The challenge:

The BBC is a national institution, so when there was talk of the government slashing its size, something needed to be done! And so the Great BBC Campaign was born – focusing on protecting the BBC and ensuring that it got a good deal in the upcoming charter.

The BBC came to us with two goals:
1) To recruit new email supporters who they could campaign with around the issue.
2) To evoke a sense of nostalgia – reminding people how much they loved the BBC and inspiring them to publicly stand up for it.

What we did:

We developed a poll to find out the nation’s favourite BBC childhood memory. This made the issue personal to the user, promoted positive feelings with the organisation and also encouraged sharing as people compared their favourite memories.

After entering their date of birth, users were shown a series of clips and theme tunes from their childhood – transporting them back to their younger selves and evoking that strong sense of nostalgia. They were then invited to enter their details to cast their vote, in the hope of propelling their favourite memory to the top spot. They were also given a neat graphic of their favourite show to share with others and encourage them to take part too.

The results:

The tool was promoted on Facebook, and widely shared – with organic sharing reducing the cost per acquisition for Facebook by 50%. What’s more, people wanted to talk about it too, with many commenting on the poll and sharing their memories – all serving our goal of promoting the BBC brand.