3/INQ¹: Launch- Emotion V’s Technology
by Ewa
For the UK launch of the INQ¹, the first fully integrated social networking phone, Amplify was tasked with bringing to life the handset and the iNQ brand as well as ensuring that 3 UK’s DNA ran through the event at every level.
Before beginning, Amplify took a step back and looked at the reasons why and how we communicate. We are social beings; we come together and share our experiences. As technology develops, we use it to bring us together. We only really notice the technology when it goes wrong… It therefore is not about technology itself, it’s about the emotion of coming together by whatever means.
With this insight Amplify introduced ‘faces’ – young life enthusiasts, and heavy users of the key INQ1 services, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger, Skype and Last.fm. The ‘faces’ would represent and best explain the impact these social applications have had on their lives, and therefore highlight to the journalists the potential that the integration in 3’s INQ¹ offers.
The INQ¹ is positioned as a phone influenced by street culture for the social networking hungry youth. Amplify’s challenge was to create a launch event for business and consumer media that stood out from the crowd yet avoided the urban clichés, ensured the business audience felt equally comfortable within the environment and to bring to life the experience and functionality of INQ¹.
The event was divided into two sessions, the morning session for analysts, the business and consumer tech press and an evening session for consumer press and bloggers. Overall, Amplify created a credible experience that would strike an emotional cord and demonstrate the INQ¹ in an innovative and engaging way.
This included the creation of artistic installations representing the lives of the ‘faces’ of each of INQ¹’s four big services. Interactive pods with touch screens allowed users to explore functionality and Amplify’s expert demonstrators talked the journalists through INQ¹’s functions.
Following the presentation style of the day, the evening provided a different experience. Hexstatic created a live visual mix of 3 & iNQ imagery and inspirations. Unabombers and Disco Bloodbath provided the music. Again, Amplify’s expert demonstrators were on-hand to ensure that all present got to experience the INQ¹ in action.
Over at 3’s head office in Maidenhead and its contact centre in Glasgow, Amplify also bought the brand to life. Café 3 was infused with colour; iNQ creative assets featured on walls and floors with the bespoke installations present throughout the space. It was within this iNQ hub that the presentation from the event was broadcast as a live webcast ensuring all at 3 felt part of the launch.
So did Amplify offer media a positive experience of INQ¹ and the iNQ brand, ensuring they got their story? Hero coverage from The Guardian said INQ¹ deserved to be mentioned in the same sentence as the iPhone, G1 and Storm (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/blog/2008/nov/13/telecoms-facebook).
