Vodafone - Digital Treasure Hunt Creates New Christmas Tradition

Intro

Christmas is traditionally a time of joy and festive celebration, but in 2022, the UK was facing a significant cost-of-living crisis. Rather than simply creating another feel-good TV campaign, we chose to actively lift people's spirits by bringing some Christmas magic to families across the nation.

Our solution: Britain's biggest Augmented Reality-powered Christmas treasure hunt that created a new festive tradition while addressing real societal challenges. This innovative approach not only delivered exceptional brand metrics but also brought genuine Christmas cheer to families during difficult economic times.

The Challenge

As the cost of living crisis dominated headlines and households across Britain, over half the nation felt anxious about the festive season. With a third of parents planning to manage their children's expectations due to financial constraints, we faced a critical question:

How could we create a meaningful Christmas campaign that would:

• Acknowledge the economic reality facing families
• Provide genuine value and entertainment without requiring significant spending
• Cut through the noise of traditional Christmas advertising
• Drive brand consideration and love in an authentic way

Insight

Christmas is full of traditions and rituals that families love to engage in together, from visiting Winter Wonderland to taking special trips to Santa's grotto. However, these activities often come with significant costs.

We identified one tradition in particular that families connected with: Elf on the Shelf. This insight inspired us to create our own unique take on this popular ritual, one that could leverage digital innovation to create a new Christmas tradition accessible to everyone, regardless of financial situation.

Strategy

Rather than developing another emotive TV campaign, we opted for a strategy that would actively bring Christmas fun to families across the UK. We created "Elf and Seek" – Britain's biggest Augmented Reality-powered Christmas treasure hunt.

Our strategic approach:

1. Create an immersive AR gaming experience that transforms public spaces into magical Christmas environments
2. Develop a compelling narrative around saving Christmas that would engage families
3. Use innovative technology to make the experience both unique and accessible
4. Leverage regional media and influencers to drive awareness and participation
5. Turn our advertising into part of the game experience by embedding clues within it
6. Establish a new digital Christmas tradition that could become an annual ritual

Execution, Solution and Innovation

We developed an AR-powered game encouraging families to scour the UK to find lost elves using their mobile phones and return them to Santa to save Christmas.

The Elf and Seek Game:

• Users signed up for the game and were introduced to the world of digital Elves
• Through their phone's browser, unique candy cane tokens appeared nearby
• When found, users could search their surroundings in AR to reveal one of six unique elves
• Successfully finding elves earned rewards and contributed to "saving Christmas"

Innovative Technology:

• The Candy Canes and Elves were created as NFTs on a private blockchain
• Each elf was unique to the user who found them, creating a true "collection" experience
• The AR implementation worked through mobile browsers, requiring no app download
• Candy Canes were dropped strategically in high-footfall areas, with special clusters around schools at home time and Christmas markets

Launch Campaign:

• Took over Heart FM with exclusive live reads and bespoke adverts announcing the missing elves
• Secured support from major presenters with a combined listener base of 4.3 million
• Engaged family-oriented influencers to demonstrate the game and encourage participation

Integrated Media Approach:

• OOH placements in city centres included clues about nearby Candy Cane locations
• Coordinated social posts with specific Candy Cane drops
• Created a treasure hunt mentality by turning our advertising into game clues
• Developed a comprehensive ecosystem of touchpoints that reinforced the campaign narrative

Result and Business Effect

The campaign delivered exceptional results across participation, engagement, and brand metrics:

Participation and Engagement:

• Over 245,000 people played the game
• Each player spent an average of 2 minutes playing per session
• Players collectively saved over 270,000 elves
• Over 4,000 social media mentions of the elves

Brand Impact:

• 20% increase in brand love
• 4 percentage point increase in brand consideration, doubling the category average
• Positive social sentiment reached an all-time high of 63%

Creating a New Tradition:

• 94% of players said the game brought Christmas cheer
• 76% indicated they couldn't wait to play again the following year

By creating an innovative AR experience that brought Christmas magic to families during challenging economic times, we not only delivered exceptional business results but established a new digital Christmas tradition that aligned perfectly with our brand values and connected meaningfully with our audience.