Ericsson creates a brilliant cinematic experience for its 5G ‘Power for Easy’ drive

Globally, commercial 5G networks have started to go live. Initially, 5G will be a capacity enhancer in metropolitan areas and enhanced mobile broadband and fixed wireless access will be ways for operators to address explosive traffic growth. Previous generations were focused on consumer and personal communications but now 5G will serve consumers, enterprises and take the internet of things to the next level, where superior connectivity is a prerequisite.

From 5G standardisation to today’s commercialisation, Ericsson has been a key player in making 5G networks a commercial reality.

According to the Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2019 edition, Indian smartphone users are willing to pay more than 66 per cent premium for 5G services. The June 2019 edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report forecasts 1.9 billion 5G subscriptions – up from 1.5 billion forecasted in the November 2018 edition, an increase of almost 27 per cent.

Surveys of smartphone users worldwide indicate that they expect 5G to bring the network performance needed for immersive media formats and applications. Streaming 360-degree video and augmented/ virtual reality should start to be a significant factor in mobile traffic growth while enhancing user experience as 5G is rolled out, and compatible devices are successively introduced.

To give a further boost to its 5G drive, Ericsson recently rolled out its global brand campaign – “Power for Easy”.

The campaign sees Ericsson partnering with high-profile influencers around the world to highlight how 5G will change our lives. The film features Haben Girma, the first ever deaf and blind Harvard Law School graduate, in a driverless car; gaming pioneer Atomic Mari inside her own immersive gaming universe; singer-songwriter KIDDO; Paris Saint-Germain footballer Nadia Nadim; and scientist Danica Kragic remote-operating a pair of robotic arms.

In this interaction with Adgully, Ruchika Batra, VP - Marketing & Communications, Ericsson India, takes us through the making of the campaign, Ericsson’s 5G strategy for India, marketing plans and more.

How was the 'Power of Easy' campaign conceptualised? What are the objectives behind the campaign?

Our new brand campaign ‘Power of Easy’ highlights the new age of 5G that is becoming real as we start to see 5G come to life around the globe. At Ericsson, we believe in making complex technologies easy. Our goal is to work with our customers, telecom operators around the world and enable them to leverage the full value of connectivity. And this film brings focus on 5G technology making lives of consumers easy. It seeks to show a world connected with 5G.

5G networks will revolutionise our lives in ways we can’t even imagine yet. It will make it easier for societies and companies to take a step further into this connected future. As a pioneer and key player of all things 5G, we wanted to pay homage to the power of its connectivity, and how it is enabling innovation, inspiration and a thriving technology ecosystem.

With the freedom and strength that 5G connectivity is bringing, we want to show how it will enable innovation to thrive while highlighting people who inspire us to push our limits. These are the Tech Heroes featured in the film. As thought leaders within their field, these individuals represent a forward-thinking mindset that work in areas where we know connectivity will have a significant impact. All of these individuals are creating solutions and fighting for development that drives innovation and makes peoples’ lives easier.

To fit the theme of being seamlessly connected, the ambitious 90-second cinematic has been shot in a single fast-paced take.

Read more: Ericsson pays homage to the connected world of 5G in new digital film

Which agency and production house has worked on this campaign? What was the brief given to the agency?

We worked with House of Radon, which is based in Sweden. The brief was fairly simple. We wanted to highlight and celebrate the potential of 5G through the different use cases highlighted in the film, be it immersive gaming or robotics, driverless car or sports. Lending credibility to these use cases are our Tech Heroes, who are achievers in their own rights and showcase the 5G potential being brought alive in the film.

Could you provide some insights into the making of the ad film? 

For this campaign, we have worked with thought-leading tech profiles in a film that seeks to pays homage to connectivity and the innovation it sparks. To fit the theme of being seamlessly connected, the 90-second cinematic has been shot in a single fast-paced take. This interactive ‘making of the film’ provides a good over view of the film.

What is Ericsson's growth strategy for its 5G services? How is it countering the competition from Nokia, Huawei, etc.?

Ericsson has been first with live commercial 5G networks in four continents, including the United States, South Korea, Switzerland, Australia and UAE. We have a strong and flexible 5G portfolio in place to enable our customers to switch on 5G already today in all main frequency bands for global deployments and utilise their valuable spectrum assets in the most efficient way.

Recently, we launched something called Ericsson Spectrum Sharing. It is the most economically feasible way to introduce 5G in existing spectrum bands – enabling nation-wide 5G coverage from day one. Swisscom announced its aim to have its 5G network operational all over Switzerland by the end of 2019 – with close to 90 per cent nationwide population coverage.

The Ericsson Radio System hardware is 5G-ready since 2015 and can be used also for 5G NR with a remote software installation. In total, we have shipped over 3 million 5G ready (hardware) radios to our customers since 2015, which gives us and our customers a unique advantage. This enables our customers’ smooth network evolution to 5G and protects their past investments.

Is a campaign especially for the Indian market in the offing? Any insights into your India events/ activations?

We have rolled out this campaign globally through our social channels like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, which is the first phase of the campaign. In the second phase you will witness more films showcasing each one of our tech heroes, separately on digital platforms.

This campaign fits in well with our overall work in India as well. In the past one year we have done multiple industry events. We have our own flagship tech showcase events, called ‘Barcelona Unboxed’, which bring the best of technologies and use cases for our customers in India. We also have a big presence at the India Mobile Congress every year. In 2018, we had showcased a host of India specific 5G use cases, including 5G connected cars and 5G connected drones.

Since we operate in the B2B space, our marketing activities are focused on our customers and we aim to create digital as well as offline opportunities to engage with them.

What is Ericsson’s overall marketing strategy this year?

We are working towards helping our customers realise the full benefits of 5G. Our most important plan is to ensure a connected world and we are working towards it. At Ericsson, we want to continue our work of bringing connectivity to people, businesses and society at large in a way that all can benefit from connectivity. We want to continue working alongside our customers and make this happen. From a marketing perspective, of course, we are making sure that the right audiences know about our purpose at Ericsson, leading this evolution.

Ericsson follows an integrated marketing approach which unifies multiple channels of offline (F2F), media as well as digital/ social media touchpoints. From an experiential perspective, our technology showcase at the Mobile World Congress every year along with the subsequent roadshows for customers and industry events, enable our key stakeholders to touch, feel as well as experience 5G come to life through interactive and engaging demos. Digital enables us to amplify such events and activations to reach a wider audience and continue to leverage the experience and positively influence the customer journey.