CHALLENGE

Devise a creative and emotionally engaging global media campaign to mark the 30th anniversary of the first call on Vodafone's network, in the UK, on 1 January 1985.

Expand the anniversary from its UK-centric origins to generate extensive media coverage and social media traction in Vodafone's major markets.

OBJECTIVES

Spark an engaging, internationally relevant conversation across traditional and social media, underlining Vodafone’s pioneering heritage.

STRATEGY

Creating short, globally shareable films that inspire nostalgia about the origins of mobile technology.

Researching compelling case studies, placing the first caller, first customers and the engineers who built the network at the heart of the campaign.

Acquiring archive materials, including original 1980s mobiles, showcasing these at a media event.

EXECUTION

We hosted an international media event at a Vodafone store, retrofitted to a 1980s theme. Eighties mobiles were displayed with original prices, adjusted for 30 years of inflation.

The media were given access to case studies and we shared a toolkit featuring 1980s adverts/photographs and our films.

A 24-hour media office responded to multiple time zones.

OUTCOME

857 Tier 1 articles

242 million estimated reach, with coverage in 44 countries and 19 Vodafone markets (Meltwater Analytics)

Over 6 million (estimated) views of the films we created through global media coverage, with a further 1.4m views on Vodafone’s own platforms.

81 per cent of consumers surveyed across five markets (Opinion Matters) felt more positively about Vodafone as a result of the campaign and more positively about Vodafone as a mobile technology pioneer.

To devise a creative and emotionally engaging global media campaign to mark the 30th anniversary of the first call on Vodafone’s network, in the UK, on 1 January 1985.

Expand the anniversary from its UK-centric origins in order to generate extensive coverage in Vodafone’s major international markets, underlining Vodafone’s pioneering origins.

Vodafone did not have access to historic information, archive materials or even original mobile phones so we undertook six months of extensive research, interviewing past employees and the family of Vodafone’s first Chairman, who made the first call. 1980s handsets were bought on eBay.

Over 857 Tier 1 articles.

Tier 1 media coverage and social media in 44 countries and 19 Vodafone markets (Meltwater Analytics).

Features, technology and news coverage ran every day internationally from 27 December to 5 January. Coverage continued into February 2015.

Estimated audience reach of 242m, 12m impressions, 99.7% positive online conversations (Meltwater Analytics).

Estimated 6m views of videos on online news media including Mail Online, ITV.com, Mashable (Meltwater Analytics) and 1.4m actual views on Vodafone’s social media channels.

81% surveyed in five markets (Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Romania and the UK) felt more positive about Vodafone as a brand, and more positive about Vodafone as a mobile technology pioneer (Opinion Matters).

Vodafone's hero handsets, the Transportable VT1 and Motorola 8000X have been invited to take part in an exhibition of media at London's Victoria & Albert Museum this summer, with a credit for Vodafone and its 30 year anniversary.

The assets, archive materials, original handsets sold by Vodafone from 1985-1989 and case studies were brought together at an international media event on 10 December.

1980s mobile phones were displayed in a 1980’s style shop interior together with original prices adjusted for 30 years of inflation.

Our first customers, original sales team, early engineers and the widow of Vodafone’s first Chairman (who answered Vodafone’s first-ever mobile call) were made available for media interviews on a tightly scheduled one-to-one basis.

Weeks after the anniversary, a last minute opportunity to boost the campaign and film David Hasselhoff arose when the 80s star, famous in multiple Vodafone markets, finished pantomime season in Essex. David agreed to be filmed by Vodafone's in-house photographer and to take part in a wider photocall as he was reunited with K.I.T.T and his first mobile phone on his way to Heathrow.

We had an even more limited budget (€70k estimated; €67,833.27 actual) to cover all external fees (including eBay for mobiles, video filming, editing and animation, event management costs and translation costs) required to activate across 14 markets.

We wanted to turn what could have been a dull corporate anniversary story of passing interest to UK media only into a genuinely interesting global conversation about how mobiles have changed everyone's lives.

That required some fine judgements in setting out to satirise part of our own company's heritage and to identify the themes that would resonate far beyond the UK.

We took a risk briefing so many media outlets under a lengthy embargo, we used our strong relationships with all involved to ensure this was respected.

Using the campaign's 'hero' product, the Vodafone Transportable VT1, Vodafone's first mobile phone, two short films were products to capture:

1. Entertaining and shareable moments with primary school children reviewing the phone

2. A 3D render of the phone, used to create a spoof social media ad in the style of a high-tech product launch

We tracked down the man who made the first call on Vodafone’s network, Michael Harrison. We recreated that call almost 30 years later in front of Big Ben in London, inviting the BBC’s technology correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones, to interview Harrison.

We hosted an international media event on 10 December, 2014 at Vodafone’s Oxford Street store which was retrofitted to a 1985 theme.

Media were given access to Vodafone’s first customers and employees; all material was gathered under a strict 27 December embargo.

We targeted a global audience, creating original, shareable content for multiple media platforms.