Case Study: Harbin Beer creates a viral NBA FOOH drone show with UNIT9

Harbin Beer sparks 14k+ WeChat interactions with UNIT9's NBA FOOH drone show

The Chinese lager brand Harbin Beer sought a memorable activation to celebrate its renewed official partnership with the NBA and its new ambassador, Klay Thompson, during the 2024 playoffs. The challenge was to create a spectacular event that would capture fan attention. To achieve this, they partnered with the vendor UNIT9 to produce a faux-out-of-home (FOOH) drone show.

UNIT9 created a virtual drone light show set against the Shanghai skyline. Using CGI and VFX, they composited 3D drone animations onto real footage to depict a giant basketball player making a slam dunk and a Harbin beer bottle popping open on a skyscraper. This FOOH solution broke the physical limitations of a real drone show to create a never-before-seen spectacle. The campaign became a social media sensation, generating over 14,000 interactions on WeChat and higher engagement rates than the brand's celebrity content, successfully fooling many viewers into believing the show was real.

Harbin Beer