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SUB CATEGORY :
USE OF MOBILE & DEVICES
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COMPANY ENTERING :
DENTSU DIGITAL INC., TOKYO
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TITLE :
SPOILER BLOCKER
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BRAND :
SKY PERFECTV! ON-DEMAND
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ADVERTISER :
SKY PERFECT JSAT
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AGENCY :
DENTSU DIGITAL INC., TOKYO/DENTSU INC., TOKYO/
DENTSU EAST JAPAN INC., TOKYO
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EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR :
HIROKI NAKAMURA/SUSUMU NAMIKAWA
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CREATIVE DIRECTOR :
MASAYUKI UEDA
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CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIST :
KAZUYA KISHIMOTO/SHINICHIRO SUZUKI
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COPYWRITER :
MASAYUKI UEDA
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ART DIRECTOR :
KENTARO ITONORI/FUMI ANNOURA/SHOHEI BOKOI
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AGENCY PRODUCER :
SHUNTARO YOSHII
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FILM EDITOR :
TOSHIYA MAEDA
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ACCOUNT MANAGER :
YUDAI KAJI/TSUYOSHI SHIGEMURA/YUICHIRO IWATA
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STRATEGIC PLANNER :
MASAYUKI UEDA/KAZUYA KISHIMOTO
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PR AGENCY :
DENTSU PUBLIC RELATIONS INC., TOKYO
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PR DIRECTOR :
RYOTARO YOKOYAMA/AKIRA SHINTAKU
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FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY :
PICT INC., TOKYO
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DIRECTOR :
TABITO FURUSAWA
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FILM PRODUCER :
YOSHIYUKI DOBASHI
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SPECIAL EFFECTS COMPANY :
FUTUREK INC., OSAKA/
MEIJI UNIVERSITY, TOKYO
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TECHNICAL PRODUCER :
MUNEAKI KANDA
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SPOILER ADVISOR :
SATOSHI NAKAMURA
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ART DIRECTOR :
NORIAKI HOSAKA
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ENGINEER :
MARI NOZU/YOSHITAKA WATANABE
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CAMPAIGN SUMMARY :
THE UBIQUITY OF SMARTPHONES HAS TURNED SPOILERS INTO AN UNAVOIDABLE REALITY FOR JAPANESE BASEBALL FANS, WHO TEND TO WATCH GAMES ON-DEMAND DUE TO THE COUNTRY’S LONG WORKING HOURS—58.1% SAY THEY HAVE HAD GAMES UNWITTINGLY SPOILED FOR THEM. SKY PERFECT JSAT, A SATELLITE TV SERVICE OFFERING ON-DEMAND PRO BASEBALL GAMES, WANTED TO FIND A WAY TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. THEIR GOAL WAS TO TRANSFORM UNWANTED SPOILERS INTO A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE THAT ENHANCES THE ENJOYMENT OF THE GAME. WORKING WITH A PROFESSOR OF MEIJI UNIVERSITY, AN EXPERT ON SPOILERS, WE DEVELOPED A SMARTPHONE BROWSER APP THAT BLOCKS SPOILERS. THE APP WAS DESIGNED SO THAT NOT ONLY WOULD IT COVER THE SCREEN WITH AN ANIMATED GIF IF IT DETECTED SPOILERS, IT WOULD FOLLOW UP BY RUNNING AN AD OFFERING COUPONS FOR PRODUCTS THAT FANS MAY WANT TO BUY IN ANTICIPATION OF THE GAME. IN OTHER WORDS, IT WOULD BE A NEW ADVERTISING PLATFORM THAT TRANSFORMS SPOILERS INTO POSITIVE EXPERIENCES. BY EXTRACTING PRO BASEBALL TERMINOLOGY FROM NEWS SITES AND FAN COMMENTS, WE CREATED AN ALGORITHM THAT CAN DETECT BASEBALL SPOILERS. EVERY TIME THE USER VISITS A WEBSITE, THE APP BLOCKS ANY SPOILERS THAT IT DETECTS. THANKS TO A LAUNCH AT THE START OF PRO BASEBALL SEASON, THE APP WAS COVERED BY OVER 170 MEDIA OUTLETS FOR ABOUT 1 MILLION DOLLARS IN EARNED MEDIA. THE APP HAS TRANSFORMED OVER 500,000 UNWANTED SPOILERS INTO POSITIVE ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES. THE SUCCESS OF THE APP HAS LED TO DISCUSSIONS FOR CREATING AN APP FOR OTHER SPORTS, SUCH AS SOCCER AND TENNIS.
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THE BRIEF :
THE UBIQUITY OF SMARTPHONES HAS TURNED SPOILERS INTO AN UNAVOIDABLE REALITY FOR SPORTS FANS WHO WATCH GAMES ON-DEMAND DUE TO THEIR BUSY SCHEDULES. IN JAPAN, WHERE THERE ARE LONG WORKING HOURS, 58.1% OF FANS OF BASEBALL—THE NATIONAL SPORT—SAY THEY HAVE HAD GAMES UNWITTINGLY SPOILED FOR THEM. SKY PERFECT JSAT, A SATELLITE TV SERVICE OFFERING ON-DEMAND PRO BASEBALL GAMES, WANTED TO FIND A WAY TO HELP THEIR VIEWERS AVOID BASEBALL SPOILERS AND SIMULTANEOUSLY INCREASE ENGAGEMENT WITH THEM.
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THE STRATEGY :
WORKING WITH PROF. SATOSHI NAKAMURA OF MEIJI UNIVERSITY, AN EXPERT ON SPOILERS, WE DEVELOPED A SMARTPHONE BROWSER APP THAT BLOCKS SPOILERS AND LAUNCHED IT IN TIME FOR PRO BASEBALL SEASON. WE DESIGNED THE APP SO THAT NOT ONLY WOULD IT COVER THE SCREEN WITH AN ANIMATED GIF IF IT DETECTED SPOILERS, IT WOULD FOLLOW UP BY RUNNING AN AD OFFERING COUPONS FOR PRODUCTS THAT FANS MAY WANT TO BUY IN ANTICIPATION OF THE GAME. IN OTHER WORDS, OUR GOAL WAS TO TRANSFORM UNWANTED SPOILERS INTO A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE THAT ENHANCES THE ENJOYMENT OF THE GAME. IN ANNOUNCING THE APP, WE PROMINENTLY FEATURED THE WORD “SPOILERS”—ONE OF THE MOST COMMON SOCIAL MEDIA TOPICS. IN THIS WAY, WE HOPED TO FIRE UP BASEBALL FANS OF ALL DEMOGRAPHICS AND APPEAL TO THEIR LOVE OF THE GAME.
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THE EXECUTION :
BY EXTRACTING PRO BASEBALL TERMINOLOGY FROM TEXT ON NEWS AND FAN SITES AND LIVE BROADCAST TWEETS, WE CREATED AN ALGORITHM THAT CAN DETECT BASEBALL SPOILERS. WHEN FIRST LAUNCHING THE APP, THE USER IS ASKED TO SELECT THEIR FAVORITE TEAM AND FANDOM LEVEL—SETTINGS THAT ARE USED TO DETERMINE WHAT COUNTS AS A SPOILER TO THE USER. EVERY TIME THE USER VISITS A WEBSITE, THE APP CALCULATES THE NUMBER OF SPOILER-RELATED WORDS AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO DETERMINE THE PRESENCE OF SPOILERS. IF THERE IS A SPOILER, THE APP BLOCKS IT WITH ONE OF OVER 40 HUMOROUS ANIMATIONS.
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THE RESULT :
BECAUSE THE APP’S LAUNCH COINCIDED WITH THE START OF PRO BASEBALL SEASON, THE APP WAS COVERED BY OVER 170 MEDIA OUTLETS FOR ABOUT 1 MILLION DOLLARS IN EARNED MEDIA. THE APP HAS TRANSFORMED OVER 500,000 UNWANTED SPOILERS INTO POSITIVE ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES. IT HAS ALSO DEMONSTRATED A BLOCK RATE OF 99.89% AND HAS A FIVE-STAR RATING ON THE APPSTORE.
THE SUCCESS OF THE APP HAS LED TO DISCUSSIONS FOR CREATING AN APP FOR OTHER SPORTS, SUCH AS SOCCER AND TENNIS. “THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.” FROM TWITTER. “THEY MADE A WHOLE APP FOR THIS?!” FROM TWITTER. “NOW MAKE AN APP FOR SOCCER!!” FROM TWITTER.
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