A brand new face.
By the time H20Audio approached us, they already had an existing brand successfully selling waterproof headphones for over a decade. But in 2012, they made the strategic decision to broaden their original customer base of water sports athletes, expanding to include athletes performing in all sports. Leveraging their technology and expertise in water sports, they transitioned into X-1 with a complete line of waterproof, weatherproof, and sweatproof audio solutions.
H20Audio had the best technology in their market, and they continued to blaze trails and drive new trends ? but their focus was too small. Rebranding as X-1 in order to serve all sports was a smart move, and they knew their products would take off as their renewed focus was much broader. The challenge? They needed a new appeal. They wanted a new look and mood to push these products and attract new customers.
We partnered with the award-winning Cuker Agency to create a high-impact commercial that visually demonstrated what athletes could achieve when using their products. With a dramatic sports-based approach, we showcased fit athletes pushing themselves to their limit and pushing their workouts to the extreme.
The challenge was that they needed a new appeal.
Our team wanted the color palette to match this intense mood. We pushed the saturation and muted the skin tones to create a more dramatic look, and one that helped us focus on the product being worn. We selectively incorporated slow motion to ramp up contrast in between fast, action-packed workout routines, and amplify the grueling nature of these workouts. Meanwhile, a custom score boosted the audio stakes, creating a sense of controlled urgency connecting each shot and complementing our mood.
It was imperative to shoot on high quality, state-of-the-art digital cinema equipment. The entire commercial was shot in 5K resolution (more than 4x HD video) at up to 120 frames per second, or 5x slow motion. The cinema quality camera gave us the exposure latitude contrast needed to provide the intense look we were going after.
The result: X-1 has blazed new trails with their fresh look and revitalized brand, and sales have demonstrated that their advertising efforts were a solid investment. In fact, X-1 approached us a second time, this time to support an additional commercial specifically focused on their female customers.