Campaign Period: July 2010 – July 2011

The BT Everywhere PR campaign was impactful and successfully delivered on the challenging brief from BT to re engage with existing and potential customers in Northern Ireland. This campaign deserves to win the category for Best Campaign £10,000 and under as it delivered over 70 pieces of target media coverage across all formats with an AVE value of £114,765; it offered engagement opportunities with customers and stakeholders while generating significant sales over the campaign period.

The Campaign brief

BT in Northern Ireland recognised the importance of connecting with consumer and business customers to drive sales and build reputation in terms of offerings and reach.  An impactful campaign was required at a time when new competitors were entering an already crowded fixed line and broadband market place.

The marketing campaign BT Everywhere, was supported by an above the line campaign which focused on a series of local TV executions and outdoor activity.  The creative featured a version of the Johnny Cash song ‘I’ve been Everywhere’ and the songs iconic lyrics had been amended to include locations throughout Northern Ireland.  The track was performed by Johnny Cash tribute act ‘Keep it Cash’ and local BT ambassadors and customers were featured in the campaign.Aiken PR was tasked with developing a campaign that would touch and excite customers across Northern Ireland and create greater understanding of the BT brand and its product offerings.

Objectives• Positively engage with existing and potential BT customers• Live out the BT brand values and make people in NI feel good about the BT brand• Differentiate BT from its competitors• Secure extensive positive media coverage in NI across all media platforms• Secure radio plays of ‘Keep It Cash’ theme track on national radio

StrategyOur strategy was to create a campaign that would generate talkability and excitement around the brand by engaging customers in new ways – positioning BT as an innovative and fun brand. The culmination of the campaign was an exclusive populist music event which featured ‘Keep It Cash’ performing a set at the Empire Music Hall, Belfast.

TacticsLaunch• Launched through a photocall and press release targeted at business and consumer media – print and online• Photo included a Johnny Cash lookalike and the head of Consumer BT and the head of Business BT

Features• Secured in Belfast Telegraph, regional newspapers on the BT ambassadors and BT customers featured in campaign• In-depth interview with head of consumer for NI placed in business pages of Irish News

GigEvent management• Managed the coordination of the band – booking, travel, accommodation• Creation of brand identity for gig to ensure that it complimented the overarching campaign and the venue for the gig - branding extended to invites and dressing the venue• All event management around the gig – running order, VIP reception, promo staff, introduction by BT etc

Seeding with the media• Target media issued with a BT branded ‘Keep it Cash’ CD along with an invite to the gig• Copies of the press release issued• DJ’s encouraged to play the track live on air

Driving customers to the gig• Competitions for tickets to attend the gig in the entertainment sections of the Irish News, Belfast Telegraph, News Letter and Sunday Life.• Competitions placed in the Morton regional newspaper group• Radio promotions ran over a three week period on Downtown (257,000) and U105 (144,000) for tickets to attend gig - negotiated tickets as prizes to maximise spend• Information on gig extended to the Downtown and U105 websites and was also seeded through the facebook pages 8,794 followers• The Empire Music Hall uploaded information to its website and issued to all its facebook followers (3,435)• BT business customers were targeted through a ticket competition on Business First website and through its weekly ezine (4,588)

Interviews• Interviews with band secured in the Belfast Telegraph entertainment section and Downtown Radio

Post event• Issued social pictures from gig to print, online and social media

Outputs

• The campaign produced 72 pieces of coverage, equating to £114,765 AVE. (BBC Radio Ulster was excluded from AVE as there is no advertising equivalent)

Highlights included;

Media  CoverageDaily / Sunday newspapers  7Regional newspapers            8 editorial                Broadcast                              35 mentionsMagazines                            4Online                                   18

Outcomes

Media expectations for the campaign were smashed. The media coverage achieved and the impact on sales were remarkable.

The gig proved pivotal to the success of the campaign with incredible demand for the tickets as members of the public rang the office to enquire about purchasing tickets.

Highlights:• 322 guests attended the gig• BBC Radio Ulster DJ Gerry Anderson played track six times in a two week period and generated talkability about the campaign with members of the public and fellow DJ’s.• 72 pieces of coverage, equating to £114,765 AEV• Eleven  journalists attended the gig• The band was rebooked by the venue• Total opportunities to see: 1,029,298• Uplift in sales during campaign period by 33% in comparison to previous 6 months.  The highest uplift in sales for four years.

Media feedback

‘We could not have given away enough of these tickets.’  Caroline Fleck Downtown Radio

‘We had a sack of letters applying for tickets to the gig.’  Malcolm McDowell Newsletter

BudgetIncluding hours cost £8,400

To demonstrate the cost effectiveness of spend, APR provided the client with an AVE breakdown which equated to £114,765

Evaluation and Measurement

Evaluation and measurement tools used:• Coverage / OTS• Advertising equivalent• Online presence (Google analytics)• Competition entry levels• Requests received for tickets to the event• Evaluation of calls generated and sales during campaign period

The BT Everywhere PR campaign was an outstanding success and deserves to win the Best Campaign £10,000 and Under as it delivered on budget across the objectives, created huge talkability amongst consumer and business media and reaffirmed BT’s position as the leading communications providers in Northern Ireland.