A case study by TNT and OPPO: How to win Olga Buzova’s heart with one flip

Gazprom-Media Sales House together with the GG agency (ex VMLY&R Commerce, ex Geometry Global), TNT TV channel, UM agency (ADV Group), and YES BOZZ agency developed and executed an advertising campaign for a new smartphone from one of the world’s leading brands, OPPO Learn how to create viral content and increase brand awareness in the new case study.

Objectives

To improve the brand knowledge in Russia;

To increase audience loyalty and draw attention to a smartphone with an unconventional shape;

To draw the audience’s attention to the key benefits of the product.

Idea

The new form factor of the device with a foldable screen is an unusual format for Russian consumers. To generate interest, build trust in the brand’s products, and increase awareness, we created an integrated campaign to launch the new product on the Russian market.

Before the start of the traditional wedding season, the new smartphone model turned into a wedding ring box. TV host Olga Buzova was selected as a key influencer.

The creative idea of proposing with Olga’s smartphone made the newsbreak into a viral sensation and inspired the audience to come up with their own ways to use the new foldable flagship. Using that newsbreak as a foundation, we developed further communications across TV, digital, lifestyle and social media.

Solution

The advertising campaign ran from May 31 to June 11, 2023. To capture the public’s attention, we chose a media strategy and utilized relevant platforms based on our target audience: men and women aged 25–40 with average incomes, who are outgoing and social, not loyal to any particular brands, and interested in new emotions and experiences.

The project launch commenced with publications on the StarHit.ru and Woman.ru platforms, as well as on the TNT VKontakte profile. It was said that during the broadcast of the “Stars in Africa” program on TNT, Olga Buzova was proposed to with a smartphone. The news was corroborated by photos and videos from the set, which depicted a young man standing on one knee and the TV host looking surprised. The groom was holding a black foldable smartphone, opened like a wedding ring box, displaying an image of the ring on the screen. For several days, the audience was left in the dark about the event’s details and awaited further statements. The absence of information made it possible to draw the attention of the audience and generate more interest in the next stage of the campaign.

On June 4th, the secret of the marriage proposal was revealed in the TNT community on VKontakte. A sponsored video post was published on the social media platform showcasing the brand’s new smartphone model and the full story of the proposal to Olga Buzova, which ultimately turned out to be a dream.

On the same day, we released the videos as part of the “Stars in Africa” show on TV and digital outlets, including TNT, Premier, and Rutube digital platforms. This allowed us to scale the placement of brand advertising in the digital space.

Furthermore, engaging with the audience through influencers expanded the reach of the advertising campaign. The show’s participants, Alina Akilova, Anna Khilkevich, Maria Pogrebnyak and Yulia Gavrilina, supported the newsbreak on their social media and highlighted the benefits of foldable smartphone technology.

Results

The campaign achieved high virality and accomplished the task of building brand knowledge through integrated placement on TV and in the digital environment, as well as the use of influence marketing tools. This creative idea ensured the success of the entire project and allowed us to effectively communicate the brand’s key messages to the audience.

The total reach on TV and digital platforms exceeded 43 mln:

organic reach—over 32.5 mln1;

reach through digital platforms—over 6.4 mln2;

reach per broadcast on TNT channel—over 1.6 mln3;

reach on all social media—over 2.5 mln of views4.

The brand’s website traffic⁵ increased significantly: from 35% to 65% during the advertising campaign compared to the previous month (June 2023 vs May 2023). 74% of traffic originated from advertising and search engines. One of the main objectives—improving the brand awareness in Russia⁶—was achieved with a 6% increase in the indicator.

Alexey Filia

Director of Strategy and Advertising Product Development Department, Gazprom-Media Sales House

Integrations with Gazprom-Media talents are one of the exclusive opportunities that we offer advertisers in the market. The entire nation follows the lives and work of TNT stars, so their involvement in a project often translates into high virality for the campaign. The OPPO brand strives to become a trendsetter in Russia in the category of foldable smartphones. And Gazprom-Media Sales House directly specializes in working with consumer trust. It is worth noting that TNT content has been shown on all screens and in all environments for many years, which generates enormous reach for such campaigns. We wish the OPPO brand the best of luck.

Lukerya Rodionova

Head of Sales and Communications for TNT and TNT4 TV Channels, Gazprom-Media Sales House

In this advertising campaign we wanted to highlight the unique form factor of OPPO Find N2 Flip and show its versatility from different angles. The Sales House team not only came up with a multi-stage scenario that included an effective newsbreak, but also developed the creative content using the device. The starting point of the project was a teaser, which was filmed with the smartphone’s camera. Bloggers then educated the audience on the benefits of the foldable screen. But the most striking creative was a studio video featuring Olga Buzova. In the video, the smartphone transformed into a beautiful box with an engagement ring. We are pleased that this creative approach aided us in achieving the brand’s objectives and demonstrating the versatility of the product.

Oleg Tumanov

Executive Creative Director, GG agency (ex VMLY&R Commerce, ex Geometry Global)

The simple phrase, “Olya, marry me,” kept the multi-million audience of social tabloids and Olga Buzova’s social media in suspense for several days. This is how Russian users discovered a new product from OPPO and a new, unusual way of proposing marriage. We thank OPPO for the inspiration.

Pavel Ignatov

General Director, UM agency (ADV Group)

The key objective of the campaign was to draw the attention of Russian consumers to the new format of foldable smartphones, OPPO Find N2 Flip. Our goal was not only to gain significant reach among the target audience, but also to create viral content. The desired effect was achieved through the non-standard integration into the TNT channel show “Stars in Africa” with Olga Buzova, while the newsbreak and lack of information at the start of the media seeding allowed us to significantly increase the virality of the campaign. We thank OPPO and Gazprom-Media for the opportunity to implement such bold projects and go beyond classic placements with influencers.

¹Internal data of OPPO, June 2023

²Internal data of OPPO, June 2023

³Mediascope, all 14–44, June 2023

⁴Internal data of OPPO, June 2023

⁵Data of Yandex Metrica, May–June 2023

⁶Internal data of OPPO, July 2023