Sony Electronics Loves the Sound of Snapchat Performance

All Ears, All the Time

The global headphone market weighed in at USD 34.12 billion in 2022, and is predicted to reach USD 84.32 billion by 2031.² With this level of hardcore competition, it pays to have a creative campaign on a platform that matters.

Enter Sony Electronics, purveyors of a vast and well-respected array of consumer electronics — including their WF-1000X earbuds. Their goal: To increase their share of the global headphones market by introducing new product hits. And their platform choice for getting the job done: Snapchat.

Listening In Through Snapchat

Sony has long been at the forefront of combining cutting-edge technology with consumer-friendly features. Their WF-1000X earbuds are no exception, renowned for their exceptional noise cancellation capabilities, superior sound quality, and cutting-edge technology. Even with a history of design and marketing prowess on your side, how do you effectively market such a product in the face of heavy-duty competition, billions of human ears and appetites, and a planet of distractions?

Sony looked at where their prime audience spends a significant chunk of their time and found that Snapchat topped the list of options, loud and clear. “We wanted to start working with Snapchat to find a younger demographic of customers that was highly engaged, both with our ads and with the culture around them,” says Sarah Houghton, Senior Marketing Manager. “We knew Snapchat was perfect, especially because we've been growing our influencer network and wanted to find the right place for the content that we've been creating.”

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

“We chose to use auto bid for page view and clicks for top performance,” Houghton explains. “It feels so natural on Snapchat and really performs great in terms of bidding strategies.”

By leveraging Snapchat's dynamic and interactive ad formats, Sony was able to create immersive experiences that not only highlighted the product's features but also connected with users on a personal level.

“We loved using our influencer creative for this campaign,” Houghton continues. That creative included influencers unboxing the products, touting feature sets, and using the product in their diverse, everyday lives—conveying practicality, functionality, style, and satisfaction through real-world vignettes.

Tinuiti, the media agency that worked with Sony, reports that “Snapchat paved the way for proving out the value of influencer-led creative, with some light repurposing across other channels due to the early success on Snapchat. We also expect Sony to lean much more heavily into this type of creative in the future.”

What Quality Results Sound Like

Snapchatters listened (and watched) and acted. Sony saw a remarkable uptick in engagement, with users flocking to their website to learn more about the 1000X series.

Specifically, Sony’s campaign:

• Beat Snapchat action intent norms by 5x

• Reached 1.6 million Snapchatters

• Drove a +13pt lift in product awareness

• Drove a 310% increase in site traffic

And because Snapchatters love to share, the campaign's success was not just in the numbers but also in how it resonated with the target audience, creating a buzz that went beyond the digital realm and into real relationships.

We Hear You

For small and medium-sized businesses pondering over whether Snapchat is the right channel for their next advertising campaign, Sony's story serves as a testament to the platform's effectiveness. Snapchat allows for creative, engaging, and highly targeted advertising that can capture the attention of your audience in a way that traditional platforms might not.

In the fast-evolving world of digital marketing, staying ahead means being bold and trying new platforms and strategies. Sony's venture into Snapchat advertising with the 1000X earbuds is a prime example of how thinking outside the box and meeting your audience where they are can lead to impressive results.

The moral of this story: Don't be afraid to experiment with new platforms and creative ad formats. Your audience is out there, waiting to be amazed. And who knows? Your campaign might just be the next big case study we all admire. In the realm of marketing, the only constant is change. Stay curious, stay innovative, and most importantly, stay connected to your audience.