On 1 April 2010, an amendment to the Interstate Broadcasting Agreement became effective.

Private broadcasting stations were permitted to integrate products by advertising clients directly into their programmes. However, these products must not be too much at the centre of the programme, there is to be no direct call to purchase a product and the product placement has to be “editorially justified”.

The general rule is: the consumer must not be deceived – there is a requirement to label.

In Germany this requirement concerning branded entertainment is largely void, as in most cases the company behind the product is clearly communicated.

The viewer experiences the brand at a voluntary, honest and emotional level. The company behind the entertainment is clearly established from the start; the consumer is taken seriously and not deceived.

The Photography Playground was also based on this premise. The brand name “Olympus” was clearly communicated, and the consumer experienced the brand in a credible setting of high brand value.

In Germany branded entertainment is used in all different kinds of forms, whether in film, music or games. The largest percentage, however, is to be found in online media and events.

The idea was to create a space that would stage the camera’s brand personality live and let the target group experience the Olympus OM-D emotionally and close up.

This idea turned into the Photography Playground within the “Create your own world” campaign – an experimental playground for creative individuals.

The Playground reflected the camera’s brand image in content and form by offering a perfect projection surface for the target group’s creativity and through its clear and reduced retro design vocabulary.

With the help of many brand touch points (dispensation/return of cameras, camera guidance system), the Playground provided an authentic brand experience.

The 360° “Create your own world” concept pursued one main goal:

The Creative Class was to become familiar with the Olympus OM-D at an emotional level in a brand setting.

Furthermore, the excitement was to be transmitted to secondary target groups, thus boosting sales.

The goal was accomplished:

An exhibition that constituted the core of the 360° concept for six weeks, 30,000 visitors at the Photography Playground, a total of 55,000 Touch&Tries in the German-speaking countries, 20 events, 100 workshops with 1,000 participants, 1,000 guests at the opening of the Photography Playground, 21.6 million photos shot with the Olympus OM-D, 26,000 fans following the campaign on Facebook, 165,000 visits to the microsite, over 100 million PR contacts generated so far – and still counting!

The Photography Playground was the perfect playground for creative individuals on which they could do what they like to do best: play with realities, question established perspectives, explore something new and experiment.

All of this happened live and close to the product, left a permanent impression on the target group and is reflected in a solid increase in sales.