Challenge:
We needed to get the Vodacom Business sales team into a meeting with the top 50 CIA’s and CEO’s in South Africa - in order to announce that Vodacom Business was launching Metro Ethernet fibre access.
We needed to get the Vodacom Business sales team into a meeting with the top 50 CIA’s and CEO’s in South Africa - in order to announce that Vodacom Business was launching Metro Ethernet fibre access.
Idea: Lewis Hamilton vs Vodacom Metro Ethernet
With the F1 of Internet Connectivity for BIG Business, we decided to put the product to the test and have a live race against Lewis Hamilton at Kyalami Stadium. This would firstly demonstrate the speed of the product and secondly be a huge drawcard to get the right people there for our salespeople to talk to.
Online, we created a live Scalextric race, where users got to vote for who they thought had the best chance on the day, and by doing so, pushed the Scalextric race forward in real-time. Because this was such an exclusive event, we needed to use the online platform to create hype and get people talking. So we created a race where they could vote, make their comments, and also upload data that they would like to race against Lewis on the day. This made them part of the ‘virtual crowd’ and got them talking and sharing with their friends on Facebook.
Once the live event took place, the site changed and registered users were able to view the exclusive footage and the interviews from the day. It allowed them to feel part of the experience online.
Execution:
• Direct mailer:
• E-mail invite:
500 e-mail invites were sent out to top CEOs and CIAs. The mail appeared to come from Lewis Hamilton himself.
• Pre-event microsite:
The pre-event site encouraged users to vote for either Lewis Hamilton or Metro E Fibre to win, as well as upload content to the data capsule, which was used in the live event race.
• Post-event microsite:
Post-event, users could log on to the site for results as well as exclusive footage from the event.
• Direct mailer:
Attendees were sent a ‘gift pack’ post-event, which included leather driver’s gloves, a signed card from Lewis Hamilton, and a USB stick with product information.
The Results:
The results from the Metro E online campaign were astounding, and even though there was a small prize on offer (racing gloves and a Lewis Hamilton signature card), people were interacting because they wanted to be a part of the experience.
The pre-event site was only live for twelve days prior to the event but still managed to yield significant measurable results:
• Of the 500 mailer invites sent, 480 accepted and attended the event.
• We received a total of 605 registrations online in just two weeks.
• We had 14,514 absolute unique visitors to the site.
• We had 13,152 visits to the site.
• 424 visits per day.
• 30,431 page views.