Aiwa goes interactive in Japan with All of Us

Japanese electronics group Aiwa is launching a series of international microsites to sell a range of futuristic audio and imaging products. The websites are being created by interactive design group All of Us, with ad agency Wieden & Kennedy.

Launched in Japan two weeks ago, the first site is part of Aiwa’s switch to ‘Web-centric marketing’, an ambitious move to reposition the brand towards the 20- and 30-year-old demographic. Key to the brand appeal is a focus on the idea of ‘personal space’.

‘The site is designed to act as a virtual shop at the very futuristic end of where Aiwa wants to be,’ explains Wieden & Kennedy account director Sam Brookes. ‘It will eventually be a global site, but so far it has only been launched in Japan.’

All of Us director Phil Gerrard explains that the design of the site is very deliberately multisensory, using Flash animation, graphics and ambient Japanese music to help dispense with any reliance on text.

‘The brief was to make it as visual and playful as possible, with a minimal amount of written text, says All of Us director Phil Gerrard.

‘The site is part of Aiwa World, which is somewhere between Yellow Submarine and Monty Python,’ Gerrard adds.

The product range, known as AOP (Another Original Product) so far consists of 13 products, including cordless digital recordable headphones, a shockproof hard drive and a number of advanced MP3 devices, which can all be connected to a PC via a USB port.

The USB Audio and Imaging site is currently only accessible through Aiwa’s Japanese gateway, at www.aiwa.com.

All of Us was appointed in November and the sound design was by Owen Lloyd.