Meet The Marketer Bringing New Life To O2

“That’s it. Breathe it in, little one,” encourages Sean Bean, while welcoming a newborn into the world. “That is sweet, sweet oxygen.”

And by oxygen, he means the chemical formula, O2. But for the sake of the campaign, he’s also referring to communications network, O2, and the services it offers customers in leading their everyday lives.

Released in March, the company's new brand platform ‘Essential for Living’, devised by long-term creative partners VCCP, shines a light on the brand’s roots alongside what makes customers feel alive - from travelling to gigs to falling in love, and the role O2 plays in making those things happen in modern British life.

Leading the charge for its latest work is recently installed Rachel Swift, Virgin Media O2’s (VMO2) brand and advertising director.

Swift’s career is one rich with experience from some of Britain’s most-loved brands as a senior marketer, including an eight-year stint at Marks and Spencer and a seven-year spell at John Lewis. It’s safe to say she’s a marketer that knows a thing or two about creating work that gets people talking, having worked on famed campaigns such as John Lewis’ ‘Monty the Penguin’ and ‘Man on the Moon’ Christmas ads, and launching M&S’ iconic ‘This is not just food’ platform in 2004.

Working for such famous brands across her career is a unique responsibility, she believes, that has shaped her as a marketer. 

“Brave and bold creative strategies and creative risk-taking are always quite challenging when you've got really long-established brands that are very much part of the fabric of the nation. You feel you've got such a responsibility to be the guardian of these iconic brands," Swift says.

“I've always worked at brands for a relatively long period of time - that's allowed me to be more bold creatively because I had the opportunity to build trust internally,” she continues. “Build trust with people to demonstrate your capability and ability to deliver results, and therefore be able to take more, bolder, creative risks as a result of that.”

This isn’t her first rodeo with O2 nor the telecommunications industry. Before its merger with Virgin Media in 2021, Swift spent two years at O2 as its brand and creative director, before moving to Tesco Mobile, where she spent five years as its chief customer officer and then chief marketing officer. 

Moving back to O2 in September 2024, she says, was inspired by feeling like she had “unfinished business” with the company. And despite being new, rolling out a new brand platform was an early priority.

“I felt very strongly that this was the right approach for us,” she begins. “There’s a huge amount of pressure because it’s a highly competitive market; we’re all fighting for the same customers. 

“People don’t really talk about gut instincts anymore but it’s really served me well. Of course, we need to use data to inform everything we do, but there's a huge role for really understanding and believing through experience what is right.”

Revitalising O2

‘Essential for Living’ marks the O2’s first new brand platform in five years, and for Swift, it was paramount for the brand to return to its roots for the next chapter. 

“When you're revitalising a brand, my view is it's really critical to go back to the things that made you successful in the first place,” she explains. “The insight and the core heart of why O2 is called O2 is this sense that connectivity is the digital oxygen for life - it’s essential for living, and that has never been more prescient than it is today. 

“Really re-emphasising why we’re called O2 and using that as a way to demonstrate the important role we can play in people's lives felt like an absolute slam dunk for me.”

The work “redefines” the connections and experiences that are held at O2’s heartland, and moves the brand beyond providing connectivity to customers’ real-life moments. While the 90-second TV spot shines, its out-of-home work also relays this message. 

As seen in the ad, O2’s classic ‘o’ shape is utilised on posters in scenarios where O2 can keep customers connected; imagery does all of the talking, from replacing the ‘O’ for the O2 arena, the moon, and even a cheering mouth. 

“It’s a really dynamic campaign,” Swift says. “It’s designed to evolve with customers’ needs and technological advancements and ensure that O2 really remains relevant and valued in the years to come.

A unique tool O2 has in its armoury is the distinctive voice of actor Sean Bean. Famed for playing Ned Stark in Game of Thrones and his role in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy (among many other things), Bean has been the voice of the brand for the last 23 years, and continues to be the narrative heartbeat of Essential for Living. 

Utilising distinctive brand assets was a process of consideration when planning the campaign, explains Swift, as the choice ranged from the O2 blue, its brand bubbles, and its logo.

“It's really easy as a marketer to want to change things, but he's so synonymous with the O2 brand, and especially when you're changing a platform, you want to keep some consistency.  We're using him in the way that we should -  he's a BAFTA award-winning actor.” 

The work is a continual reminder of the importance of staying connected throughout life and the role O2 plays in that - and even subliminal messaging such as the ad’s music resembles a heartbeat to hone in that consumer message.

“It’s landed brilliantly overall,” Swift summarises. “We’re starting to see some of our core KPIs that we measure shift in the right direction. It's very early days obviously, but it’s landed brilliantly.”

The World Of Marketing, According to Rachel Swift

What are you enjoying most about being a marketer?

Working as a team to deliver a common vision and seeing that translate into tangible, commercial outcomes and creating a sense of internal pride in the work. That’s when I’ve always been at my happiest. 

Whether it was working on John Lewis Christmas or ‘This is not just food, this is M&S Food’, it’s that moment when you’ve got a clear, shared purpose for the brand and everyone’s pulling in the same direction. When you're delivering great work together, there’s no better feeling as a marketer.

What about the industry do you find frustrating right now?

It’s that ‘marketing’ and ‘brand’ are sometimes seen as a bit of a dirty word. That really frustrates me. When you're viewed as just the ‘colouring-in’ department it completely overlooks the fact that marketing is the growth engine of the organisation.

That perception can lead to a lack of creative risk-taking, which is so damaging. Creativity should be at the heart of everything we do - it’s what sets you apart, especially when you consider the short attention spans of consumers and the media fragmentation we’re all dealing with. You have to be really creative to cut through. So when creativity is seen as flippant or unimportant, that’s incredibly frustrating. I think most marketers are battling with that daily, especially now when the pressure on businesses is so intense.

Is there a particular piece of creativity you’ve seen where you thought, ‘I really wish I’d been part of that’?

Oh, so many! I love seeing what other people are doing - it’s constantly inspiring. 

Internally at O2, we often talk about Adidas as a brand that's truly at the heart of culture. I admire everything they do. From the trainers everyone wears to the kit launches, they just nail it. That piece they did with Barry Keoghan for the Manchester United kit was brilliant. When brands manage that crossover of culture, music, and sport, it's such a powerful, compelling mix. I absolutely loved that film.

Their work around Jude Bellingham for the World Cup was superb too. Honestly, I look forward to everything they put out. 

At O2, we’ve got real ambitions to be at the heart of culture too. As a brand, we have the permission to play in that space and we definitely look to Adidas as a benchmark for how to do it well.

You've worked with a range of agencies throughout your career. What do you think makes a great agency partner?

I always come back to three core questions: Do they understand you and your business? Do you trust them? And crucially, do they genuinely give a shit?

Understanding your business isn’t just about knowing what you do day-to-day. It’s about seeing what's coming down the track. Understanding the headwinds you’re facing but also spotting hidden opportunities to drive growth and build reputation. The best agencies don’t just focus on the creative, they’re real business partners.

VCCP are a great example of that. They’re embedded in our business. They don’t just work with me on advertising; they collaborate with our propositions teams and support us on a whole range of business challenges. That depth of involvement is incredibly valuable.

Then there's trust. Can you rely on them to deliver what they say they will, when they say they will? Can you be honest with them about what’s keeping you up at night? I can - and do - pick up the phone to VCCP and say, ‘I’m really worried about this.’ 

And finally, do they care? This is more than just delivering the work you ask for - it’s about being proactive, thinking ahead, and coming to you with ideas before you've even thought of them. That’s what I look for. Agencies that consistently go the extra mile and bring brilliant, original thinking. VCCP does that in spades.

This is actually my second time working with VCCP. I’m with a different team now, and I’ve probably changed quite a bit myself since we last worked together, but the experience remains incredibly consistent. I think that’s down to the values they’ve embedded over the 22-year partnership we’ve had with them. It’s probably one of the longest-standing relationships in the industry.

Their business is built on a challenger spirit, and that’s still very much alive, even as they’ve become one of the UK’s biggest agencies. They continue to question the status quo, and that mentality is something I really love. You don’t always see that, especially at scale.

They also famously say, ‘It only works when it all works’ and they live by that. We’ve taken that thinking into our own business too. It’s reflected in how they operate with integrated capabilities across the board. Whether it’s the work they’re doing through faith - their AI agency, or their UX team with Bernadette, we use all of it. They supported us on [loyalty programme] Priority and they were behind Daisy, the AI-powered scammer granny. That multi-faceted creativity is something we really benefit from.

What excites you most about the future? 

The continued role creativity can play in delivering brilliant work, and how marketing can truly drive business growth.

I’m also fascinated by how the world of work is evolving, particularly workplace culture. As you move through your career and take on more senior roles, your focus naturally shifts. And for me, culture - how people work, how they show up, and how organisations create environments that bring out the best in people - is something I find really exciting.

When I think about how I worked ten years ago, it’s completely different from today. That evolution and the opportunity to help shape what comes next is something I’m genuinely looking forward to.