2012 Silver IT/Telecommunications

Client O2 Enterprise

How did the campaign make a difference? O2 showcased its Business Readiness proposition by effectively closing its head office, getting more than 2,500 people to work remotely. In eight weeks this generated 46 qualified leads and a sales pipeline worth £14m.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? Business Readiness is one of the key offerings within O2’s Joined Up People proposition. It’s part of the strategy to position O2 as a full-service information and communications technology partner for enterprises and the public sector, and focuses on the ordinary disruptions of working life. With the Olympics threatening serious disruption in 2012, showing a fresh approach to flexible working could allow business as usual. On 8 February, O2 asked more than 2,500 people to work from home, or anywhere else they could find. The idea fed into an integrated comms campaign, as well as activities on the day. Telemarketing, social media, direct mail, email, a dedicated website and a PR campaign all helped build a buzz and keep the momentum going. And just for fun, O2 let the 3RUN parkour professional performance team loose in its empty office, creating a viral video...

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? Effective direct marketing relies heavily on compelling offers; the act of closing the head office was a powerful symbol of faith in O2’s own technology. Messaging was segmented for different groups of decision-makers – IT, HR, C-suite, financial – and brought out different benefits for each. IT people wanted to know how the systems held up; the HR audience was interested in cultural aspects: how did people adapt to working remotely? The board and financial audience looked at the numbers. A map-like schematic was developed as the central visual theme. It allowed the different locations that can now serve as offices to be illustrated, and show how a network links them to form a single virtual office. It was a simple graphic representation of the big idea embodied in the experiment: you can be remote, yet completely connected.

Results The experiment was a powerful hook. Over its eight weeks, the audience was engaged and aware. It was an effective source of new conversations for the telemarketing team and helped reinvigorate connections with longer-term nurtures. It was featured on Channel 4’s evening news and on regional TV and radio, and generated coverage in national and trade print media. 53 people attended the review event. O2 is still using the event as a case study; it has a long tail.

Team Ros Mclanachan, Paul Stevenson