For T-Mobile, it’s increasingly important to be perceived as an “un-carrier” by young, tech-savvy Latinos. Many of these consumers want the latest, most high-tech devices available, but have little patience for traditional two-year contracts. JUMP! On Demand, a new program offered exclusively through T-Mobile, enables subscribers to switch to the latest phones with no waiting period or upgrade fees.
Conill’s goal was to extend the “un-carrier” brand conviction throughout Latino pop culture, increasing its relevance beyond the wireless industry. The core target audience—tech-connected Latino adults—is a passionate group of people who sees a mobile device as a lifeline for staying informed and connected to the world.
With the world’s biggest soccer tournament on the horizon, Conill recognized a golden opportunity to forge authentic connections with this important demographic—and to do so across the acculturation spectrum. Conill had already helped T-Mobile leverage its broadcast partnership with the World Cup back in 2010, giving the brand far greater traction among Latinos. Now it was just a matter of taking that partnership even further in 2014.
InsightMany Latinos adore soccer. Indeed, Conill’s consumer research reveals a genuine obsession with the sport among a large number of Latinos. Many described themselves as having been “born with soccer.” They embrace the sport as a kind of religion, often praying obsessively before games. One man even showed an image of the Virgin Mary he carried in his wallet. He explained that before each game, he kisses it and recites, “Virgin Mary, please give us a hand.” Others talked openly of superstitious practices such as wearing lucky garments, eating lucky meals, or watching their teams from the same location.
Conill also learned how unforgiving fans can be when they disagree with the referees, often showing little tolerance for rules they considered ridiculous. This minor form of rebellion fits in perfectly with T-Mobile’s non-traditional, antiestablishment “un-carrier” positioning.
SolutionKnowing how difficult it would be to gain the attention of fans through all the advertising noise surrounding the World Cup, Conill leveraged the sorteo—an important drawing that determines the competitive grouping of all the teams. A series of humorous videos cautioned die-hard fans not to test their luck as they nervously watched the ultimate fate of their teams online.
Conill also transformed Valentine’s Day into a game-watching opportunity for fans. A branded YouTube video showed how one man used a special box of chocolates to bring together the love of his life and his love for the sport. Called “Chocobox,” this effort was promoted throughout brand social channels.
Once the tournament began, Conill rolled out a multiplatform engagement experience with both Hispanic and general-market broadcast spots featuring international pop icon Shakira. While the broadcast gave the campaign its much-needed scale, a multi-faceted social program further increased engagement:
- YouTube and Vine hosted all video content, serving as a consumer destination.
- Vine, Tumblr, and Instagram encouraged fans to engage with the brand by consuming and creating personal content.
- Facebook and Twitter delivered content to T-Mobile’s social media fans, as well as Shakira’s extensive personal fan base.
- User-generated content revolving around a soccer ball—a ball passed around the world—was promoted with Univision’s digital platform and shared via T-Mobile’s social channels.
- Shakira’s content (branded as “Selfie”) broke records for T-Mobile’s Latino page on Facebook.
- Top-of-mind brand awareness almost doubled, from 18 percent to 32 percent.
- Brand consideration increased 11 points, from 36 percent to 47 percent.
- 49 percent of Hispanic respondents mentioned perceiving T-Mobile as a World Cup Sponsor, the highest recognition among cell phone service providers—even though T-Mobile had no actual FIFA sponsorship.
- Social engagement amounted to more than 152MM impressions, with upwards of 11.4k new fans and over 650K traffic actions directed toward T-Mobile websites.
