How Sony Turned a Group of First-time Photographers into Published Professionals

The Sony Alpha6000 Cyber-shot camera performs as well as more expensive digital SLR cameras. So to prove this, Sony ran a competition in conjunction with New Zealand’s biggest national newspaper, inviting the public to use the A6000 to capture six of the biggest sporting events of the year during a single weekend. 

In Monday’s edition, the six winners replaced all the professional photographers by taking over the sports section with their amateur action shots, every photo effectively an ad for the A6000 camera. This was a first in the paper’s 150-year history and a powerful example of native advertising leading to a 240% increase in visits to the product’s webpage and a 74% boost in market share.