000 space hopper avatars have been created.

When the flash mob commenced, each user saw his own unique hopper along with others leap onto the Yahoo homepage. The hoppers were also featured in banner ads across the Yahoo network. E-mail alerts were sent out to remind people to visit the site in time to see the hopper mob. The online campaign and takeover was created by London-based digital agency, Dare.

The campaign also integrated online and offline elements, print and TV spots, as well as viral videos posted over the last six weeks, which Richard Dorman, senior marketing manager for Sony Ericsson UK and Ireland, said drove the majority of traffic to the hopperinvasion site.

For Sony Ericsson, the intention was to engage users with the brand in a completely new way, said Dorman. “What is exciting is that each user will see something entirely different, something personal,” he said.

Comments made by various users on Twitter this afternoon indicate that the event may have done more to promote the Yahoo brand than it Sony Ericsson. One user wrote, “yey my hopper was part of the yahoo flash mob!” Another tweeted, “Space Hopper flash mob in Yahoo! Takeover. See if you can spot mine!” By contrast, a Twitter search for Sony Ericsson returns no messages relating to the flash mob whatsoever.

“The synergy between online and offline has been integral to the success of this campaign; it has lived in both arenas and in doing so has reached the target audience in various elements of their day to day life,” he said.

As to why Yahoo was chosen over other publishers or portals, Dorman simply stated, “We have a great relationship with Yahoo, and it is one of the most popular sites for UK users.”