Vodafone builds its communication on a feeling of “Romanian empowerment”, using real people, not actors, to demonstrate how its products can improve anybody’s life. Since smartphone penetration had been steadily increasing, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find credible characters for the smartphone non-user. So we turned our attention to the least likely users of technology – elders – only to uncover a very serious social problem.
Results and Effectiveness
The Sunday Grannies achieved over 380MM media impressions, for a 98,7% reach. Over 430,000 fans joined their Facebook page. The thrilling social outcome was a triple rate of Facebook adoption for seniors, for the duration of our campaign. This drove an impressive 20% increase in the total number of Facebook accounts owned by people over 65 years in Romania.
Moreover, Vodafone brand KPIs showed significant improvements in Simplicity (+9%) and Customer Service (+7%), attributes which were directly connected to the Grannies’ demonstrations.
Creative Execution
In order to prove that technology can help anyone improve his life, we launched a social experiment that fights loneliness among the hundreds of thousands of old people in Romania who live in solitude. We put Facebook in the hands of two lonely grannies who loved to cook, but had no one to share their meals with, and brought them together with students who missed the traditional Sunday goodies. The Grannies posted the menu and students book a chair at their tables, bringing joy to their lonely home.
Insights, Strategy and the Idea
German operator Telekom entered the market, integrating two of the already important players into the most powerful group in the category. They launched with lavish spending, but unremarkable offers. Romania is a value market, people quickly overcame the initial awe, turning to disappointment and complaint.
Vodafone couldn’t have hoped for a better opportunity to strike back. The brand had communicated about the personal and collective progress of Romanians through technology. Now it was time to ride the wave of dissatisfaction and drive a return to local relevance. Our campaign would focus on increasing smartphone penetration.