You know, we know

Background

Students know that, by law, they need to buy a TV Licence if they want to watch live television on a TV set. Thing is, 99% are watching live TV on laptops these days. Yet few know they still need to buy a licence to watch it. Those who do know don’t think they’ll be ‘caught’ watching live TV without a licence, because – and here’s the kicker – TV Licensing have no way of knowing whether they’re watching or not. They can freely access live TV without the rigmarole and cost of buying a licence – so why bother?

Idea

The challenge was to get students to see the laptop IS a TV and convince them they needed a licence. But not by threatening them, rather by inspiring them to get one not just because it’s the law but because they love what it pays for.

Real students were engaged in talking about how they watch TV on their laptops and that was played back to them in a campaign that champions them as the generation leading the revolution in TV.

A real student was hired to write an essay on his generation’s TV habits. He used innovative social media research techniques to spark the debate on and offline. He set up a blog, posted questions, then seeded ‘conversation starters’ on campus, sparking discussions on forums, even taking the debate to YouTube. All students had to do was play back their own evidence – their words, in their online media and in their offline environments on campus – to demonstrate they know they watch live TV on their laptops. Now they knew what they needed to do – buy a TV Licence.

Students’ words brought to life the deep connection they have with programming. Now they could see for themselves the value of TV in their rich social lives, and, acknowledge how the TV Licence makes it all possible.

Results

They campaign focused on the ‘value’ of the Licence rather than the threat of the ‘law’ and the rewards of this approach were:

• £5m-worth of TV Licences were sold to students, which funds some of the best TV in the world.
• 80% of students became aware they needed a TV Licence to watch live TV on their laptops.
• An unprecedented 7.5% increase in online sales of TV Licences meant less money could be spent collecting the TV Licence fee, more on TV.

And most importantly, by facilitating a conversation about the value TV has in their lives, 93% of students agreed that the campaign had communicated with them in an acceptable way.

Our Thoughts

This is such a tough brief. Get people to pay for something they think ought to be free in the first place, and when they know they can’t be caught anyway. But it’s how the BBC is funded in the UK. There is no advertising. Just the licence fee.

This is yet another demonstration of the way advertising is changing, from putting messages in front of people to creating ideas they actively participate in.

People will listen to each other more readily than they will ever listen to a brand owner. This idea has led to a phenomenal shift in attitude even if most students still chose not to fork out the required £142.50.