Post on 13-Sep-2015
transcript
Objectives
As the official communications services partner for the London
2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, BT Global Services, the
division of BT that provides managed network IT services, was
responsible for carrying every call, piece of data, image and
sports report for the Games. Needless to say, London 2012 was
a reputation defining moment for BT which is why they sought a
robust thought leadership programme to raise awareness and drive
new business opportunities.
In light of the various business challenges expected during the
Olympics, BT required a communications programme that would
position them as the best partner to provide technology and
know-how to help businesses develop the kind of agility that
London 2012 might demand of them. It needed to raise awareness
and deliver media coverage across business and vertical sector
media channels to prompt customers into considering their state
of business readiness for the Games, and provide a hook for BT
Global Services sales teams to start new customer conversations.
Strategy and plan
BTs strategy was to give business customers the motivation to
consider immediate steps that could help their organisation over the
Olympic summer, whilst also delivering longer-term benefits. Based
on this, the strategy had three strands:
1. To create new content and an online destination that offered
inspiration to businesses considering the challenges and
opportunities offered by London 2012
2. To use the content to engage media in debate and drive coverage
that encouraged businesses to reconsider their state of readiness
3. To leverage BTs heritage of insight around how businesses
coped with the impact of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
as part of a thought leadership programme.
Client: BT GloBal ServiceSCampaign: race To The line: creaTinG a london 2012 SaleS enGaGemenT PlaTform for BTCategOrieS: 19 UniTed KinGdom and ireland (leSS Than 50,000 in feeS); 25 BUSineSS-To-BUSineSS marKeTinG; 65 TechnoloGY: SofTWare & ServiceSagenCy: PorTer novelli
raCe tO the line: Creating a lOndOn 2012 SaleS engagement platfOrm fOr Bt
implementation
The result was the Race to the Line survey: the most authoritative
barometer of UK business sentiment towards London 2012 that
had ever been attempted. Decision-makers from 1,200 private and
public sector organisations were surveyed online in October 2011 and the results compiled into a comprehensive report that
analysed the expected effects of the Games around the country and across both public and private sector organisations in a variety
of different industries.
The research brief incorporated topics ranging from the
preparations being made and perceived opportunities presented by
the Games through to technology topics such as flexible working
and network security. The brief was shared across BT, ensuring
stakeholder buy-in and building anticipation for how the results
could be used within sales and marketing programmes.
During analysis, the London 2012 Race to the Line research results
were combined with findings from previous BT research into the
experience of businesses around Vancouver 2010 to create a story that
revealed a sharp divide between organisations poised to take advantage
of the opportunities that almost a million extra visitors to the country
would bring and those relying on luck to see them through.
The results were compiled into a series of reports, showing the
perspectives of large and small businesses, as well as public versus
private organisations. A set of press releases was developed to tell
the overall business story and tailored perspectives for key vertical
sectors (e.g. retail, financial services, transport). All of these had to
be navigated through a rigorous approvals process.
The research was launched to media through a breakfast roundtable
hosted by BT in London. To ensure a stimulating debate,
spokespeople from the Canadian High Commission, London First,
Visa and Ovum joined BTs President of Global Services and
London Business Director to offer different perspectives around
the table.
To complement the media campaign, BT developed a web page
hosting videos and content encouraging businesses to consider their
state of readiness. It offered a simple self-assessment tool, case
studies on how BT was helping its customers and links to expert
viewpoints on relevant issues such as flexible working and network
security. Businesses could also book a London 2012 showcase visit
to get a demonstration on how BT could support their organisation
to be more agile and resilient.
Campaign content and insight was repackaged for publication
through the BT Viewpoint blog, and followers alerted through
a series of tweets. A crib sheet was also created for the BT sales
teams and a series of briefing calls undertaken to promote how
collateral could be used to open up new conversations with
customers.
A BT marketing campaign was also developed and ran in January
and February 2012, using the research as the basis for messaging
and content. This included print advertisements that drew on the
research findings which appeared in the Economists World in
2012 publication, the Sunday Telegraph and City AM. BT also ran
a series of advertisements titled 12 tips to an extraordinary 2012
in the Evening Standard and Metro, as well as a series of online
ads, that highlighted the need for businesses to prepare for London
2012 and further strengthened BTs position in this area.
results
The media launch was attended by 15 journalists from national
publications including the Daily Telegraph, Mail on Sunday, Reuters,
FT, Evening Standard and vertical titles from sectors ranging from
retail to manufacturing. This made it the best attended media event
BT Global Services had hosted in over two years.
More than 68 pieces of media coverage ensured that the research was
seen by a potential audience in excess of 18 million across the UK.
Message analysis showed BT positively positioned as both a thought
leader on business readiness and in its role as official communications
services partner to London 2012. Coverage also raised the personal
profile of Emer Timmons, the president of BT Global Services UK.
The campaign drove a steady stream of traffic to BTs online
sites. Campaign videos on the BT Viewpoint YouTube channel
were viewed over 1,000 times, while Race to the Line infographics
published on the BT Viewpoint blog attracted over 3,000 views,
making them the highest ranked content on this site of all time.
Positive feedback from BT sales teams suggested that this was one
of the most effective communications campaigns in recent years in
helping them to engage customers in conversations. Individual visits
to the BT Centre Showcase, demonstrating the technology solutions
offered by BT, were arranged for 27 new customers. This generated
26 opportunities to the value of 2.3 million and nurtured 22
opportunities to the value of 76 million.
In total the campaign helped to close sales of a value 71 per cent
higher than the target set, and a pipeline total order value of 35 per
cent higher than the target set.
Client: BT GloBal ServiceS Campaign: race To The line: creaTinG a london 2012 SaleS enGaGemenT PlaTform for BT agenCy: PorTer novelli
The sales figures are given in commercial confidence, for the judges eyes only.