It was our job to find an entirely new way for the brand to behave in Social. Instead of cluttering feeds with repurposed TV ads, we set out to establish a more relatable, conversational and meaningful place for our followers. Instead of selling products to people, we celebrated them and how they use our network—by creating a social presence that’s centered around experiences: with our 5G, our network, our social responsibility efforts and even our rewards.
In the end, we got fewer complaints about bills and more likes, loves and shares for that oh-so coveted “Positive sentiment”.
There are tons of women in the workplace, right? It may feel like we’ve come a long way towards equity but history tells a different story. Since the beginning of time, the achievements of women particularly in tech, science, and entertainment have been dismissed and undervalued. Today, the glass ceiling is still very real. And when it comes to tech and entertainment, women hold a mere 24% of jobs in those industries and even less in the c-suite.
So to honor the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, we launched Verizon’s Future Fund to support emerging female talent in these fields. We kicked off the conversation by bringing back some of history’s most influential but undervalued pioneers of the past, to connect with and rally tech leaders of the future. The result? An award-winning platform hack and a LinkedIn first.
One Show 1 Bronze, 3 Merits, 4x Shortlist
Clio Bronze
Shorty Awards 2x Winner, 3x Finalist
ADC 2 Bronze Cubes, 1 Merit, 4x Shortlist
Cannes Shortlist
D&AD Shortlist
AICP Next 2x Winner, 4x Shortlist
NYF Silver 3x, Finalist 2x
As Verizon offered new discounted plans to first responders, nurses, teachers and all those who serve, we knew how important it was to also repay them with recognition and respect. Not with an ad for Verizon, but with an honest and heartfelt content series sharing their stories of sacrifice, bravery and courage. And in the backdrop of it all, the world was going into lockdown while they were going into action—further emphasizing that service truly calls the best of us.
In 1983, Verizon and Motorola came together to make the first mobile phone call on the first wireless network. Coincidentally, in 2019, Verizon and Motorola came together to launch the first phone on the first 5G network. Even funnier: they decided to begin selling it on one of the least-trusted (but one of the most-fun) news days in Social Media: April Fools’ Day. By the end of the day, we created one of the most-liked and most-shared pieces of content the brand had done to date.
On October 29, 2019 the internet was turning 50. And as a brand that prides itself on connecting people to the things they love, it was the perfect moment for us to celebrate it in the most internet-y way: by asking the internet to help us 3D print user-generated cupcakes in real-time—and live-streaming the whole thing on Twitter. Every tweet and reply would power a 3D food printer in our studio to create custom cupcakes throughout the day. Followers could determine batter and frosting color, cake toppers and even which beloved meme would be printed on each cupcake. It was such a hit that, even without paid media support, we reached unprecedented engagement for the brand with over 700k impressions in only 3 hours.
To build equity, excitement and awareness of Verizon’s new loyalty program Verizon Up, we simply started with its most exciting benefit: the once-in-a-lifetime experiences you get just for being a customer. The challenge on Social was two-fold: How do you entice members who are at these events to share their experiences? And then, how do you get our social followers who weren’t there to feel the FOMO? Our answer: Moments of Freakout. Our on-the-ground teams captured the moment immediately after each experience—every stutter, stammer, scream and speechless moment from Verizon Up members— and combined it with footage from their phones to create ongoing content for the program.