While smartphones have changed the way we connect with the world, millions of people across the globe still can't afford one. Motorola, who believes access to the mobile Internet should be a choice, not a privilege, has made it its brand mission to change that with Moto E, a new class of smartphone tailored for those looking for access to life's possibilities, without a hefty price tag.
To announce the latest Moto E, we turned to Instagram to reach global consumers outside the US and invited them to join us in celebrating Moto E's life-changing role in connecting millions of people to the mobile web for the very first time. As the world's fastest-growing, visual "mobile-first" social network (the fastest growing social platform in emerging markets), Instagram's use has been skyrocketing as the price of powerful smartphones drop with the introduction of devices like Moto E. By using Instagram's native content creation, sharing, tagging and curation functionalities, we mobilized new smartphone owners around the world, with a simple, powerful, social call-to-action: "What would you #ChooseToStart with the power of mobility in your hands?"
With #ChooseToStart, we were the first mobility brand to use Instagram to globally launch a mobile device— we built a "#ChooseToStart with Moto E" product hub entirely within Instagram, taking over 7 different country-specific handles. Influencers, news media, Moto fans and global consumers could learn everything they needed to know about the new Moto E's product features and specs through a variety of hash-tags and associated content, and ultimately find links to Motorola.com's country-specific sites for more information on where to purchase. Without any paid media support, our Instagram experience drove 55,000+ consumer engagements on our Feb. 25th launch day alone, and set the stage for our participatory #ChooseToStart movement in the days and weeks that followed.
As Moto E devices started to make their way into the hands of new owners, we launched our campaign's "phase 2" by issuing a global social call-to-action on Instagram asking new Moto E owners across 7 countries and in 5 languages what they would #ChooseToStart with their new Moto E smartphone. Each week for 6 weeks, our group of 18 global influencers, residing in city centers around the globe from Delhi to London, inspired consumers with content and experiences they were capturing on their Moto E's, and issued culturally-relevant #ChooseToStart challenges to new Moto E owners in their respective geographies.
Along the way, we also released a series of 15-second social demo videos on Instagram, each translated into native languages for targeted use within specific markets, offering tips and tricks on how to get the most out of the new Moto E. We also launched a global hub in 5 languages – choose2start.com – to house all of our product demos, aggregate global influencer content and UGC, and drive interested consumers to Motorola.com if/when paid media was to hit.
Our 6-week "#ChooseToStart with Moto E" program created an entirely new way for global consumers to learn about the category-changing Moto E smartphone, and experience what mobility could mean for them. By using a "mobile-first" social network synonymous with powerful visual storytelling, we were able to bridge, and transcend, cultural differences and language barriers around the world.
And since our program was powered by real people, across the globe, sharing their unique perspectives through their participation and real-time visual storytelling, our program resulted in over 500+ pieces of original influencer content created on the new Moto E, 55,000+ consumers engagements on launch day, and over 93 million earned impressions on Instagram alone— all without paid media support.
