Company: BT Campaign: Bringing us all together for London 2012 Category: Integrated Communications Campaign of The Year - South - Shortlisted Objective 1: Deliver incremental revenue through showcasing BT’s capabilities for our customers, esp. B2B. Metric: Incremental revenue of more than £75m in consumer and business markets in the first half 2012/13. 2: Strengthen BT brand by enabling as many people as possible to experience the Games,  reminding everyone of the vital role we play every day Metric: Be the most recognised tier one partner of London 2012 by UK public in September 2012. Be the sponsor most recognised for delivering expertise and products/services to support the Games in September 2012 45 per cent (key demographic) 18-34 year-olds to feel more positive about BT as a result of London 2012 by September 2012 3: Engage BT employees, driving up pride in the business. Metric: 60 per cent of BT staff to feel proud about working for BT as a result of the London 2012 sponsorship by September 2012 Target Audience Create a shift from being perceived as a company concerned with technical expertise to one concerned with people. We sought to deliver ‘the most connected Games ever’ on three levels: i. Connecting the Games. Showcasing our delivery story, i.e. physical connections built to help deliver the Games. This helped differentiate us from competitors and in the battle for share of mind with other sponsors. ii. Connecting people. To connect as many people to the magic of the Games as possible. Partly through our infrastructure, but we wanted other ways to make the connection theme visible, such as London 2012-related events, enabling the British public to share this unique experience. iii. Connecting society. We aimed to demonstrate commitment to broader connections that bind society together. BT at its best has always been a balance between head and heart: the expertise we bring to the market, but also our passion to use communications to improve the lives of people and communities. Target audiences were: BT’s 95,000 employees BT’s existing and potential corporate customers BT’s UK retail customers (existing and potential, with focus on 18-34 year olds for longer lifetime value) Media/commentators Action Three strategic themes with the over-arching expression “Bringing us all together”: 1. Pre- and Games-time:  Focus on Connecting the Games 2. Games-time:  Focus on Connecting people 3. Paralympics and post-Games:  Focus on Connecting society 1. Connecting the Games There was a need to communicate the BT technology delivery story - how we brought it all together to create the most connected Games ever. i. Media and PR We presented BT as a key delivery partner for the Games and fundamental to its success.  We undertook an extensive media programme with approx. 500 media guests attending our events/briefings at Games-time and worked closely with LOCOG to generate media coverage around countdown milestone (e.g. Celebrating 100 days to go to the Paralympics with a photo shoot at the BT Paralympic World Cup). ii. Internal communications We communicated the work of our 1,000-strong delivery team to build self-belief and pride across BT.  This became a powerful success story of how we drew expertise from across the BT Group, hit all deadlines, and worked collaboratively with a very demanding client. iii. Hospitality There was no better way to demonstrate BT’s expertise than to invite key business customers and VIPs to see it for themselves, with a clear message that if we could do all this, imagine what we could do for their organisation. iv. Advertising TV, posters and press showing how BT’s fibre-optic network was at the heart of the Games and featuring BT Ambassadors Oscar Pistorius and the Brownlees. This began months prior to the Games, with the national outdoor campaign running throughout to provide a consistent underlying delivery message. 2. Connecting people We were committed to enabling as many people as possible,to share the magic of the Games: i. Media and PR We created innovative media partnerships, e.g. the Sunday Telegraph (Sports Life supplements), Daily Mirror (‘It’s your Olympics Britain’ campaign) and Magic FM, and worked extensively with up-and-coming athletes including Hannah Cockroft, Jonnie Peacock and the Brownlees. ii. Internal communications A wide range of employee activations gave staff a chance to be involved, e.g. opportunity to win tickets, carry the Torch, become a Games Maker, meet BT Ambassadors and coaching/performance at workshops, etc with nearly 47,000 BT people engaged with London 2012 internal initiatives. We also maximised our internal social media channels to give employees a voice and share their stories, videos and photos during the Games. iii. Hospitality We hosted events at the Hospitality Centre in the Olympic Park and at BT Tower. To ensure our hospitality programme was democratic, we also provided opportunities for 4,000 BT employees and 2,000 retail customers to attend the Games as prize-winners. iv. Branded events We gave over six million people the chance to experience the magic of the Games at BT branded events: •More than 1 million people attended BT London Live at Hyde Park, Victoria Park and Trafalgar Square, enjoying big-screen action from the Games, famous musicians and guests including Team GB medallists (first public appearance since competing) •125,000 people enjoyed musicians from around the world at free concerts at BT River of Music. •An estimated five million watched the action on BT-sponsored Live Site screens in city centres around the UK. •We partnered the Athletes’ Parade- Over one million people lined London’s streets to celebrate Team GB, and millions more watched at home. v. Social & digital media Social and digital media helped deliver joined-up activity across several channels: BT Tower information band and Twitter feed, btplc.com, btlondon2012.com, @btlondon2012, and the BT UK Facebook page. vi. Advertising We developed an emotive TV ad to dramatise how BT helped everyone experience the Games, with the end line ‘Bringing us all together for London 2012’.  Our delivery role meant that we did not want to ‘tempt fate’ by launching too soon, so we held back until we were into the Games period, and then focused activity during the last days of the Games. Effectively having the last word. 3. Connecting society London 2012 gave us the opportunity to demonstrate how we contribute at a deeper level. i. Media and PR We ran a campaign called BT Storytellers, allowing 100 members of the public across the UK to share their Games’ experiences. The campaign achieved national and regional media coverage and highlighted the depth of BT’s London 2012 involvement. We also embraced the Cultural Olympiad, sponsoring events such as the National Portrait Gallery’s Road to London 2012, to create a permanent record of the Games. ii. Education We invested in a series of grassroots educational programmes to help over 300,000 young people engage with the Games: •Communications Triathlon to improve the speaking and listening skills of 4-11 year olds •Coaching for Life provided resources to help adults’ sports coaching skills •Big Voice gave students the opportunity to write and make short films about local issues iii. Paralympics activation BT is a long-term supporter of Paralympic sport and arguably, the only sponsor to treat the Olympic and Paralympic Games with parity. In choosing to support an event with the power to change perceptions of disability; we demonstrated our belief in a better world.  Activity included: •Co-sponsorship of Channel 4’s coverage.  We created a series of short films featuring BT Paralympic Ambassadors that aired on C4 and online, and ran BT-branded idents around all C4 Paralympic programming. •We signed six competing Paralympic athletes and used them extensively - in advertising, at employee workshops, media events, etc. •We were a presenting partner of the Paralympic Torch Relay and Flame Festivals. Results Drive incremental revenue We estimate incremental revenue of £124.9m was achieved in the period in review against a target of £75m Strengthen the BT brand BT ended the Olympic period as the most recognised London 2012 tier 1 sponsor, with 33% total awareness. (Source: Nielsen (official London 2012 research provider), 560 adults, Sept 2012). The same research showed that BT was the sponsor most recognised as providing expertise and products/services to support the Games. 48 per cent of 18-34-year-olds felt positive about BT as a result of the London 2012 sponsorship at September 2012 (MM Eye research) against a target of 45 per cent. Engage BT people 72 per cent of BT people felt positive about working at BT as a result of the London 2012 sponsorship at September 2012 (MM Eye research) against a target of 60 per cent. The latest data from our employee engagement survey shows that the average response to ‘BT’s role as official communications provider to London 2012 makes me proud to work here’ is 3.98 (out of 5) against a target of 3.78. Impact on other stakeholders Media and political commentators rated BT as the sponsor who had made the greatest corporate contribution to London 2012 (source: TLG/ Populus research) “BT was a fantastic marketing partner. They supported the public engagement effort with creative and impactful initiatives that grabbed headlines and influenced hearts and minds. The team were always available to discuss ideas, support plans, deliver exceptionally and drive forward the Olympic and Paralympic values.” Jackie Brock-Doyle, Communications Director, LOCOG URLs BT London 2012 Campaign Wrap up - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvc7tuqRDMw BT London 2012 TV Ad - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jFsoX0IUyA BT and Channel 4 Present: London Dreaming - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SrwystmNPg The PRmoment Golden Hedgehog Awards 2014 are now open for entries. Here are this years updated categories.