The Campaign

Virgin Mobile tasked our agency to create a ‘Social by Design’ campaign with mobility and talkability at its epicenter that would generate word of mouth and social sharing. The aim was to generate brand awareness and build consideration in the lead up to Christmas, through reinforcement of the Virgin Mobile Customer Benefits’ value. This included existing items such as free Virgin-to-Virgin calls and voicemail, as well as a new addition - bonus Velocity Reward points. Game of Phones was created with a single proposition in mind, “rewards worth fighting for”. Through the creation of the Game of Phones alternate reality app, Virgin Mobile were able to engage active participation with the brand, and share these multiple product messages. The campaign launched via an irreverent branded content YouTube video, housed on the brand Facebook page. To help drive views and awareness we leveraged an existing large online community by casting one of Australia’s biggest YouTube stars, beauty vlogger Chloe Morello, in the ‘BFF’ role. Chloe pushed content out to her 750k fans. Earned media was generated through several profile interviews placed. A daily social content calendar for Virgin Mobile’s owned social channels was tailored with use of the hashtag #GameofPhones and incentivised with the reward of additional game points shares. Live game footage was filmed mid-campaign to create further content for owned social channels and PR. As the fourth biggest category player, Virgin Mobile needed to make the most of every marketing dollar with a campaign that would maximise the earned and social media potential of paid media spend.

The Brief

Through targeting customers and non-customers, the goal was to increase consideration and awareness of the Virgin Mobile brand, whilst also increasing NPS for existing customers. The target audience of ‘Virgin admirers’ was identified. While this audience may love the Virgin family brand, they do not actively consider Virgin Mobile, or aren’t as aware of it. Through more close alignment with Virgin global brand properties, as well as through the use of Virgin family partners throughout the campaign – we were able to tie greater links to the Virgin family and increase business alignment both internally as well as publicly.

Results

BUSINESS RESULTS • 47,076 customers activated Velocity rewards (October13 to January14) • 29% uplift in Post paid sales (October13 to January14) • 338 editorial pieces with a reach of 18m+ • 6:1 ROI • 39,245 active users played 64,942 sessions • 2.5m app screen views • 12,992 app social shares • 66% social positive sentiment • 76,200 unique visitors to the Facebook tab • 191,095 launch video views • 1hr12minutes spent on the app per active user • 14,568 players entered a Virgin Mobile store to protect their prize/s • 531 prizes stolen 82,395 times; 155 steals per prize • 103m+ online impressions • Players travelled 239,500km carrying prizes. Almost six times around the Earth.

Execution

The campaign launched via a branded content YouTube video, housed on a Facebook tab. To help drive views and awareness we leveraged an existing large online community by casting one of Australia’s biggest YouTube stars, beauty vlogger Chloe Morello, in the ‘BFF’ role. She pushed content out to her 750k fans. Earned media was generated through several profile interviews that were placed. We partnered with a national radio network who amplified gameplay with live daily updates, talent integration and across the network’s digital and social platforms. The campaign was communicated through Australia’s first ever-dynamic outdoor digital messaging platform, which enabled us to control messaging in real-time to any individual, or all sites on a digital network. Daily social content calendar integration on Virgin Mobile’s owned channels utlised the hashtag #GameofPhones and incentivised sharing with the reward of additional game points. The custom built CMS back-end of the app allowed our administrators to manage key game related push notifications, players, prize drop timings and locations and game play moderation.

The Situation

While consumer love for the Virgin Mobile brand was high amongst those in contact with it, there was a distinct lack of awareness and consideration amongst the broader audience and Virgin family brand admirers so we needed peer-to-peer endorsement. As the fourth biggest category player, Virgin Mobile wanted to make the most of every marketing dollar with a campaign that would maximise the earned and social media potential of paid media spend. Virgin Mobile looked to highlight the unique value of their plans, as well as being a part of the Virgin family.

The Strategy

The aim of the campaign was to generate this brand awareness and build consideration in the lead up to Christmas, through reinforcement of the value of Virgin Mobile Customer Benefits and being a part of the Virgin family. Game of Phones was created with a single proposition in mind, “rewards worth fighting for”, the vehicle to deliver these multiple product messages and consideration proof points. We pitched the idea of a truly immersive mobile app game where the virtual world met the real. The nation was challenged to hunt for almost $200,000 worth of prizes in the ‘Game of Phones’ virtual world through a mobile app game that saw live interaction between tens of thousands of people on the streets of Australia. The ultimate winner being rewarded with a $50,000 VIP Virgin Group voyage of royal proportions, and the grand title of ‘The King’ of ‘Game of Phones’.