Virgin Media, Two Heart's Pizzeria

Virgin Media

Amplifying Virgin Media's ATL campaign 'Faster Brings Us Closer'

Virgin Media wanted to bridge the chasm of connecting with real people caused by the pandemic and help people feel together again. They wanted to connect with their audience by delivering an experience that would disrupt both the physical and media landscapes. Their "Faster Brings Us Closer" campaign aimed to demonstrate how their UK fastest broadband speeds were positively impacting their consumers. We were briefed to design an activation that showcased a moment of real Virgin Media connectivity.

Our activation needed to be special enough to capture the public interest. We wanted to incorporate real-life stories and give valued customers the opportunity to experience something amazing. Our ambition was to bring people who were still far apart, closer together. We had to ensure that participants felt safe attending, that legal guidelines were followed, that we incorporated new technologies powered by Virgin Media and that the final activation was a show-stopping event.

To bring the vision to life, we jumped outside the box. Our concept of the "Two Hearts Pizzeria" featured two halves of a real restaurant located over 400 miles apart in London and Edinburgh. We used state-of-the-art 4K holographic telepresence technology to bring these loved ones together to enjoy a meal in real-time, sitting at the 'same' table. To make it a reality, we hooked up Virgin Media Fibre broadband via a 500m temporary fibre cable that connected power to the site. For some of our diners, walking through the doors at the pizzeria was the first time that they had left their house since lockdown, for others they were surprised, having been unknowingly nominated.

The Two Hearts Pizzeria was planned to be one of the first brand activations to take place following the release of lockdown, days after restrictions were lifted in April 2021. We deployed this experience in two different environments in a completely synchronised experience for the participants. This is the first time this technology was ever used in a dining or branded experience, erected in just one day and built precisely, down to the millimetre.

"The pizzeria is an excellent example of Audience's ability to respond to briefs with strategic and innovative ideas that are relevant to the demands and trends of the time. It brought our wider marketing campaign, "Faster Brings Us Closer," to life in a really accessible way, connecting loved ones in an authentic setting despite being countries apart. The Two Hearts Pizzeria also served to mark the moment that our technology became visible in a meaningful way, as opposed to our relying on more metaphorical executions."

Head of Brand ActivationVirgin Media

This is the first time this technology was ever used in a B2C dining experience. The results far exceeded the original KPIs. Social media content outperformed the anticipated benchmark by 50% and over half of the people who saw the campaign agreed that Virgin Media connects people together.

Holographic telepresence technology is new, and the response to this project demonstrates the appetite for this kind of interaction. There were tears, laughter, giggles, sad moments and incredibly warm moments. Our guests left the Two Hearts Pizzeria feeling like "kids at Christmas. It made us laugh. And we're still smiling."

We not only captured a historic moment in time but we also shared the purpose of Virgin Media with a national audience in a heart-warming campaign. This experience was also fully aligned to Virgin Media's brand values of being "delightfully surprising", it "disrupted the norm" and had "red hot relevance" to the challenges consumers faced in 2021.

75

pieces of TV coverage (incl. ITV London)

1.75BN

combined circulation

257%

outperformed media KPIs

6.5M

total content reach

The Drum Awards:

  • Winner of Event Technology of the Year
  • Winner of B2C Experience of the Year
  • Highly Commended for Brand Activation as part of an Integrated Marketing Campaign
  • Highly Commended for Culinary Experience of the Year


Campaign Experience Awards:

  • Winner of Best Food Experience
  • Winner of Best Socially Distanced Experience
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