Recently we posted a blog detailing an unusual event invite we received. So after wondering, musing, mulling (or Mulley-ing! No? Anyone?) over the mysterious Twitter invite, we can now pull back the proverbial curtain of conundrum and tell you all about our night at the live ad.

We arrive early, suspicious, and ever so curious, and are ushered upstairs to an all white room, complete with Twitter board back-drop and a fake living room. Mustard coloured armchairs, mini-figurines of pots and kettles, and family photos occupy the centre of this massive space. In another area there are tables with drinks, and everywhere there are signs for “Happy 50th”. No one is telling us anything except the official party-line about it being a surprise birthday party for the cantankerous Sean Last, father of @young_kubrick. Infuriatingly, those in the know act innocent, with nods and winks after every maddening attempt to get to the bottom of this event.

The cameras start rolling. The Last family, minus the patriarch, arrive into their living room and encourage us all to don party hats and shout ‘SURPRISE!’ when Sean enters the room. Pretty standard, and it all goes well, he gets a big fright, we all laugh, so far so good. Getting weirder, his wife tours the room with our guest of honour and introduces us all (“Don’t you remember Margaret?” ‘Margaret’ smiles bemusedly, knowing full well her real name is Evelyn)  and then we get down to a bit of dialogue from the Last family where we find out the ad is for making the Big Switch to Bord Gáis. Murmurs of revelation and posturings of prior knowledge follow.

We hear from the Marketing team who came up with the concept, the teaser campaign and the Twitter connection. Their campaign will see a series of ads featuring the Last family, each time endeavouring to get their father to make the big switch. Each ad will debunk a widely held myth about why switching to gas is a hassle. The television ad campaign will be complimented and enforced by an online and social media campaign, with members of the Lasts appearing on Twitter, and links to each ad on the website. We spoke to Stiofáin Mac Dhaibhead and Nicky Doran of Bord Gáis about the decision to utilise social media. Their use of Twitter and their clever teaser campaign, which saw a mini-ad featuring the Lasts but was completely unbranded, was the reason for the great turnout afterall. Their thinking was the social media creates a buzz for one’s brand, as well as enabling direct interaction and communication with one’s customers and target audience. And now that the big switch can be made online, it makes a lot of sense to have a strong online presence outside of their brand.

In general, Bord Gáis have had a successful couple of days, reaching one million customers yesterday, and managing to create a huge amount of Twitter mystery and buzz with the marketing of the event. Their unusual methods appeal directly to the social media market where the rule of thumb is to stick out like a sore one, and the guest list of media influencers (*blushes with barely concealed pride*) all enjoyed themselves and the exclusivity of the event immensely. Similarly, almost all of the attendees were recording, taking photos and making notes to blog with later in the day, generating even more interest and press for the company and its new campaign.

All in all, an impressive enterprise. We’re betting that the next few marketing tricks from Bord Gáis with be well worth watching out for.

Tags: Advertising, bord gais, event, innovation, Marketing, socia media, Twitter