Event 2 of T-Mobile’s Life is for Sharing campaign

Interesting to see the 2nd episode in T-Mobile's "happening"-based campaign, called Sing-along. This is the much-awaited follow-up to T-Mobile's "flash mob" Dance event at Liverpool Street Station I posted on here. Dance involved 300 dancers getting the public to join in. And for a brand in desperate need of distinctiveness and impact, Dance has delivered, with over 11million views on YouTube.

I met with Lysa Hardy, who runs comms at T-Mobile, shortly after Dance broke. She was pleased with the results, especially the impact it was having inside the business. Sales team feedback from stores was positive. But, she was also scratching her head about how the bloody hell to follow it up.

Well, here is Dance. It involved getting 13,500 people singing along in Trafalgur square to Hey Jude in front of a huge karaoke screen. You can watch it by clicking below if you are in the blog, or here to watch on You Tube.

So, what do we think? Here's what I like.

1. Episode 2 of the same story
Lysa, her team and Saatchi have created a 2nd episode in the same "Life is for sharing" story, and the YouTube mini-site is now starting to really come to life.There are some common themes with Dance: collecting event, spontaneity, small bits of smiley sharing in a big crowd. The clever thing is that these are events where the first reaction today is to use your mobile to call, text of take a photo. So, there is a link back to the product.

2. Product linkage
I like the way that the YouTube site promotes T-Mobile's G1 phone: "YouTube built in so you watch the film". So, there is some link to selling more stuff.

3. Impact is everything
This is the trick I think in mobile network marketing. Impact and brand stature is what matters in the category, which is low-involvement. People have not time for a detailed brand message, they just need to to i) know the brand, ii) think/feel it is "famous"/reliable. The new marketing T-Mobile is using is a cost-effective way to get this impact and stand-out.

4. Wow factor
The scene of 13,000 people in Trafalgur Square is pretty gob-smacking. And makes you think, "Wow. How did they do that?" And I do think this makes you think better of the brand, as a catalyst for positive, emotional experiences. This is welcome in a time of doom and gloom. T-Mobile is an optimism booster.

5. Amplifying the event

A nice touch is taking the sing-along on tour to other cities. This amplifies the event, spreads the word further and makes it more personal by "taking it to the people".

The question is whether Sing-along will be as viral as episode 1. After 2 weeks the film has been viewed 463,000 times and has 1,500 ratings, versus Dance which got 1.7 million views and 6,000 ratings in the first week.

Still, almost half a million views on YouTube is not to be sniffed at. And I wonder if Sing-along will be more of a slow burn. Certainly, this is a brand that feels much more alive and dynamic than it did a year ago.