Vodafone Freezone is the company's youth segment. Vodafone was proactively looking for creative ways to engage with its target audience and created the segment to connect with them. The company had a distinct challenge: to connect with gen Z, who often do not find advertisements convincing and have a short attention span.
Objective:
In order to attract gen Z's attention, Vodafone had to involve them in communication instead of making a standard broadcast on social media. Gen Z has different and more complex media consumption habits compared to other generations. Since traditional media channels, such as TV, print, and radio, started to lose their influence with the young audience, choosing the right medium to reach them was tactical. Vodafone created a challenge for them to enjoy and participate in using TikTok.
Target Audience:
The target audience consisted of people between the ages of 18 and 25.
Creative Strategy:
To grab the attention of gen Z, Vodafone invited them to a challenge, which would allow them to experience its AR filter. TikTok was not just a channel for them, it was a channel where they followed their peers and influencers.
While providing a holistic media plan to its target audience using multiple screens, Vodafone needed to be eye-catching in every creative touchpoints. With the help of QR codes, Vodafone directed all media channels (online and offline) and all devices (mobile and desktop) to the relevant pages.
Context:
Vodafone has been running Vodafone Freezone campaigns for years. But this was its first TikTok campaign. The company planned an end-to-end campaign by taking social media at the center and created content and experiences through OOH units in school districts as well as digital real-time integrations with TV shows. Vodafone measured the effects of these communications with brand lift surveys.
Overall Campaign Execution:
Vodafone partnered with creators to talk about the product on Twitch. Further, the company utilized commuting areas and placed QR codes in highly trafficked areas. In addition, the company knew that the Kardeşlerim series had great popularity among gen Z, and thus, chose a character to participate in its challenge. The Kardeşlerim TikTok account also posted the video simultaneously with the episode to create buzz.
Mobile Execution:
Vodafone aimed to create a new experience in which gen Z can unleash their creativity through a customized AR branded effect. Vodafone leveraged the technology to reach millions of users to participate in its #SacmaGuzeySey challenge, and asked users to share their most absurd and fun moments in their lives. In return, the company offered 10,000 views for the top scoring videos. The rewarding process was accomplished by a TikTok team looking for the most engaging videos. With TikTok Top View, Vodafone leveraged the algorithm to appear on top.
With this multichannel digital strategy, Vodafone reached 14 million users while achieving 26 million completed views, 4.2 million completed listens, and 165,000 paid webpage traffic views.
Vodafone was able to reach 66.1 percent (17 million unique) of Turkey's active monthly TikTok user base within only six days. To measure the perception of its target audience, Vodafone used brand lift surveys from multiple platforms such as Meta, YouTube, TikTok, Adcolony, and Livad. Significant uplifts were achieved in all five platforms; Meta peaked with a 12 percent increase in ad recall.
