Giffgaff: TOOL HIRE

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Internet/Online Advertising in a Promotional Campaign

Advertiser: GIFFGAFF

Product/Service: SIM ONLY NETWORK

Agency: ALBION

Date of First Appearance: Nov 24 2009 12:00AM

Entrant Company: ALBION, London, UNITED KINGDOM

Entry URL: http://www.giffgafftoolhirecannelion.co.uk/

Executive Creative Director: Nick Darken (Albion)

Creative Director: Andre Moreira (Albion)

Business Director: Keith Martin (Albion)

Account Manager: Duncan Welling (Albion)

Strategy Director: Glyn Britton (Albion)

Senior Producer: Benita Steyn (Albion)

Creative: Teddy Keen (Albion)

Media placement: Tool Hire Website - Giffgaff Website - 23rd November

Media placement: Tool Hire Blog - Giffgaff Website - 23rd November

Media placement: Online Commercial - Online - 25th November

Media placement: Facebook Page - Facebook - 24th November

Media placement: Twitter Page - Twitter - 25th November

Media placement: YouTube - YouTube - 23rd November



Describe the objective of the promotion.

The objective was to launch the world’s first people powered mobile network, but with no glossy TV ads. giffgaff needed a big, cost effective idea that made them famous, even infamous, and that caught the imagination of their young, brand savvy market



Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

giffgaff created a range of wonderful ‘tools’, which potential customers could hire out for free from the giffgaff Tool hire website. They then uploaded videos of their hires to Youtube. The incentive? A magical SIM card giving hirers free calls for a year with giffgaff.
To start the game, giffgaff gave the tools to Youtube celebrities who made their own viral videos. This brought thousands to the Tool Hire site. For the next 3 months, hundreds of videos were uploaded to Youtube, each introducing thousands more to giffgaff either through the digital platform of Youtube or through the Live experiential event.



Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

giffgaff went from being a small, unknown company to the forefront of the PayG mobile industry in the UK.
They had set the benchmark for modern cool business and in doing so created a whole army of obsessive fans, not just customers.
The campaign received over half a million hits within 3 months.
giffgaff received a 500% increase in the first week of the promotion.
Tool Hire featured on over 100,000 websites.
giffgaff reached an audience of 1.2million viewers through primetime TV pickup due to Tool Hire.



Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Firstly, there was a small budget so any idea needed to create a lot of buzz with no above the line spend.
Secondly, giffgaff is a people powered company…it made sense to have a people powered campaign.
Thirdly, giffgaff’s potential audience are young and smart and needed something completely different if they were to like a mobile network brand.
And finally, user generated advertising often feels lazy. giffgaff needed a fresh, creative take on this so they stood out as being a brand of the future.