Ciena has always been a technology trailblazer. In the world of coherent optics, they have a long and proud history of creating breakthrough innovations that take the industry to new heights. With WaveLogic 6, they have created another world-first solution enabling unprecedented performance and cost efficiency.
In creating a launch campaign for WaveLogic 6, we had a secondary objective of reconnecting the Ciena brand with the audience and reminding them why they have historically been the leader in this space.
As a starting point, we trawled through the archives for old footage and stills. Not knowing what we’d find, we stumbled across a Ciena engineer in the ‘90s wearing a t-shirt with “Ciena – the new standard” written on it. Our campaign was born.
Finding that image gave us the idea to simply leverage Ciena’s brand truth – they have ALWAYS been the innovation leader. In the 90s they defined the new standard, and that’s exactly what they’re about to do yet again with WaveLogic 6.
To showcase this unique history we pitched the idea for a piece of original production that took the viewer through a timeline of Ciena innovation, before leading us through to the launch of WaveLogic 6.
The concept was to have an actor in an almost gallery-like setting, experiencing the history of Ciena innovation. This accentuates the feeling that the audience is seeing something that is now outdated. We then see the actor leave that environment and enter the world outside, reinforcing that the WaveLogic 6 launch she is seeing outside is happening right now.
The production was challenging with many different locations, but the passage through history and into the present moment really helps us to tell Ciena’s unique, ownable story of innovation.
To complement the hero asset video, we needed to bring the features and benefits of WaveLogic 6 to the forefront, so we had a complete campaign that delivered a powerful brand message alongside irresistible product proof points. To ensure creative consistency we designed the banners to look like billboards, to match the end of the video. The content shows a clear comparison between WaveLogic 6 and the competition.
