Americans rely increasingly on wireless service, with more and more households becoming wireless only. Consequently, the wireless services market is highly competitive, where any sort of advantage can play a big role in a consumer’s choice. To let consumers know it had been named the best network in the country, AT&T launched “Just OK is Not OK,” a campaign that communicated the idea that we should never settle when it comes to important things such as our wireless network.

After launching the campaign with a series of TV films, AT&T asked us to create an experience centered around a cultural moment that would raise awareness for their new network campaign.

Our objectives were to increase recall for our “Just OK is Not OK” messaging; to break the clutter on Valentine’s Day and get the stunt talked about on social media; to drive brand affinity among customers of other carriers.

A few days prior to Valentine’s Day, we set up a pop-up stand in one of the busiest shopping malls in LA to take advantage of the fact that people were out shopping for V-Day gifts. We distributed V-Day cards that at first sight looked like your average greeting card. But when unsuspecting shoppers read the headlines, they realized they were far from romantic, with messages such as “To My Future Ex” and “You’re better than being single.” On the back of the cards, a message explained that “Wireless Networks, like Valentines, should never be just OK.” While people reacted to the cards and argued with our host, we captured everything with hidden cameras. The experience became an online film that was shared on AT&T and BuzzFeed's social media channels, creating a conversation around the stunt.

We paired our physical activation with a social campaign, allowing us to target our audience more specifically. Our partnership with BuzzFeed gave our idea more reach and credibility in the social media space, which was reflected by social engagement.

The campaign was layered into three different elements: the physical activation, a video documenting the stunt on social media and animated versions of the cards that could be exchanged between people on Instagram.

We decided to partner with BuzzFeed to amplify our stunt’s reach within key Millennial audiences. Since greeting cards are inherently meant to be shared, we decided to increase engagement by transporting the “Just OK” cards to Instagram Stories, where they could easily be shared between users.

The stunt was performed on the weekend prior to Valentine’s Day, to target people shopping V-Day gifts. The video was launched on Valentine’s Day on BuzzFeed’s website, Facebook and Instagram, along with Sponsored Posts featuring our animated cards on Instagram Stories.

We capitalized on BuzzFeed’s platform and authority in the comedic social media space by hosting our content on their website, Facebook and Instagram. Sponsored social posts were designed to be shareable, engaging people in a V-Day cards exchange.

Although our stunt only happened once in one city, we amplified its reach nationwide by creating a video documenting the experience and leveraging BuzzFeed’s fans.

According to BuzzFeed, the program led to a 31% increase in overall message association and a 39% increase in top-of-mind awareness. The partnership led to 12,946,549 impressions, with thousands of interactions on Facebook and Instagram combined.