LONDON – Trying to get the most out of your mobile phone network when your contract is up for renewal is the oldest trick in the book, but one British man just took it to a whole new, brilliant level.
It all started last week, when Dan May tried to get free pizza for his office by replying to an O2 competition tweet.
Time for a slice of life. We're delivering #O2Priority . Leeds and London, tweet your location with #waggytails. pic.twitter.com/H5EgELf44B— O2 in the UK (@O2) August 3, 2015
Sadly, his first attempt proved unsuccessful. Later though, when O2 tweeted another offer, Dan tried his luck again – but this time he created a bit of competition by mentioning other network Three.
Seeing an opportunity, Three quickly stepped in.
@dpmay @O2 we'll #makeitright Dan. Pizza & Ice-cream on the way :-)— Three UK (@ThreeUK) August 3, 2015
@ThreeUK would be a quite incredible hijack of @O2 's campaign if you did. I'm getting cutlery ready as we speak.— Dan May (@dpmay) August 3, 2015
Then, sensing danger (and refusing to be outdone), O2 brought out the big guns.
@dpmay We’d like to make your tail wag, how about free pizza for the rest of the year? Drop us a DM #waggytails pic.twitter.com/PHjD3h1L2y— O2 in the UK (@O2) August 3, 2015
Suddenly the stakes had been raised – but Dan, being the obvious social media pro that he is, kept his cool.
.@O2 I hope this isn't a cruel Monday joke, especially as @ThreeUK delivered big time! #waggytails #makeitright pic.twitter.com/mE90KbuzT5— Dan May (@dpmay) August 3, 2015
@dpmay No joke, check your DM! Free pizza for the rest of the year #waggytails— O2 in the UK (@O2) August 3, 2015
And managed to secure himself a hearty supply of pizza (O2 have promised him one free Dominos pizza a week for the rest of the year).
"I couldn't believe it," Dan told the Metro. "I only sent out a couple of tweets and they both went all-out to compete against one another."
"It's a great marketing campaign, it really worked. I was really impressed with Three after being disappointed by O2 but they certainly won the customer back."
Although Three didn't manage to prize Dan away from O2 in the end, they did still manage to get the last word in.
I started a pizza war between @O2 and @ThreeUK. Will discuss hashtag hijacking in a blog post tomorrow. Spoiler: I'm going to get fat.— Dan May (@dpmay) August 3, 2015
@dpmay @O2 sorry, we just had to grab a pizza the action...we're here all week! ;-)— Three UK (@ThreeUK) August 3, 2015