Yell: PULSE AND THUNDER

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Audio

Advertiser: YELL

Product/Service: SEARCH ENGINE

Agency: RAPIER

Date of First Appearance: Feb 6 2011

Entrant Company: RAPIER, London, UNITED KINGDOM

Executive Creative Director: Ed Morris (Rapier)

Copywriter: John O'Donnell (Rapier)

TV Producer: Zoe Barlow (Rapier)

Director Brand & Communications: David Parslow (Yell)

TV Producer: Jonny Hall (Rapier)

Senior Account Director: Philippa Cripps (Rapier)

Director of Music: Dave Goulding (Platinum Rye)

Director of Music: Dominic Bastyra (Platinum Rye)

Music Consultant: Alexander Waldron (Lord Nelson)

Music Producer: Spencer Hickson (Tactal Hots Music)

Music Producer: David Fletcher (Tactal Hots Music)

Media placement: TV - UK National TV All Networks - 6.2.2011



Insights, Strategy & the Idea

The objective was to remind 30-45 year olds who currently default to Google that Yell is still a great local search tool. The core idea was “good things happen when you find with Yell”. We brought this to life through a re-working of the JR Hartley ad with a DJ searching for his lost record. We wanted to tap into the warm feelings about the brand without making it feel nostalgic or outdated.



From the client’s perspective, this was a great way of reviving warmth towards the brand while the mobile app product featured demonstrates how Yell has modernised.



The track tapped into the revival of early 90s house music in the UK – a trend that hit a key part of the target market, those 30-45 year olds who had forgotten what the brand was all about.



Creative Execution

The creative strategic solution was to reprise JR Hartley for a modern audience and use music to encourage them to engage with the brand in a modern way. The key was to create an authentic music track that our audience could relate to – we did this with ‘Pulse & Thunder’. We commissioned a dance music producer who produced tracks for big clubs in the 1990s, and used equipment from the period to make sure the sound was authentic and not over produced.



The campaign ran on TV, with digital channels being used to deepen the backstory around our DJ and the track. PR, print and digital media delivered a competition element involving a nationwide hunt for copies of Pulse & Thunder in independent music stores. Specialist music promoters were engaged to generate credible interest in the track.



Results and Effectiveness

The activity delivered business-changing results - mobile app downloads up 127%, searches up 41% and calls to the mobile directory service up 35%.



Confidence levels of Yell’s salesforce increased to a record 92% (from 64% in October). Pulse & Thunder generated over 200,000 views on YouTube, was played on national radio and was deemed good enough by Ministry of Sound to include on a ‘Back to the 90s’ compilation album.



It got to number 10 in the iTunes music dance charts, and number 23 in the official UK Top 30 Indie Singles chart.