Set against the astronomical costs of Sky, it’s hard to understand why more people haven’t already made the switch. We needed to convince more cost-conscious ‘Sky Wobblers’ to cancel their subscription and try Freesat instead. But there was a barrier – it’s hard to leave Sky, and there’s a fear that a free service just couldn’t be as good.
With a minuscule budget in comparison to the UK’s biggest advertiser, Freesat needed more than an ad campaign to take on Sky. They needed a Brand Defining Idea that would unify every part of their brand and give them a disproportionate voice by getting all of their voices to speak as one.
We analysed over 45,000 conversations for clues about what made converted customers take the plunge to dump Sky. It quickly became clear that switchers spoke like converted addicts. They were unbelievably happy. They love the product so much, they make some unbelievable claims about how it was “the best decision they have EVER made”. This led to our Brand Defining Idea: Freesat is Unbelievably Good.
We simply took the actual customer quotes of hyperbolic disbelief that people experience when they first discover Freesat and dramatized it.
“I prefer Freesat over my own children”, “Freesat saved my marriage”, “I spent the money I saved on buying a super car”. Unbelievable, but true, and hugely motivating to potential Sky Wobblers.
It gave us a consistent creative platform across TV, print, digital, and social, but also defined a tone of voice, attitude and behaviour for the brand that informed how they behave across channels.
Into the third year of this growing campaign platform, we were still featuring our fanatical customers. One campaign evolution launched our very own unbelievably good fan convention – TellyFest. Featuring homages to over 40 telly favourites, the spot was created in an exclusive partnership with ITV.
Since we redefined the brand, over 70% of Sky Wobblers felt more positive about Freesat. And Freesat have just celebrated reaching their two millionth home, reporting a 90% increase in sales since our relationship began.
