Vodafone is making a World of Difference

Vodafone’s World of Difference is just that, they will make a world of difference. Really, it is an amazing campaign, not only for the marketing but because genuinely, it will help make the world a better place.

* Courtesy of Rob’s Rantings

Let’s look at the situation in England at the moment. Housing estates in London were threatened to be closed down, to be turned into paid accommodation. If that doesn’t illustrate what situation the economy is in, I think the next point really does. Drug addicts are being offered money to become sterilized. Both of these issues are purely financially driven. Drug addicts cost time, they cost resources and the bottom line is, in times like these tax payers care about jobs and scrutinize how their tax paying pounds are spent.

You can read all kinds of horror stories about the deficit like the 400,000 public sector jobs set to disappear by 2014 (initial figures only- usually figures are worst) and understand why a lot of companies are refusing to spend. Vodafone are different. I have mentioned on this blog previously that companies that invest in their communities, especially during times of struggle are rewarded. Well, Vodafone are paying 500 people to work two months each for a UK based charity. That is, Vodafone are paying for 1,000 months of charitable work to be conducted in the UK- a huge number.

Vodafone are paying people to work for charity, in this climate?

Yes, they are and it is for two reasons;

a)      They are committed to supporting charities and re-investing in their communities

b)      It creates a lot of goodwill for the brand and increases the brand exposure which is important when creating brand loyal customers.

To the first point, Vodafone are helping out up to 500 different charities, which is always much needed work. Given the economic climate at the moment (pictures in the newspaper with people holding signs reading ‘Employ Me, I’ll do anything’) this campaign by Vodafone will add a much needed boost to the UK economy as well. Reducing the unemployment rate reduces the benefits paid out by the government. Furthermore, increased employment increases the number of people spending money purchasing goods, albeit if only for 2 months. This point really leads into the second reason for this campaign.

The point is, yes, Vodafone want to support various charities and have good intentions, but they will be rewarded for it. I am not criticizing Vodafone at all, I think it is great what they are doing. With that in mind, this campaign will generate a lot of great PR coverage for the company. Firstly, Vodafone are seeking applicants for these 500 roles. I am anticipating a very high response given the desperation for employment. Imagine the elation felt by someone who has suffered from unemployment for 12 months and now has a job, thanks to Vodafone. It won’t be quickly forgotten. This is the kind of story that journalists would be interested in writing about as Vodafone aren’t selling a product and are assisting society. This kind of story is great for people that are using Vodafone, as it can make them feel like they are indirectly supporting these charities and thus feel a sense of achievement. It could also sway persons trying to decide what phone carrier to use, to try Vodafone. Most companies support charities, some of it is well published and some of it isn’t. This Vodafone campaign will receive coverage and because they aren’t directly selling anything, may have people more inclined to talk about it which brings us to the marketing vehicles…

Vodafone are using a lot of outdoor advertising at the moment, advertising on buses, at train stations etc. They could have easily have done a tv commercial, but I think they chose outdoor advertising to have people talking about it, rather than Vodafone talking to the consumer. TV is interruptive marketing, whereby you are forced to stop what you are doing to see the advert. Alternatively, outdoor advertising is interactive marketing, whereby the consumer chooses whether or not to read the advert – only one sense is stimulated, sight. The disadvantage of outdoor advertising combined with driving people to a website is that many people will not be driven to and/or will forget to visit the website later. A person seeing the ad and interested in it, can’t always access the website then and there. However, this is somewhat negated by the desperation of the workforce at present and that the campaign is run like a competition. People love a competition, Survivor, X Factor, Big brother etc.. and one of Australia’s greatest tourism coup’s ‘Greatest job in the world campaign’. The great thing about a competition is that people will remind themselves to enter. Every entry is from a person that has received positive brand exposure from Vodafone’s point of view. It would be even better for Vodafone if they received very creative entries via You Tube or Facebook, which would help to make the campaign viral. I am sure they will maximize social media by communicating progress in narrowing down winners and having the winners communicate via these channels about how they were positively impacting their charities.

Arron Child

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