Pay It Forward Live
Verizon
Issue 55 | June 2020
Agency
R/GA, McCann, VM1, Arts & Sciences, Weber Shandwick, Momentum
Date
March 2020
Background
When America embarked on shutdown and most small businesses had to close their doors to their customers, it was estimated that as many as 7.5 million of them could go under.
To help, Verizon devised a weekly entertainment series.
Idea
‘Pay it Forward Live’ was a weekly streamed series that included music, gaming, comedy and more in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19. The 30-minute performances, where artists performed intimate concerts from their homes, gave viewers a way to connect during social distancing and a way to support their favourite small businesses.
Over the course of the series, they were encouraged to tag their favourite local businesses and make a purchase in advance for when the crisis was over and the businesses reopened. As consumers engaged, Verizon pledged an additional $2.5 million in funds to provide grants of $10,000 to small companies under pressure, especially those owned by entrepreneurs of colour and women.
Verizon also gave its own customers the option to use their monthly loyalty rewards against Visa eGift cards to support small businesses.
Small business customers of Verizon were given an extra free 15GB of data for their devices.
The weekly series opened on Thursday, March 26, at 8:00 pm with a performance from Dave Matthews. It was aired on Twitter, Verizon’s Facebook page and live streamed on YouTube.
Other artists included Billie Eilish, Alicia Keys, Cizzorz, Marshmello and Pokimane.
Results
After a month the series had generated enough support for over 200 companies to receive grants. Verizon committed an additional $2.5 million. By the end of May, Verizon reported that 68% of small businesses believed they could recoup their Covid-related losses once they could open up shop again.
Our Thoughts
Woke is when a brand puts a TV ad out there saying “We’re with you, we’re supporting you” and puts its prices and/or rates up. (We’ll get even when this is all over.) By contrast, here’s Verizon putting real money into the hands of people who need it by bringing to our homes entertainers from theirs. It’s a circle of empathy, the very opposite of woke.