Ting Mobile built a reputation as an outspoken and disruptive brand that questioned the status quo. When companies started putting protectionist measures in place that called into question people’s right to repair the things they own and with the Ting Mobile marketing team testing a partnership with iFixit, I conceived and spearheaded a complementary content campaign to align Ting Mobile with the Right to Repair movement.
This end-to-end content and earned media campaign was very much a team effort led by yours truly working with the internal team and our external PR agency (LKPR) on the content and communications side and Dave Hillar and team on the marketing side.
What we did
Fielded a survey
Contribution: Direct
Using Google Surveys, we polled ~1,500 people to gain insights into how cell phones get broken and overall consumer awareness around repair.
Joined The Repair Association
Contribution: Direct
Breaking from the telco ranks (as Vice’s Motherboard put it) Ting Mobile joined The Repair Association as the only ever telco Corporate Member to date.
Created an infographic
Contribution: Direct
We created an engaging data-driven infographic from survey data. This infographic was designed to be modular, allowing each section to be shared on social, repurposed into carousel format etc. We also created a blog post (PDF link) that shed light on survey findings and that included the infographic.
Social strategy
Contribution: Direct
Built out a complete and staggered social calendar sharing excerpts from both the blog post and infographic and amplifying #EpicPhoneFails shared by others.
Created #EpicPhoneFails
Contribution: Direct
Invited people to use the #EpicPhoneFails hashtag to share their bad luck phone stories for a chance to win. Liked, replied to and favorited comments and shares to amplify.
Partnered with influencers
Contribution: indirect
Curated a list of like-minded influencers and invited them to amplify #EpicPhoneFails.
Created a microsite
Contribution: Direct
Built epicphonefails.com using campaign assets. This microsite captured the latest #EpicPhoneFails, shared details about the contest and was automatically updated whenever our social team favorited an #EpicPhoneFail on Twitter.
Created supporting video assets
Contribution: Direct
Created a video positioning Ting in the Right to Repair discussion.
Partnered with iFixit
Contribution: INDirect
Built a partnership with iFixit offering in-kind service credit for repair of any phone brought to Ting. Requested and received a repair kit to complete a phone repair on video.
Smashed a phone with a hammer
Contribution: Direct
Fixed a phone that had been smashed by a hammer
Contribution: Direct
Documented the phone repair process in an approachable instructional video.
Wrote the Ting Right to Repair manifesto
Contribution: Direct
Created a blog post (PDF link) to host our repair video and explain why the Right to Repair matters.
Partnered with The Repair Association
Contribution: Direct
Collaborated with The Repair Association to issue a press release (PDF link) announcing Ting’s Corporate Membership
Created an earned media campaign
Contribution: Direct
With our external PR partner LKPR, we built out an earned media campaign using survey data as hook and Ting Mobile’s position on right to repair as line.
The results
- >1,500 survey respondents (Google Surveys)
- ~220m earned impressions including:
- Front page of USA Today as a USA Snapshot
- Vice’s Motherboard – “A Cell Phone Carrier Breaks With Big Telecom, Announces Support for Right to Repair Legislation” (PDF link)
- Boing Boing – Cory Doctorow sharing support “America’s best mobile carrier is also the first phone company to back Right to Repair legislation” (PDF link)
- >450 uses of #EpicPhoneFails on Twitter
- >70K video views (phone repair video)
Infographic
