Check your Swatch – Time to play
After a successful run last year, megabrands Swatch and MTV have again joined forces to launch the Swatch MTV Playground Creative Competition 2010. The competition encourages young creative artists and developers to take their best shot at designing a Swatch watch using an innovative customized online design tool. While the competition itself, which runs until August 13th and boasts a grand prize trip to the Shanghai Expo, may be considered the big slide on the scene, the Playground is by no means a one-dimensional attraction.
The new website which screams creativity at first sight and is available in over 17 languages, is intended to be the ultimate global destination for all things creative, including animation, music, film, fashion, print design, motion graphics and illustration. To do so, a third player has been jumped into the fold. By partnering with the Behance Network, the internationally acclaimed digital platform for creative top talent, the Playground allows artists the ability to upload and comment on their work as well as network with other professionals.
With marketing efforts that include commercial advertising geared towards the MTV fan base, the utilization of social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as a free mobile app for the iphone, it’s clear that the marketing heads at Swatch and MTV are serious not only about promoting their products, but as the home page declares, about finding “the next generation of creative talent.”
I recently sat down with Piehead’s Creative Director, Jeremy Clough, to gather his insight about the campaign.
What are your first impressions of the site?
Creatively, it’s very good. It definitely makes a splash and has an appealing colorful design. I think it was smart for the two brands to come together. With MTV being hip and loud and Swatch being known for its colors and design, I think the site is well representative of who the two brands are.
And also there’s the Behance Network, which really is like the LinkedIn of designers/creative. The site takes their API and combines it with a promotion. This use of a community engine is a good leverage of technology.
How is the site effective?
Well, overall it’s a great win for everyone. The brands are able to utilize the power of a creative pool to promote themselves and most importantly it helps the individual. Often a creative’s best work never sees the light of day. This is a great way for people to show work that doesn’t hit the streets. It’s not just visuals either. With all the different mediums and from sketching to complete pieces, it will allow a designer to have a more robust portfolio.
What do you think about the competition and the “Make Your Watch” tool?
It seems like a really cool contest. I was messing around with it and the tool is simple, yet lets you get pretty detailed with the design. It uses a flash tool, which is well done with intuitive shapes and scale to make many designs. The two technologies together make an impact. The only problem I have with it is kind of limiting in that you have to use the tool. It doesn’t let you submit custom designs.
Do you notice any other flaws with the Playground?
Overall, it’s pretty solid, but fails a little bit on not being clearly informed. I found it confusing and somewhat difficult to find information, because it bled together too much. One of the biggest problems is that it does not promote the Behance Network enough.
How does a campaign like this relate to Piehead?
It’s a perfect example for what Slice does: getting together to create a splash. At Piehead we’re always looking to build partnerships. A mistake I think a lot of companies make is that they feel they need to do everything on their own. Really, collaboration is key. It would be interesting to see how this came into fruition, as far as who approached who.
