Exactly what is the bigger picture?
For all those travelling around central London recently, it’s been near impossible to avoid the barrage of bright yellow faces, with an accompanying Aviva logo, plastered along station corridors.
This is one of the highest investment ‘participative’ campaigns I’ve seen to date. It attempts to ‘put the consumer at the heart of the communication’ by inviting people to visithttp://www.youarethebigpicture.com, or the Aviva Facebook page, and upload an image of themselves. In return, their photo may be plastered on a landmark building in one of the world’s six major cities and Aviva will donate £1 (per image) to Save the Children.
The campaign is a shining example of how to execute ‘an idea that can be advertised’ – it’s personal, social and emotional, there’s a through-the-line commitment to encouraging and showcasing participation, storytelling (behind the original images when you go online), and even a charitable twist thrown in for good measure. It has all the ingredients of a great campaign:
Our one (rather large) criticism of this campaign, however, is exactly what idea are they trying to advertise? And is this clear to all those getting involved or watching on? Do they really learn anything new about the brand or is this potentially more about a little indulgent ego boost (as evidence here)…Is this participation in pursuit of business value or participation for participation’s sake?
Given the cost to execute this campaign, I question what the long term ROI really is. Whilst it’s all very lovely, when all is said and done, Aviva’s existing customers may question why the millions were not spent on something more useful to them (say a better return on their investments), and their shareholders may ask exactly what has been achieved.
