Category: Best Use of Integrated Media
Advertiser: BOOST MOBILE
Product/Service: MOBILE PHONE SERVICE
Agency: 180LA
Media Agency: MINDSHARE, New York, USA
Executive Creative Director: William Gelner (180LA)
Creative Director: Ari Weiss (180LA)
Copywriter: Dave Horton (180LA)
Art Director: Matthew Woodhams-Roberts (180LA)
Executive Producer/Managing Partner: Peter Cline (180LA)
Senior Producer: Natasha Wellesley (180LA)
Group Account Director: Chad Bettor (180LA)
Account Director: Jerico Cabaysa (180LA)
Planner: Matt Johnson (180LA)
Director: Stacy Wall (Imperial Woodpecker)
DP: Carl Nilsson (Imperial Woodpecker)
Senior Executive Producer: Doug Halbert (Imperial Woodpecker)
Producer: Timory King (Imperial Woodpecker)
Editor: Steve Gandolfi (Cut + Run)
Executive Producer: Michelle Burke (Cut + Run)
Producer: Christie Price (Cut + Run)
Music Artist: Aloe Blacc
Music Writer: Jeffrey Silverman
Music Writer: Leon Michels
Music Writer: Nicholas Movshon/
Media placement: Television - Current TV - August 30, 2011
Media placement: Online - YouTube - August 31, 2011
Media placement: Social - Facebook - April 18, 2011
Media placement: Social - Facebook - June 1, 2011
Insights, Strategy & the Idea
Boost Mobile had built a reputation of taking the side of their consumers in an industry notorious for taking advantage of consumers.
But in 2011, Boost’s once innovative offerings had become parity. So without new news or innovative product offerings, we needed to find a way to continue growing awareness, engagement and purchase consideration while solidifying Boost’s consumer advocacy role within the industry.
Aside from being a point of differentiation, being a wireless advocate was powerfully compelling to our audience who felt frustrated, helpless and tired of making sacrifices to pay their wireless bills.
Creative Execution
The web is teeming with frustrations about the wireless industry. People tweet, post, and blog whenever they feel wronged by their provider.
So we convinced Boost to embrace the hate. To use real consumer gripes as the voice of their new campaign, and then to actually answer them by structuring Boost’s offers on the chatter we heard online, as well as our own Facebook page.
First we built “The Aggravator”. A web tool that aggregated all complaints made about the wireless industry allowing people to see exactly what others were saying about every wireless provider, including Boost Mobile.
We then selected the most powerful quotes and re-enacted them in television commercials.
We also created billboards, print ads and digital banners that displayed real consumer frustrations for all to see.
In every media channel we gave a voice to the frustrated and allowed them to not only be heard, but more importantly, be answered.
Results and Effectiveness
After the campaign launched, brand awareness reached an all time high of 80% and purchase consideration increased by over 20% among key demographic segments. This not only achieved our business goals, the Be Heard campaign drove brand loyalty, resulting in Boost’s highest customer retention rate in over two years.
In social media, the campaign gave consumers a platform to be heard and helped grow Boost’s social community by 183%. In particular, the brand’s Facebook community expanded by 229% with monthly active users increasing by 280%. By the end of 2011, we were driving 4,000 customers weekly to boostmobile.com.