giffgaff - Have a Proper Chat

giffgaff needed a big idea that used phone technology to help combat loneliness, reinforcing their positioning as a community-driven service and laddering up to their social impact goals. After months spent in lockdown, many of us had been glued to our screens, but were missing the meaningful interactions only a real conversation can give us. We decided to use this newfound hunt for greater social connection along with a trending desire for nostalgia, to remind people of the simple, accessible and long-lasting mode of connection we all have at our fingertips - the phone call.

We looked to reconnect the disconnected and create ‘Britain’s least lonely hour’ with the ‘Have a Proper Chat’ initiative, inviting the nation to make phone calls between 6pm and 7pm on 18th February. We directly involved the giffgaff community in the brand’s social purpose, successfully harnessing ‘people power’ to combat loneliness and offering Giffgaffers free calls and texts during the hour.

We launched with a suite of social assets and a fantastically vibrant animation, where relationship therapist Simone Bose explained the science behind how a chinwag can make us feel more connected. It then spread far and wide through a partnership with Global radio, including support from TV presenter AJ Odudu. The campaign was amplified across leading commercial stations, including Capital, Heart and Radio X, and received nationwide coverage from The Sun, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Star and a host more.