At its core, Oakley is an innovation company — creating products that defy convention.

How can a shared moment during a pandemic be created around a product launch experience when the world is in lockdown?

Is it more powerful to seed a list of 200 influencers and media or spend the allocated marketing resources on an elevated, experience for a select 12 and scale to the masses.

How can an unboxing experience disrupt and create something that would excite our athletes and fans?.

It was critical Oakley's Kato most unique element, the Freeform Lens, stood at the forefront and centre stage whiting the experience. Its seamless form — reminiscent of high performance sports cars, modernist sculpture, and...luxury spaceships from some unknown galaxy - where high design meets ultimate performance.

The product USP needed to be conveyed on a higher level driving the consumer to not only purchase, but share socially.

To build hype and anticipation, the idea of a shared moment that built on the mystery, intrigue and excitement around Oakley KATO led the vision. Drafting off of the products futuristic hi-tech design language, a universe fit for a superhero also needed to exist.

A myriad of mixed media and technology, including augmented reality, would be necessary to help introduce the brand’s most anticipated launch in over a decade. The shareable mobile experience would allow select audiences around the world, including NFL players Patrick Mahomes, Juju Smith-Schuster, as well as the motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi, to unlock a piece of history and share the the KATO story with their fans and followers on social media.

This would be an experience unlike anything else integrating the physical, digital, and social worlds to deliver an immersive hybrid experience. An experience that balances a mobile-first strategy with visceral IRL emotion.

Oakley's Kato is the result of 45 years of innovation – a legacy of groundbreaking products laid the groundwork that inspired its design. It became clear that the idea of synthesis and recombination were going to help guide our creative process.

How could technology layer in ways that would create a unique experience grounded in that same philosophy of innovation? The experiment began with exploring different combinations of analog and digital experience — tactile and virtual.

It was imperative to provide audiences with an experience where the canvas came to life and changed before their eyes — both in a fantastical way and in a physical way — at the intersection of physical and digital.

The idea of a “locked experience” was born with the intent of leveraging the feeling of wanting to “crack the safe” to build anticipation and excitement.

The AR component combined a number of different applications and tools. 2D and 3D assets were created using Adobe After Effects / Illustrator / Photoshop and Maxon Cinema 4D. Once the creative landed, the experience was uploaded to Instagram as a shareable AR filter. Deploying in IG meant the ability to leverage the platform’s ubiquity, accessibility, shopability, and native sharing capabilities.

Recipients were prompted to use their phones to access the experience.

A QR code activated mobile cameras and the AR content overlayed on the pod. Immediately following the reveal, audiences were greeted by a shape-shifting digital avatar that introduced a product-focused animation.

When activated and viewed via a smartphone, the pod came to life and the AR display showed Oakley’s history with unusual design – including the aptly named “Over The Top” model – before reaching the OAKLEY KATO’s unique design and key product benefits.

The experience drove earned media coverage of both the launch moment and the product collection, reinforcing Oakley’s position as the leader in design and sport performance optics.

This was Oakley's first use of Instagram Live for a product launch resulting in breakthrough performance and engagement for the brand's social and e-com channels (IG Shop visits increased +1300%) as well as the brand’s first use of AR across all global retail channels.

The launch campaign saw a flurry of earned media exposure from: ?

* Fast Company

* Digital Trends

* Complex

* GQ

* The Sports Journal

* USA Today

* Hypebeast

The virtual launch leveraged the unmatchable prowess of Oakley's elite athlete roster during a global brand moment. With twelve athletes and 113 total posts, the Oakley KATO launch reached an audience upwards of 322.2M with an earned media value close to 560.1K €.