Vonage Kicks Off ‘Crazy Generous’ Multichannel Campaign

A new national, multichannel marketing campaign aims to position VOiP network Vonage as a company of the people bucking traditional business models.

The “Crazy Generous” initiative, developed by JWT New York, kicked off this week with a 30-second online video showing how the company picked a long-haired scruffy man off the street as its “Chief Generosity Officer,” to spread the message that consumers need more freedom in the way they communicate with each other.

The goal, is “to position Vonage as the people’s champion,” says CMO Barbara Goodstein, noting Vonage wants to been seen as a company that pursues technological innovations to help people communicate in a low-cost manner.

“He thinks overcharging for calling is insane, so we hired him to be crazy generous,” Vonage’s Facebook page says in its introduction of its CGO. Nevertheless, Goodstein makes it clear that this campaign is “bigger than costs” (new prices and plans aren’t being introduced as part of the effort), and that it’s more about spotlighting the company’s fleet of products that enable “generous connections.”

The campaign will highlight the new CGO all over the web, first on Vonage’s social media hubs on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, eventually branching out into his own dedicated social presences. As the initiative evolves, he’ll show up in additional online and offline channels as well.

“The campaign will appear in whatever marketing channels we appear in,” she says, noting it will eventually permeate all marketing channels with references back to the “Crazy Generous” slogan.

The roots of the campaign are partly found in Hurricane Sandy, which Vonage responded to by helping recovery efforts in the affected areas, including the Jersey Shore. Goodstein says that kind of corporate conscience highlights the brand’s DNA as one that’s innovating on behalf of its customers. “’Crazy Generous’ is more than a tagline – it’s a business philosophy.”