Evolution of a Megaphone
Panos Sambrakos,
Business Unit Director, OgilvyInteractive Athens

In the beginning of advertising…
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…a few gathered to listen. But the marketer
needed more “reach”.
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Then posters covered the streets…
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…and outdoor advertising created more reach.
But it wasn’t enough.
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Newspapers and magazines informed the world.
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By placing ads in print, the marketer reached
even more. Again and again and again…
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Then radio came along. A medium, that could
reach, inform and entertain more.
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So the marketer interrupted shows with radio
spots. Again and again and again…
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Technology then brought us, the most powerful
medium of them all. Television.
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So more shows were interrupted by more
TV commercials, again and again and again.
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Until one day…
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…a wonderful machine was placed in the hands
of the consumer.
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It was simple. The first thing the marketer did, was to place
banner ads online. Again and again and again.
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Until a “second” day… People started talking
back!
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And other people listened…
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…and talked to each other, about things they
were interested in and engaged with.
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So what can a marketer do, in an age when the
consumers do all the talking?
?
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So what can a marketer do, in an age when the
consumers do all the talking?
Listen!
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The Toyota Auris case study
Putting the “consumer in control”, at the driver’s seat.

For the launch of the new hatchback model, Auris, Toyota
Hellas ran an outdoor, print, TV and banner campaign.
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And then… we made a blog together.
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We built a blog at www.aurisblog.gr and invited
Greek bloggers to test-drive Auris for a week.
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They would post their findings on their respective blogs,
and all the content would be collected at the Auris blog.
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We also held a contest for the general public, supporting it
with a banner campaign… “Test-drive Auris and win a
weekend in Greece with the Auris at your disposal”
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And we listened… To the blog posts and to the
comments. We censored nothing. Good or bad.
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We listened. People’s voice was louder than ever.
• 15 bloggers drove the car after a careful selection
process out of the 85 that requested it.
• 55 posts were written. Most with photos and videos.
• 175 comments were posted at the Auris blog, and more
at the participating blogs.
• 41.000 unique visitors came at the Auris blog, for a total
of 52.000 visits.
• 2.000 test-drive requests were submitted by the general
public. 50% of all the test-drive requests received through
all other channels. (Phone, in-store, events &
promotions).
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Because… \"When you are close to who you are
talking to, there is no need to shout\"
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Thank you very much!
panos.sambrakos@ogilvy.com
Blogging at www.panos.gr
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