Whitbread
Lockdown live streaming a quarter of a million views
The brief
With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing the hospitality industry to a standstill, Whitbread - like so many businesses - found themselves forced to shut their doors, with no way to service their customers.
While many brands may have sought to reduce their online presence during lockdown, we saw an opportunity to engage thousands of people, increase visibility and ultimately grow market share during the downtime, with an eye on reopening with renewed momentum...
Let’s get quizzical
It may seem hard to believe now, but there was a time at the beginning of lockdown when a virtual pub quiz was a relatively new concept. So when Whitbread asked us to keep their followers engaged online, the idea was pretty fresh!
Our solution - The Big Quiz - combined all the elements of a classic pub quiz (questions, answers, prizes, music and bonus rounds) and brought them together in a weekly Facebook live event, simulcast across Premier Inn and their restaurant brand pages throughout April and May.
“Loved playing all of these quizzes for an excellent cause - thank you!”
Big quiz fan
Your host with the most
They say a great pub quiz is only as good as its host. So in order to capture the sense of unity and community created throughout the pandemic, we felt there was no one better to present it than members of the audience themselves.
With a casting call put out across all social channels each week, we were inundated with quiz master auditions videos.
Armed with their script, a bit of artistic licence and a pledge not to swear, each brought a unique personality and brilliant individuality to their quiz.
“Thank you so much for keeping me entertained during lockdown. I’ve played every week!”
Big quiz fan
Oh my GOSH!
As momentum gathered across April, we turned our attention from simply entertaining to genuinely helping. Enter Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, Whitbread’s official charity partner and all round fantastic cause.
With GOSH’s help we were able to bring in a few familiar faces - such as Vernon Kay and Edith Bowman - to help spread the word, raise vital funds and even host their own specialist bonus rounds, culminating in a grand finale presented by Alex Brooker, star of The Last Leg and former GOSH patient.