The UK's first 5G holographic call: launching a UK first for Vodafone
Updated: Sep 26, 2018
We spend a lot of time working in our home offices and co-working spaces across the UK (we're virtual - we may have mentioned this before!), so for us last week was a combination of a step back in time, and a giant leap forward.
We were part of the multi-agency team supporting the UK's first 5G holographic call, for our client Vodafone. The call took place between Manchester City and England star Steph Houghton in Manchester, and a young fan in Newbury. The hologram of Steph was flawless, and highlights were some keepy-ups and a holographic high five! It was a perfectly co-ordinated event, it got a great reception from media, analysts and the broader audience, and the pictures/video speak for themselves.
England football captain, Steph Houghton makes history with first holographic phone call.
It offered a glimpse of what 5G can do, and some insight with regards how we can all expect to benefit from this technology in the next 18 months. Imagine a virtual PR team, based across multiple countries, coming together in hologram form in a meeting room in your office to bash out the next campaign idea. No need for flights, no need for time wasted travelling across the world - you wouldn't even need to provide coffee!
The step back in time came in the form of an old school newsroom at Vodafone HQ (memories of agency life in the naughties), with multiple agencies working together to pitch the story to all parts of the UK press. We handled the regional media, feeding the relevant parts of the story to our associates in Birmingham, Manchester, Oxford, Glasgow, Cardiff and Bristol, and letting them work their magic. All the agencies worked very well together, urging each other along, and we are looking at over 150 pieces of coverage in less than 24 hours... and it's still coming.
We're super proud of our regional network who played an important part in such a technological milestone, and for helping to make such a great day.
As for the impact this technology will one day have on the way we work, well all I can say is...'Beam me up Scotty!'