Telenor: THE MOBILE PHONE BOOTH

Credits & Description:

Category: Technology and Manufacturing

Advertiser: TELENOR

Product/Service: TALKMORE

Creative Director: Frank Nystuen (Uncle Grey Oslo)

Copywriter: Frank Nystuen (Uncle Grey Oslo)

Art Director: Anders Asheim (Uncle Grey Oslo)

Art Director: Terje Jacobsen (Uncle Grey Oslo)

Account Director: Rune Skalstad (Uncle Grey Oslo)

Media placement: TV - The Reality Show Survivor On TV3 - 08.11.2009



Summary of the Campaign

Talkmore is Telenors (the world's 7th largest mobile operator) 'low-price' brand in Norway and a challenger within the highly competitive GSM category. Their mobile phone booth man is Norway’s most famous advertisement characters and has become an icon within the industry. A survey done by Talkmore shows that 88% of the Norwegian public links this character directly to their company. Talkmore asked us how they could use his great popularity in a new and relevant way to create positive association to the brand. Our solution was to place him in an episode of the most popular reality show in Norway: The Norwegian version of Survivor (Robinson). He showed up in the signature episode where 8 people compete to win a phone call home. This episode was watched by 21% of the Norwegian population. His appearance on Survivor was also mentioned on a number of blogs, in evening newspapers and on Facebook and Twitter.



The Goal

The objectives of the campaign were to create a positive association to the brand and entertain the public. Our goal was to find a relevant setting for The Mobile Phone Booth Man to show up in and make the viewers believe that his presence was a natural part of the show. After some research we landed on the Norwegian version of Survivor: Robinsonekspedisjonen. This popular reality show has both the right target group (young adults from age 18 to 40) and a fixed episode where the competitors in the show compete against each other to win a phone call home.



Results

This signature episode was watched by 21% of the Norwegian population. The Mobile Phone Booth Mans appearance on Survivor was also mentioned on a number of blogs, in evening newspapers, on Facebook and Twitter.



Execution

Survivor was filmed on an island outside of Malaysia. To get the same look and feel as in the TVC we sent one of our mobile phone booth cardboard boxes down to the island. Together with the production company we also made a plan for how he should appear in the signature episode and the competitors would win gold coins in order to buy calling time from our mobile phone booth man. The campaign ran according to plan and everything turned out the way we wanted it.



The Situation

In spring 2009 Talkmore did a survey which showed that 88% of the Norwegian public linked The Mobile Phone Booth Man directly to their company. Talkmore wanted to use his great popularity and fame in a new and relevant way to create positive association to the brand. They also wanted to take the mobile phone booth man from the world of advertising and into the real world.



The Strategy

To entertain and create positive association to the brand our main strategy was to make him a natural part of the episode. To create immediate buzz in traditional and social media we decided to let the viewers be as surprised and enthusiastic as the contenders on the island. Therefore we did not use him in promos or inform anyone of his appearance before the show was aired. Because almost all Norwegians link him directly to Talkmore a small but important part of the strategy was to keep him logo free.