By Erin Mary Doyle
Last week an employee from Sydney creative media and research agency Atomic 212 queued up in front of the Apple store on George Street waiting for the latest iPhone 6S. the only difference was she wasn’t physically standing in line, a robot called Lucy saved her spot. The CEO of Atomic 212 Jason Dooris chatted with B&T about how this robot came to be and why Atomic 212 didn’t need to spend money promoting the campaign.
Lucy the Robot is a ‘telepresence robot, which means she is essentially a screen on wheels, complete with microphone, camera and video screen. Lucy is created by Double Robotics from Sunnyvale, California.
“The robot is a combination of the technology, the hardware and Lucy the human, together that is the personality of the robot. It’s a humanoid; half droid, half human fused together,” Dooris told B&T.
According to Dooris, at 7am last Friday the story of Lucy the Robot had been translated into over 26 separate languages across the globe. Dooris believes Lucy has been so damn popular because the campaign tapped into something much bigger then the robot itself.
“With social media campaign you very often focus on your idea or product and who you are trying to reach in the market. But they very often ignore ‘currency’ or ‘topicality’, if you ignore what’s going on in the world then you’re not really connecting with the things that are most important and relevant to your everyday person at that specific moment in time.
“This campaign really tapped into what was going on at Apple and the release of the iPhone 6S, it just had that secret ingredient.”
Here’s an exclusive video from Dooris of Lucy the Robot leaving the Apple store with her latest purchase:
“You’ve got a phenomenal amount of energy around Apple and their iPhone, and Australia represents the first iPhone sold anywhere in the world,” Dooris said. “The energy starts outside the doors of the Apple store in Sydney, so if your campaign starts right there in the queue there is an incredible amount of energy and you can positively leverage that energy.
“From a pure media spend we decided not to invest in any traditional media or any digital media. The idea being that from a traditional perspective it would be picked up by national and global television, radio and newspapers. And from a digital side, it was a nice piece of content so we wouldn’t have to support it through that either.”
“Apple have really embraced it, they’ve been amazing throughout the process. It’s been amazing, it’s really energised the whole agency, and everyone is getting behind it. It’s superb.”
About Jason Dooris
I have created and designed marketing and growth strategies for some of the world’s recognisable brands including Amazon, Deloitte, Saatchi and Saatchi, Optus, Virgin Mobile, Big W, Woolworths Supermarkets, Dan Murphys, Nespresso and Landlease. I have also worked with many Government departments on culture change and identity branding.
I am passionate about people leadership and development - empowering and engaging large marketing and brand teams through coaching, training, and mentorship for performance excellence. I currently lead a global/remote team across multiple locations including Australia, Argentina, Hong Kong and China.
I have a proven history of achievement in delivering corporate growth plans, and successful marketing initiatives to stimulate revenue growth and outperform sales objectives and have strong digital technology capabilities in advertising, communications, social media, marketing, and creative agency management.
My career experience has enabled me to present and speak across numerous platforms and industries as a subject matter expert, namely: ABC News, Sunrise, for the Australian Government, IBM Annual Global Conference, Emirates Annual Conference, AMP Board, New York Art Directors Club, Media & Marketing Europe, Australian Financial Review, and Web Summit.
I also volunteer my time and give back to the community via Board and Committee memberships.
Some key achievements and skills:
Ø Exceptional abilities in the development/implementation of marketing and growth innovations, ensuring business sustainability and continuous growth while cultivating strategic partnerships.
Ø A high impact leader and influencer with proven expertise in directing/coordinating all top to bottom functions of marketing, media, data analytics, traditional, & digital creative campaigns, business processes and performance groups.
Ø Completed large scale advertising and marketing projects, managing the entire product lifecycle, including research, prototype development, manufacturing, sales, branding, and marketing.
Ø Outstanding business and financial acumen with a forward-looking approach and collaborative styles.
Ø Interpersonal dexterity and executive influencing skills to build and sustain strong and mutually beneficial professional relationships with key stakeholders, clients, and staff members.
My area of expertise includes Brand Awareness & Integration, New Business Development, Team Leadership & Direction, Public Speaking Abilities, Consultation Services, Growth Strategies Implementation, Commercial Business Acumen, Hard-Hitting Negotiations, Stakeholder Engagement, Course Marketing, Business Transformation, Marketing & Advertising, Product Development, Risk Mitigation, Advertising and Media Solutions.
Feel free to email me at jasondooris@mac.com or visit my personal website jasondooris.com
“Its been an exciting first half!” Jason Dooris