Bombay’s brand platform is Stir Creativity, with a focus on art. Sadly for many art lovers, they find themselves priced out of owning pieces they love, and feel shut out from a world that seems to be reserved solely for the wealthy.

The brief challenged us to create an activation to help Bombay’s goal of democratizing art and making it more accessible for all. It was important that the resulting activation feel culturally relevant and modern, in an art world that often feels stuffy and behind the times. Bombay’s audience that cares deeply about art and culture, and the brief sought a way to connect with them directly.

The campaign sought to disrupt an American fine-art market which often feels targeted at the rich and well connected, at the expense of ‘normal’ art lovers who are priced out of ever owning pieces from their favorite artists.

Bombay’s brand platform is Stir Creativity, with a focus on art. Sadly for many art lovers, they find themselves priced out of owning pieces they love, and feel shut out from a world that seems to be reserved solely for the wealthy.

In an effort to make art more accessible, Bombay revolutionized the traditional auction by letting participants bid with their senses instead of money. Through the use of sensory and neuroaesthetic technology, we were able to measure and record each bidder’s sensory reaction data to find the person with the strongest emotional reaction to the artwork, ultimately placing the piece into the hands of the person who loved it most.

The strategy was to gather involuntary sensory data using sensory measure technology and neuroaesthetic principles. An EEG headset was used to measure brain activity. Galvanic Skin Response technology was used to measure emotional intensity and eye tracking tech was used to measure engagement and focus.

This data was then analyzed and parsed into a single metric which acted as the ‘sensory bid’ and allowed for comparison and contrast between all the bidders to ensure the artwork was awarded to the person who truly had the strongest sensory reaction to it.

The Sensory Auction was held at Lume Galleries in NYC. Through social media we asked people to sign up for a slot - after which they were invited to the gallery and fitted with neuroaesthetic technology. Once they were hooked up all they had to do was look at the piece of art and their sensory data was gathered and converted into a single metric which represented their ‘sensory bid’.

We designed a beautiful interface that helped participants see their data visualized in a way that made sense to them rather than simply a string of data.

The Sensory Auction helped cement Bombay Sapphire as a culturally relevant brand in the art world by continuing the brand’s mission of democratizing art. The main touchpoints were the in person event and social media where the film documenting the auction was shared.

A rigorous process was implemented to ensure that the way we collected, stored, and interpreted the data was fair and scientifically accurate.

The activation showed the world there was a new way to hold art auctions that did not solely favor the wealthy. It proved that through science and technology art could be won by the person who most deeply connected with it. The activation received widespread social, press and media coverage, increased Bombay’s reach by 10% YoY, and gave the brand the #1 share of voice in the Gin Category.