Walk into the CFO’s office with money you made.
How Vodafone turned media spend into £3.8m of measurable, auditable value — then used it to help win £11.3m of new contracts across the business.
Client Name
Vodafone UK
Company Size
Enterprise (Global)
Industry / Sector
Telecommunications
At Vodafone, every pound of media has to prove itself. Three-year media contract cycles and annual finance audits mean marketing must justify its spend — and evidence the value to senior leadership and finance. Vodafone also wanted that value to travel further: redeployed across the business to fund initiatives, support customer offers and create commercial advantage well beyond marketing.
Find and unlock incremental value inside Vodafone’s media spend through a structured barter solution — demonstrable returns above and beyond the core investment, better media efficiency and stronger budget justification, all without spending more.
What We Delivered
Astus designed and ran a long-term media trading and barter programme that generated incremental value from Vodafone’s existing media investment. Through media owner partnerships, sharp commercial negotiation and transparent reporting, we turned media spend into a measurable business asset — value Vodafone could deploy across marketing, sales and the wider business. Over the partnership that’s meant millions of pounds of additional value, with clear, auditable evidence of return every step of the way.
Channels / Products Used
Barter media trading · TV, Radio, OOH, Digital & Cinema · Media owner partnerships · Relationship marketing (House Festival) · Transparent value reporting
Campaign Timeframe
An ongoing multi-year partnership since 2009, aligned to Vodafone’s media planning cycles.
- £73.2m of net media traded across TV, Radio, OOH, Digital & Cinema
- £3.8m of incremental value generated over the relationship
- £3.5m of value deployed to help win £11.3m of new Media Owner contracts
- £10,000 of Beats headphones funded as consumer prizes
- 5/5 client recommendation score · partnership since 2009
- Media spend transformed from a cost centre into a measurable business asset
- A clear, quantified return marketing could take straight to finance
- Value that reached beyond marketing — funding consumer promotions and customer discounts on corporate phone contracts
- Helped the Sales team secure major Media Owner agreements
- Audit-ready reporting, with senior engagement sustained through House Festival
“Essentially I’m going to my boss and saying ‘here’s £1m I have made.’ They can guarantee me 7% payback — it’s relatively risk-free for the client. Driving additional value from your media spend — it’s a no-brainer.”
Senior Marketing Leader, Vodafone UK
Why It Worked
The Astus Angle
Key Insight or Approach
Astus turned media spend into guaranteed, measurable value Vodafone could prove and put to work. Commercial expertise, media owner relationships and transparent reporting gave marketing a number it could show senior leadership — and value flexible enough to support customer offers, commercial negotiations and contract wins. If you’re under pressure to justify every pound, this is how you walk in with money you made.
Years of trading
Clients
In billings
Retention Rate
