2023 Silver Utilities and Telecommunications

Agency: Ogilvy UK

Client: Vodafone

Entry Title: Always be there: Vodafone’s Wimbledon Sponsorship

Executive Summary

Vodafone found a powerful role at the heart of tennis, transforming its debut sponsorship of Wimbledon from what could have been a badging exercise into something creative that lifted brand metrics and got the nation behind two unsung heroes.

Strategy

Brits adore Wimbledon, the one time of the year when everyone thinks about digging out an old racquet and hitting a ball. Brands love Wimbledon, too. Rolex keeps time. IBM keeps score. Lanson keeps glasses charged. But the truth was, no one thought of fledgling sponsor Vodafone.

Too often, sports sponsorship is a badging exercise. The Vodafone campaign needed to be meaningful, to drive consideration and brand love.

Creativity

Ogilvy UK interviewed Vodafone’s sponsored players: Emma Raducanu, Alfie Hewett, and Gordon Reid. They revealed tennis is a lonely endeavour. Players crave emotional support to build resilience; often facilitated through digital connection.

An opportunity became clear to portray their story through the eyes of the people who’d raised the players. Vodafone’s reliable network enabled them to ‘Always Be There’, their constant connection fuelling champions.

Results

With powerful storytelling, the campaign succeeded in driving consideration, awareness of Vodafone’s sponsorship, and improved key brand health metrics (trust and reliability).

The campaign also had a cultural impact: it made 6pm BBC News, raised the profile of wheelchair tennis and motivated the nation to support two of Britain’s most successful players.

Highlights:

• The ad scored a ‘good’ average star rating, 3.1 out of 5.
• An uplift of 11% in consideration among non-users who recognised the campaign and recalled Vodafone.

Contributors

Carat UK