This campaign centred on the limited time offer to bid for a spot in the iPhone 6 launch queue. Flyers were handed out to promote the sale on eBay and the auction was also promoted through social channels.

A street team of volunteers who were holding the spot spoke directly people to promote the sale, all proceeds of which went directly to the charity, Depaul UK. All the while this team was holding a large signpost directing passers-by to the promotional offer of the spot in which they stood, prompting many to bid to purchase it.

It harnessed the power on one of the most anticipated new product launches of the year – the iPhone 6 launch – and all the promo activity associated with it.

The objective was to raise awareness of Depaul UK – a youth homelessness charity – and remind people that youth homelessness has no place in society.

We highlighted the desensitisation towards homelessness by pointing out that there were many young people willing to sleep rough to get a new phone, whilst many more young people slept rough through a lack of other options. Exposing this irony reminded people that there were more pressing issues than being one of the first to own the new iPhone 6. We made a name for Depaul UK as leading the fight against youth homelessness.

The results were astounding. The auction’s promotion drove the final bid to £570, not bad for an empty space. What was really amazing though was the reception it got from passers-by and the press. The Sun came to meet us, and gave us a half page feature. Online newspapers around the world picked up the stunt; The Daily Mail, The Guardian, The Independent, and The Huffington Post to name a few. The response on social media was also phenomenal.

Accumulated earned media for the stunt came to £3,768,227. This equated to an increase of 5700% in terms of online visibility (Tracking from Pulsar), and best of all visits to depauluk.org rose 300%. What’s more loads of people came and shook our hands, and told us they loved the promo and what it stood for.

And the cost for all of this - £0.00, meaning the ROI was technically infinite.

We put a physical signpost above the line of young people sleeping on the street reminding them, passers-by, and eventually, the whole nation that many more young people are forced to sleep rough. We forced people to reassess their priorities and put the issue of youth homeless in the national spotlight.

The iPhone 6 launched on a Friday. We joined the queue outside Apple’s flagship store first thing on Wednesday, putting the prime spot on eBay that morning.

As well as signs, we gave out flyers and spoke to passers-by and the press to drive bidders to eBay. Word spread on social media; bids rolled in.

Westminster Council tried to cancel the promotion deeming it trading without a license. Not deterred we found a loophole: by constantly holding the signs we weren’t contravening regulations.

On Friday morning the winner joined us to enter the store and buy their new phone!