giffgaff wanted to get the nation talking—and becoming the headline sponsor of the award-winning show, The Voice UK, would do the trick! The three-year partnership united the giffgaff community with The Voice UK fans via an array of interactive real-time and responsive activities. 

The insight 

We know the giffgaff community lives and breathes the brand and potential customers are pleasantly surprised by the community’s help and advice! 

The challenge 

When giffgaff launched a decade ago, it was an underdog. With its sim-only, contract-free online community model, it offered a disruptive alternative to traditional mobile providers, standing out as an honest, consumer-led brand. 

But a sim-only offering presents challenges, including the lack of a high street presence! There’s also no visible product, just a fingernail-sized piece of plastic inside another company’s product. With a market that was quickly catching up and replicating parts of its offering, giffgaff had to make some noise to ensure it continues to win the hearts of its consumers. 

The idea  

Why not draw on the supportive nature of the giffgaff community and bring this to life on a wider scale? This approach would naturally tell the story of honesty that is inherent to giffgaff. As one of our most passionate, vocal communities, we knew The Voice UK would offer the perfect partnership! With the music coaches’ friendly advice, the show already mirrored the support central to the giffgaff community. 

• In 2018, giffgaff kicked off conversations on social media, asking The Voice UK fans to share what they love most about the show. We then incorporated fans’ pictures and comments in broadcast sponsorship idents to make them feel included in the partnership. 

• We created and shared branded content on our social platforms, including GIFs and a Q&A. 

• We gave giffgaff the use of The Voice UK IP in the idents.

• The idents were contextual and naturally added to the conversation around particular episodes. We wanted them to feel like the brand was commenting on the show in real-time, so we gave giffgaff special access to the show before it aired. Fans' tweets were included too! 

• By 2019, the two brands were already synonymous with each other. giffgaff members were given exclusive treatment as they could win tickets to shows. We even gave one lucky giffgaff member the chance to attend a press event and interview Sir Tom Jones!

• In 2020, it was time to ramp up activity further and build on the growing buzz. And so, the phone network created a giffgaff and The Voice UK soapbox tour—making sure the soapbox was accessible to all and every community was truly represented. The soapbox visited every small town giving everyone a chance to sing and making sure giffgaff championed real people’s voices. 

• We offered display media using The Voice UK IP and bumpers around our short-form content.

• giffgaff also supported The Voice UK app, increasing reach further.  

The partnership proved incredibly successful—The Voice UK gave giffgaff the platform to authentically share its brand values. The strength of the synergy helped to increase cut-through of the sponsorship, which boosted awareness and saw brand image soar! The partnership worked so naturally as it offered giffgaff the opportunity to reward its members, which has always been fundamental to its business. 

If you're looking to supercharge your brands growth, or revenue, then TV might be the perfect partnership. Why not partner with the UK's largest commercial broadcaster to kick start your conversation with the nation today. 

Sound like the right opportunity for you? Get in touch with itvcommercial@itv.com for more information.