2013 Bronze Best use of Experiential Bronze Experiential

Client Freeview

How did the campaign make a difference? This Christmas-themed experience was the focal point for a wider integrated initiative driving advocacy and sales of Freeview+ enabled products. It complemented ATL activity with over 67,500 consumers engaged; 17,600 stayed in conversation for 2 minutes or more.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? Following a successful Summer of Sport campaign earlier in 2012, Freeview embarked on another experiential campaign to raise its brand profile and drive traffic to stores to encourage purchase. The objectives were to educate consumers about pausing, rewinding and recording live TV, and never missing a Christmas special again, with series record (with no contracts or subscription). Along with ATL and PR, Freeview's website, Facebook and Twitter, this activity was to create buzz and generate consumer interaction with the Freeview brand. But how can experiential explain record, pause and rewind functionality in a fun, interactive and creative way? 'Control the Choir' ran in December 2012 and included a stage modelled as a Freeview+ set-top box. A professional choir sang live Christmas carols, but Freeview put shoppers in control. A giant Freeview+ remote control could pause, rewind (they sang backwards!) and record the choir. The choir's repertoire included six Christmas carols that they could sing backwards. The launch event featured Denise Van Outen and Out Of The Blue from Britain's Got Talent. Supporting in-store activity included merchandising, POS installation and sales demonstrators.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? ATL creative was used on the experiential stand, in-store POS and linked with social media. Venue selection was key to success, as it had to supply sufficient footfall to provide 1.74 million opportunities to see. The roadshow visited four leading shopping centres in the lead up to Christmas, with 12 days of activity in total. Consumers were attracted by live performances from the choir or Out Of The Blue. A team of six engaged shoppers and encouraged them to take control with the giant remote. Brand ambassadors discussed the benefits of Freeview+, encouraging shoppers to enter a free prize drawand capture their details. Ambassadors could also click and reserve products for customers at local participating stores. In-store Freeview-funded sales demonstrators helped convert sales.

Results 17,651 visitors were engaged in a conversation about Freeview for at least two minutes. In-store activity capitalised on the roadshow, seeing actual sales being generated for Freeview and a healthy ROI of 2562%