2013 Gold Best Print Advertising including Inserts

Client Virgin Media

How did the campaign make a difference? Direct response press is traditionally used by entertainment brands to shout about great offers, but using consumer insight to find Virgin's USPs enticed people who wouldn't have considered Virgin before. The average cost per call generated was less than half of all other press ads in March and April.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? This was Virgin Media at its brilliant best, rejecting industry convention and honing in on what consumers really need. Turning its back on shouty offer-led communication (which dominates the DR press space) generated cut-through. Instead, it looked closely at the growing number of consumers who view their landline as a necessary evil to get broadband. The message that it's counterintuitive to pay for something that you don't use was much more powerful than any gimmicky time-limited offer. There was also a rare opportunity to persuasively dial up the fact this was no ordinary broadband. Educating people about the difference between superfast fibre optic and the much slower phone-delivered broadband has always been a challenge. But rejecting the landline was the perfect shorthand to illustrate the Virgin fibre optic difference.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? The execution had a single-minded headline: cutting out the phone line means cutting unnecessary cost. The visuals clearly highlighted that the traditional socket and internet cable could be cut out. Scissor marks and a dotted line gave it a coupon-like feel, emphasising the savings too. The ad spoke directly to a common customer pain point, using the environment of the channel to promote the benefits of Virgin Media fibre optic broadband.

Results Response to press ads had declined, but this ad outperformed all other creative executions and beat all targets. Since March, it has continued to bring in more calls than all other executions, even after being live for six months, and with no signs of slowing down. It also contributed towards sales of dual and triple packages, not just broadband solus. The ad clearly hit a nerve with the audience, getting their attention and compelling 3,736 people to call between 21 March and 31 August.

Team Shelby Meale – Associate Creative Director, Russell Garn - Associate Creative Director, Jason Andrews – Executive Creative Director, Andy Brown – Head of Design, Natali Cartmell – Designer, Tania Feeley – Business Director, Cressida Laing – Senior Account Director, Ed Hayne – Strategist, Helen Bass da Silva – Senior Campaign Marketing Manager, Emma Deegan – Campaign Marketing Manager, Jeffrey Osborne - Senior Graphic Design Artist

Other Contributors Gutenberg – Artwork production and repro