UK mobile operator O2 has launched a Christmas TV advertising campaign to highlight the experiences of people affected by digital poverty at Christmas, and to raise awareness of the National Databank, which it launched in 2021 with the digital inclusion charity Good Things Foundation, which provides free O2 mobile data, texts, and calls to people in need.
The advertising campaign features stories based on real people and the challenges they face due to digital exclusion, referring to the festive season with SIM cards falling from the sky like snow (clichéd but appropriate). The campaign encourages viewers to visit their nearest O2 store so they can access free mobile data.
The campaign is a good illustration of a service provider delivering on their ESG (environmental, social, and governance) commitments – and GlobalData analysis finds that the tech sector tends to lead in most aspects of ESG, despite the demands it places on natural resources such as energy, water, and rare elements. In the case of O2 UK parent Virgin Media O2, commitments include achieving zero carbon across its value chain by 2040; driving the circular economy to make ten million reusing/repurposing/recycling actions by 2025; and connecting one million digitally excluded people across the UK by 2025.
Robert Pritchard, principal analyst, Enterprise Technology and Services at GlobalData, comments: “With UK telecoms regulator Ofcom estimating there are about two million households living in data poverty – where people are unable to get online and conduct everyday tasks like booking appointments or simply getting in touch with friends and family – the divide between digital haves and digital have-nots is particularly evident at times like Christmas.
“With Halloween decorations barely taken down, the supermarkets are already flooding TV advertising with cookie-cutter ‘happy family’ Christmas adverts wall to wall, it is refreshing that campaigns like this highlight genuine efforts to make the festive period more inclusive. This is not only for social good but also a strong message about the O2 brand, which, while it might not be financially measurable, certainly adds to its value and will help it appeal to liberal, and usually wealthy, customers.”
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By GlobalData
