“With pressure on marketing spend, we needed to look for marketing routes that gave us disproportionate share of attention and scale. With Ring My Bell, we created an unmissable brand moment in a much-loved show, that delighted viewers and drove massive interest for Ring.com at a crucial trading time. This partnership was a great demonstration of frugality and invention.”Matt Eyles, Brand and Strategy Lead at Amazon (Ring)
Ring and ITV's Saturday Night Takeaway 'Ring My Bell'
With pressure on budgets and a need go beyond conventional media tactics, ITV and MGOMD created ‘Ring My Bell’: a content-fuelled product placement that got the nation on their feet and dashing to the door – to deliver a tenfold return on Ring’s investment.
A little background
Since launching in 2016, Ring had become one of the leading smart security brands in the market, with 1 in 14 households installing a Ring video doorbell at home.
In 2022, with the business focusing on expansion across the rest of Europe, UK media budgets were set to be slashed by 45%. MGOMD would need to optimise the existing plan and go beyond traditional media tactics to maintain Ring’s position as a market leader.
Looking for creativity that had a real ‘ding-dong’ factor, they invited ITV to create a content idea that would bring to life the personality of the product in an engaging and exciting way, whilst also delivering a disproportionate amount of buzz and attention.
Our insight
Our doorbell rings will always trigger our response. But… not all doorbell rings are equal!
They can be expected (like a visitor) or unexpected (like a surprise delivery). And while dogs might get excited at all doorbells, us humans are a little more guarded when it’s unexpected. Particularly at night.
To help Ring stand out, we needed to create the same overwhelming sense of excitement that our canine companions feel every time they hear the brand’s iconic jingle ringtone!
The big idea
Few things get you running to the door faster than the sound of your favourite takeaway arriving. And, for ITV viewers, their favourite takeaway includes two helpings of Geordie and a serving of Saturday night magic.
Harnessing the feel-good vibes of the iconic 70’s soundtrack, we would bring Ring into Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway with an in-show ad-funded content segment called Ring My Bell: a feature that would get our audience racing around the streets.
Making it happen
Kicking off in episode 1, we worked closely with producers to devise a gameplay format that involved Ant & Dec taking over live Ring video doorbell feeds from unsuspecting members of the studio audience.
If the audience member recognised the doorbell as their own, they stood up to shout “Ding Dong! That’s my Doorbell!” prompting nearby neighbours to sprint to their house for the chance to speak to Ant & Dec through the Ring doorbell camera to win a cash prize.
The segment was an instant audience hit, sparking living room chaos amongst pets and families alike.
#RingMyBell was soon trending on Twitter and being talked about in the national press, with some fans pleading for it to have its own series!
Having initially planned for it to be a one-off, due to the popular demand and impact, we managed to persuade the client to find enough budget to bring the format back twice more – including a feature in ‘the epic final’. And all with a reduced budget!
With combined impacts reaching over 17m, Ring My Bell delivered a huge amount of bang for its buck and placed Ring’s brand at the heart of the entertainment in one of Britain’s biggest TV shows.
7.5 mins Ring’s video doorbell interface had over 7.5 mins of editorial presence in SNT, delivering an equivalent media value of nearly x10 the initial investment
23 million #RingMyBell was massive on social, delivering a combined audience reach of 23m and 78% positive sentiment
30% Ring saw an immediate spike in interest, with a 30% uplift in branded search queries over the weekend of the first episode
+50% Both attention and buzz peaked during the first transmission, with Attention +50% vs. start of February and Buzz +150% to Ring's target audience (Source: YouGov, ABC1 35+)
6 award wins The ITV x Ring My Bell partnership achieved 6 wins at the Media Week Awards 2022 including the prestigious Grand Prix, three gold, one silver and one bronze award
