Innovative Sony Contest Highlights Features in Fun Way

Today I found out about a contest for the Sony Digital Imaging group that I wanted to pass on for a variety of reasons. First, it’s actually pretty fun. Second, there are some really great prizes and third, I thought it was a very innovative way of showcasing some of the main product features.

First, the fun.

The Game

I figured I would cut straight to the chase and get to the entertaining stuff first. Below is the contest which consists of three game challenges. You can jump right into it if you want, or skip over the contest for a second and read more about what it’s all about.

The game is broken down into showcasing 3 different products lines: Handycam, Cyber-Shot and Alpha. Main screen is below.

Game Screen:

Cyber-shot Game info:

Handycam Game info:

Alpha Game info:

The Prizes

This is a Contest, not a Sweepstakes. So, you really have to be “good” to win. With a sweeps, you just have to enter and hope that you win. With a Contest, there is skill involved, which means, you have to be the best of the best to win. With both, the odds are better with fewer players. (Unfortunately, with this post and you reading and playing the games, your odds just got worse…SORRY!) You have to get high scores to even have a chance at winning!

This contest actually has some pretty nice prizes. Here is what you are gunning for:

1st Place – Sony HDR-SR10 HD Handycam Camcorder plus accessories – $1250 value (approx.)
2nd Place – Sony Alpha DSLR-A300 Camera w/ lens – $800 value (approx.)
3rd Place – Sony DPF-V900 Digital Photo Frame – $250 value (approx.)
4th Place – Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W120 Camera – $230 value (approx.)
5th Place – Sony GPS unit – $150 value (approx.)

The Innovation

At first I was a bit reluctant about hosting this contest on my blog. It seemed a bit like a “sell-out” (I hope you don’t view it that way). But, since my day job is in a Marketing Department of a technology company (GoGrid), I decided to give it a second look.

What I particularly liked was how each of the games was crafted to showcase an important feature of each product line. For example:

• Cyber-shot – this one was all about finding the “portrait with the smile”. You have to race the clock to quickly identify the picture that has a person smiling, something that the Cyber-shot does automatically. Sony calls it “Smile Shutter Technology” where the camera simply waits until it detects a smile and then starts snapping pictures.
• Handycam – you are presented with a blurry photo and a choice of three photos below it and you have to guess what the blurred one is before it comes into focus. With this, Sony is showing how quickly items come into focus with their Handycams. (I found this one to be the hardest.)
• Alpha – in this game, you have to quickly take pictures of things as they pop up or fly buy. Sometimes you have to look down or over walls, the the viewfinder flexes based on the location of the camera to subject position. While a bit deceptive (I thought that the camera actually does that automatically), the Alpha does allow you to pivot the viewfinder to an optimal viewing angle.

And kudos to the inclusion of the “Share” functionality. This game can actually “go viral” and provides a huge variety of social media site integrations. I was actually pretty amazed with the list that is support (over 50 different networks).

The games are pretty fun actually, and they accomplished what they were set out to do, educate users on important product features. PR/Marketing firms take note, this is a pretty cool way to create some buzz about your clients’ products.

HTD Says: Good luck with the contest! Hope you win! (Rumor has it, the odds are good!)