Every two years Aviva runs its Customer Cup. The employee scheme is a worldwide tournament, calling for ideas from staff to better the customer experience and business as a whole. But getting people to believe they can make a difference, let alone feel brave enough to submit ideas, is a challenge.

Aviva needed to promote the competition and motivate staff to take action.

An online platform was created for staff to submit, view and comment on ideas. Posters, emails, event stands, giveaways and a handbook were key promotional campaign elements. The call to action was a short film, which brought the collaborative project to life – showing how great ideas can travel the world.

CEOs in each country received a personalised toolkit to launch the campaign. This included a ‘Throw it out there’ USB with information, an animated infographic to rally the cause and a mini projector to watch the film.

A sheet of paper covered in doodles represented the generation of ideas. Folded into a paper aeroplane, it became a campaign graphic (particularly effective online) to urge employees to ‘throw it out there’ – and see their ideas take off.

By creating an online hub, Aviva’s Innovation Centre, all scribbles had the potential to flourish. A microsite, emails, posters, giveaways and collateral led staff to the innovation platform, where from around the world, they could share ideas, collaborate and develop projects.

The call to action was the paper plane film – showing how great ideas can travel the world.

By prompting every employee to consider how far their ideas could go if they put them to paper, the campaign tapped into the global scale of the competition, encouraging everyone to take part.

In four months, 680 ideas flew in from around the world. Entries were up 40% on previous years, achieving 140% of the target.

Social interaction on the Innovation Hub soared – comments increased by 156% in August, votes were up 112% and views were up 85% since 30 July. Employees interacted with ideas and each other, clocking up nearly 24,000 views.

By showing employees that every idea has the potential to fly, staff engagement took off, the campaign boosted morale and brought Aviva’s refreshed brand values to life. The campaign solved the biggest challenge of Aviva’s Customer Cup – getting people involved.