Championing the creative spirit, Project Imagin8ion was the first user-generated photo contest designed to inspire a Hollywood film. We partnered with Oscar-winning director Ron Howard, giving the contest credibility.Photographers could submit photos into themed categories such as character, setting and mood.Consumer voting would narrow down the selection, with Ron choosing eight that inspired him as he developed the story and produced a short film, using Canon DSLR cameras. The finished film debuted at a New York red carpet première, attended by Ron Howard and celebrities.The contest lived on YouTube, where consumers could vote for their favourite. On both YouTube and Flickr, community managers answered questions about Canon cameras, responding individually and encouraging discussion among participants.We promoted the contest through targeted online display and video advertising, on TV, in cinema, with an interactive Times Square billboard and through sponsored screening events.

We earned $8.4 million of media value and delivered 3.5bn owned and earned impressions, including: 1.2m visits to our website and 972,000 unique visitors.2m YouTube video views.98,074 photos were submittedWe received 14,000 votes and the movie was watched by nearly 80,000 consumers during the 3-day online premier.At the time of the campaign launch, Canon’s unit share for detachable lens camera was 37% in the weekend ending May 28, 2011. By the end of the campaign, Canon held the #1 slot with 49% share in the week ending December 31, 2011 (Source: NPD Group/Weekly Tracking Service).