Giant Sudoku
Creating a giant piece outdoor media in just 7 days
Key objective
To amplify awareness of the Sky One's new show Sudoku Live with a visual stunt that would drive tune in, stimulate word of mouth and provide arresting picture capital for the national press, particularly in broadsheets, in the run up to TX.
Strategy
Taylor Herring decided to embark upon building the world's largest Sudoku grid which would mysteriously appear overnight on a hillside in Gloucestershire. A simple puzzle format was designed by a renowned Sudoko expert from the show which was then given to a team of artists with a brief to blow the design up to a massive 275 x 275ft in weather resistant white canvas.
The visual appeal of the stunt was maximized via the prominent hillside location in the village of Hinton just outside of Bristol and adjacent to the M4. This location ensured that the scale of the design would be clear in the photographs and that an estimated 1 million motorists would view the puzzle over the course of the week long installation.
Visible from up to 3 miles away, the full puzzle grid contained 81 squares each measuring 30ft x 30ft whilst each number measured a towering 15ft high. Guinness World Records were briefed fully on the operation and were on hand to officially certify the puzzle as the world's largest on the day we went to press.
A team of twenty crop circle experts worked overnight to create the design using environmentally friendly materials that would last seven days. Once complete, unbranded aerial shots of the puzzle were commissioned which were wired to the national and local press with the 'world record breaking' press release and picture captions. A branded Sky One banner was then added to the design ensuring that motorists and hikers could tie the stunt back to the channel and its forthcoming programme regardless of any press pick up.
To add a further hook, The grid was also designed as a national challenge with a £5,000 prize competition mechanic that generated thousands of entries via skyone.co.uk.
Coverage
National press pick up included full pages in The Mirror, Daily Express, The Guardian, The Times, The Financial Times, The Daily Star, OK Magazine and The Weekly News all of which were branded and highly positive .
Regional coverage included The Evening Standard, Eastern Daily Press, Western Daily Press, Bristol Evening Post , The Gloucestershire Gazette.
Online coverage included BBC news, The Sun and Media Life Magazine.
Radio Interviews with the GWR Group reached an estimated 350,000 radio listeners.
Carol promoted both her Sudoku book and the live programme with the following appearances and press interviews: Media Guardian, Sunday Telegraph - TV and Radio Magazine (cover) Closer Magazine, GMTV - appearance on GMTV and Lorraine Kelly , BBC Radio 5 LIVE, BBC Radio 1 Chris Moyles, Classis FM, BBC London interview with Vanessa Feltz.