Virgin Media O2 is launching its first joint proposition since the £31bn mega merger earlier this year, with an integrated campaign running across the UK, devised by VCCP London which scooped the activity in a competitive pitch.
Dubbed Volt, the campaign is designed to represent the beginning of a combined force that will “supercharge the nation’s connectivity by giving customers more”.
The campaign will run in the UK from this week, with Volt aimed at pledging that Virgin Media and O2 customers’ worlds will be “supercharged through a service that brings more speed, more data and more value”.
The campaign marks the beginning of a wider campaign, with more work to follow in the new year. VCCP has handled the O2 account since 2002 and worked with Electric Theatre Collective to develop a new campaign look and feel.
The activity launches with a 10″ teaser film which visualises the power of Volt in a cinematic and immersive way. A longer film will run online, across digital platforms and social media, allowing customers to understand truly how “supercharged” the proposition is.
It will roll out across TV, VOD, cinema, out of home which will include landmark sites, social media, online video, stores, radio, bespoke press formats, digital placements, and in customer communications – all chosen to showcase the campaign language in the most powerful way.
A consumer PR campaign will be run by Hope & Glory and media has been planned and executed by Manning Gottlieb OMD.
Virgin Media O2 will tease its first proposition with a Twitter competition, #VoltMe, giving customers a chance to win a raft of tech prizes if they can time their tweet perfectly. A live counter on Twitter will show how many people have tweeted using the hashtag and pull through the entrants’ Twitter handles. The competition will run multiple times to give participants the chance to win prizes.
A Snapchat AR face and world lens has been created to enable consumers to immerse themselves in the energy of Volt. The lens will use Snapchat’s sky segmentation technology to showcase both red and blue energy forces colliding in the background, prompting the user to press the Volt logo which will release a power surge by tapping on the screen.
Simon Groves, who was promoted to director of brand and marketing at Virgin Media O2 in August, said: “We’re really excited to launch our first proposition, Volt, and thereby offer much more to our customers. On day one we announced our ambition to connect more people to the things they love, bringing more choice, convenience and quality and we see this very much as the beginning of our mission and commitment to upgrade the UK through both innovation and investment.”
VCCP London creative director Laura Muse added: “Two of the most iconic brands in the country coming together is a big moment that deserves equally bold and beautiful work. The launch of Volt had to be simple, unmistakably branded and most of all, it had to feel electric. Because this is just the start of what’s to come; not just for the campaign but the brands, their customers and the whole of the nation.”
Quite where this leaves the other agencies is not known as most commentators believe both brands will remain.
Virgin Media’s CRM account has been handled by Rapp for over a decade, while Adam & Eve DDB scooped the ad business from BBH in 2019 and OMD UK retained the media brief.
The O2 CRM brief, held by M&C Saatchi, was up for review last year but it was postponed due to Covid. VCCP has run O2’s advertising since 2002. Havas handles media, alongside an in-house division called Team O2.
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