Vodafone’s ambition was to use the power of its 5G network and the latest cutting-edge technology to elevate the British summer of entertainment, by delivering incredible experiences and showcasing how the brand’s connectivity is helping to broaden access for music fans in the UK.
Vodafone worked with technology partners Music: Not Impossible and Unit9 to launch 5G enabled haptic suits at Mighty Hoopla (one of the UK’s most inclusive festivals). This allowed deaf and hard-of-hearing fans to feel music and crowd noise (a world-first) in real-time via 5G, through multi-sensory feedback delivered by vibrations across touchpoints on the wrists, ankles and torso.
To tell the story and deliver against comms objectives, Vodafone identified engaging participants from the deaf and hard-of-hearing community to trial the suits before and at the festival, alongside media, whilst working with production partners to create emotive video edits, a VNR and editorially-focussed photography.
A partnership with Jessie Ware was secured and the suits debuted during her Mighty Hoopla set, before she conducted three contracted interviews with Press Association, Evening Standard and The I to further amplify the story.
Distributing content around a cluttered news agenda post-Jubilee weekend, 179 pieces of coverage were generated (89% featuring key Vodafone 5G messaging) smashing all KPIs. Highlights included heavily branded pieces in The Times, Independent and every national tabloid, as well as multiple features across broadcast channels such as ITV & BBC, plus articles spanning lifestyle, technology, music, accessibility and LGBTQ+ titles as coverage received a 100% positive sentiment score.
