Bad weather, great pubs, James Bond, The Queen, tea, The Beatles; all quintessential images of Britain. Freedom of the press is as cherished as any of these institutions in the UK for its role in regulating public accountability. The scandal of celebrity phone hacking involving the likes of Hugh Grant, Sienna Miller and Steve Coogan may have shock public trust in the press, but the irony of the evidence being unearthed by a newspaper only goes to prove the role of the media in societal transparency.

The laws that distance editorial from advertising are built from these principles, enforced by regulator Ofcom and make editorial integration of any kind challenging in the UK. Television Product Placement is at infancy at a mere two years since legalisation and subject to a plethora of restrictions. Ad Funded TV Programming must retain editorial independence and feature no undue prominence. Broadcasters are constructive but cautious not to cross the law or trigger public complaints. All of which means we struggle to shine against the creativity of more mature markets, but the trust in editorial means brands that strike the right balance are rewarded, as EDF Energy discovered in their Olympic sponsorship strategy.

Please see campaign summary first for context.

The Daily Mail newspaper provided a credible media and editorial partnership. The Mail Online hosted light show live streams each evening at 22:00, showing the daily mood percentage and branded content. Advertising support updated print creative daily with the latest mood percentage (the ‘totaliser’), Olympic Supplement sponsorship and editorial integration also directed to content.

Outdoor advertising dominated the local London Eye train station, to encourage live participation. Escalators, corridors, platforms were wrapped, giant screens and digital panels live streamed the light show and shared the ‘positive energy.’

All targets exceeded:

Brand Reach and fame

• Reach of adults: Daily mail 18.8 million, Twitter 13.6 million, Outdoor 5.4 million (96.3 million impacts).

• PR Reach: 260 million, PR Coverage: 369 pieces and 2 hours 28 minutes of broadcast coverage, 93% positive sentiment, 99% branded.

Sponsorship Awareness

• No.1 domestic sponsor of the games by awareness.

• 28% spontaneous awareness of London Eye Sponsorship (highest ever in London).

Virtual & Physical Engagement

• Over 6.5 million tweets analysed.

• 46,474 views of the light show and branded content.

• 38,446 visitors to the online hub, 75,133 page views.

• 379% and 222% increase in Facebook and Twitter followers respectively.

• 16,595 visitors to the Mission Control experiential area.

The Legacy, brand and purchase intent rose but most importantly EDF truly captured the ‘Energy of the Nation,’ shared by the UK and visitors from around the world, recording 86% positivity, a contrast to the 60% of Brits who were “unexcited about the games” pre Olympics. A meaningful contribution and proof the UK isn’t so cynical after all.

(Sources: Daily Mail Reader Research, IPSOS, IPSOS Brand Tracker, EDF Energy, PR Agency & Precise, Media Agency, Experiential Agency, Posterscope, YouGov)