At the same time, due to booming tourism and foreign investment incentives, prices have skyrocketed for everyone else, with students and young professionals most heavily impacted.

Over one in ten students are being forced to abandon their studies or leave the country. Portugal now has the highest emigration level in Europe; a problem which is having a significant impact on the economy and is unsustainable.

120k students need somewhere to live. 500k elderly people are living in loneliness. Both in desperate need of somewhere to call home, to feel safe, connected. A seemingly insurmountable challenge.

MEO, our client of twenty years, and the number one telco in Portugal, has an ambition to own the connected home, connecting mobile, broadband and entertainment. They came to us to create their annual Christmas spot: a heart-warming story linked to social purpose.

Our objectives were clear: to build brand awareness and equity while humanizing the brand and strengthening its close relationship with Portuguese families.

But as everyone knows, Christmas is a sea of heart-warming stories of festive connections and joyful reunions. Standing out is tough.

By contrast, MEO is a brand with a proud history of social activism - tackling the toughest challenges, from the fate of migrant workers during the 2022 World Cup to taking a stand on domestic violence and the war in Ukraine. We knew we had permission, and opportunity, to go further. Not just to tell a story about connections, but to create a platform for connections. A radical solution to two real and urgent social problems. One that only a brand like MEO could offer.

We created, built and launched an innovative digital platform - to match seniors in need of companionship with students looking for a home. Lonely older people with a room to offer and students in need of a place to stay register on the website. The platform then proposes a match based on proximity, compatibility and after a series of interviews, a match is made. MEO then provides matched households with a mobile, high-speed broadband and entertainment package for free, enabling students to manage coursework, balancing social impact with service, truly connecting the home and creating long-term loyalty.

How we did it: It’s a simple idea, but very hard to execute. We got a complex network of stakeholders, including 24 institutions, universities, city councils and NGOs on board. We also engaged with the mayors of Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra, Portugal’s largest university cities, who lent their dedicated support to the project.

We designed the platform to be effortless for a generation less comfortable with technology and for a generation raised on Uber and Tinder. We put in place a robust set of checks and protocols at the back end and with partners to ensure a safe, secure and ongoing positive experience for all. But the challenges weren’t just practical.

We also needed to break down the emotional barriers to opening your home to a stranger, positioning the platform not just as a pragmatic solution, but as an opportunity to make lifechanging friendships.

So we launched the platform with a compelling film, telling the story of a student who goes to university far away and shares a house with a lonely elderly woman. We follow their evolving relationship, climaxing with a Christmas surprise and a powerful call to action: “When you open a door, a heart opens too”.

This was followed with an informative “how to” digital, direct response and PR campaign to drive people to the platform, explaining how the programme worked and giving user testimonials.

MEO and its network of partners also drove awareness and traffic among those most in need through live events, festive experiences and community engagement. Online influencers also lent their voices to the platform, driving potential matches to the site.

The second phase of the campaign will begin in the Autumn, when university placements are announced and once again, students will be desperately seeking accommodation who could be matched with lonely older people in need of company.

Results: The campaign exceeded all expectations. “Improbable Housemates” was voted the nation’s favorite telco Christmas campaign with 32.9% saying it improved brand perception. In 8 days, we reached 7M people, in a population of just 10.2M, delivering 14M views, 21M PR impressions and 64M social impressions. Powerful figures such as the Ministers for Housing and Immigration endorsed the platform. The site received almost 200,000 visits in two months. Over 2,500 people applied, and despite launching after the start of the academic year, we have already made 97 matches. That’s 194 people who have made a life-changing commitment to live with a stranger, with many more anticipated when college admissions begin in September. “Improbable Housemates” is not just a campaign, it’s a long-term programme with the potential to deliver transformational value to the economy: with more young people staying in Portugal to complete their education as well as better health and wellbeing outcomes for old people. Finally, although this is a Portuguese initiative, “Improbable Housemates”, addresses a common global problem, and offers a blueprint for successful cities and societies worldwide.

A Christmas gift that keeps on giving, forever.