Skinny - Phone It In
Skinny wanted Colenso BBDO to create a campaign that genuinely demonstrated its commitment to cutting costs for customers. The brand needed to reduce marketing spend while still effectively recruiting new customers. The challenge was to find an innovative, low-cost way to advertise that resonated with a value-conscious audience, proving Skinny truly passed savings on.
Creative Idea
Skinny turned OOH scripts into radio ads recorded by anyone on their phones, proving their commitment to saving money.
Skinny Mobile created a unique advertising campaign by open-sourcing radio scripts and inviting people to record ads for free using their mobile phones. The brand wanted to cut marketing costs and demonstrate its commitment to saving money for customers by turning ordinary people into ad creators.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Skinny is built on a 'low-cost, no-frills' promise, stripping away corporate overhead to offer cheaper plans. They could credibly claim that every dollar saved on advertising is a dollar passed directly to their customers.
Category
The telco sector typically engages in a high-budget arms race, utilizing glossy TV spots and expensive celebrity endorsements. Marketing often feels detached from the actual value proposition of the service.
Customer
New Zealanders appreciate pragmatism and have a high 'BS meter' for corporate posturing. They wanted tangible proof of savings and enjoyed the opportunity to participate in a brand's self-deprecating humor.
Culture
The rise of user-generated content and lo-fi aesthetics made professional-grade production feel unnecessary. In a cost-of-living crisis, a brand visibly refusing to waste money resonated deeply.
Company
Skinny is built on a 'low-cost, no-frills' promise, stripping away corporate overhead to offer cheaper plans. They could credibly claim that every dollar saved on advertising is a dollar passed directly to their customers.
Category
The telco sector typically engages in a high-budget arms race, utilizing glossy TV spots and expensive celebrity endorsements. Marketing often feels detached from the actual value proposition of the service.
Strategy:
Weaponize the brand's low-budget ethos by crowdsourcing production to prove Skinny’s savings are real and customer-focused.
Customer
New Zealanders appreciate pragmatism and have a high 'BS meter' for corporate posturing. They wanted tangible proof of savings and enjoyed the opportunity to participate in a brand's self-deprecating humor.
Culture
The rise of user-generated content and lo-fi aesthetics made professional-grade production feel unnecessary. In a cost-of-living crisis, a brand visibly refusing to waste money resonated deeply.
Strategy:
Weaponize the brand's low-budget ethos by crowdsourcing production to prove Skinny’s savings are real and customer-focused.
Results
The campaign resulted in 2,560 radio ads being made for free. A total of 22 hours of radio content was captured. Notably, 65% of the calls received were made by competitors' customers. The campaign led to a 34% increase in sign-ups, making it Skinny's most effective recruitment campaign ever.
2,560
radio ads made for free
22hrs
radio content captured
34%
increase in sign-ups
Strategy Technique
Turn Brand Values Into Action
The campaign directly demonstrated Skinny's commitment to cutting costs by reducing its own marketing spend. This action proved their value proposition, resonating with value-conscious customers.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Consumer contest
Skinny invited customers to record radio ads using their phones, directly engaging the audience to create content. This approach leverages authentic, user-generated material, reinforcing the brand's commitment to cost-saving.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional for its ingenious approach to content creation, transforming traditional outdoor media into an interactive platform for user-generated radio ads, brilliantly aligning with the brand's low-cost ethos.
The creation of 34 unique, location-specific radio scripts, each cleverly tailored to its environment, was crucial for engaging passersby and encouraging their spontaneous participation.
The innovative repurposing of diverse media formats—from large-format prints to coffee cups and newspapers—to act as interactive prompts and distribution channels for the call-to-action demonstrated a highly strategic and creative use of media.
The campaign's brilliance lies in the seamless integration of an exceptional idea with smart, localized copywriting and innovative media planning, all executed with strong design to transform passive advertising into an active, user-generated content engine.
