ABOUT

In the super-competitive world of TV entertainment providers, Freesat had a perception problem. 

Historically, their brand was rooted in value, but this was limiting their appeal with a key target segment – Sky customers, as the message of value had inadvertently created an association with ‘cheap’, which could be perceived as a downgrade. Logically, Freesat’s subscription-free proposition should have been a match-made in TV heaven with this group. But it wasn’t landing. 

So, we needed to change the conversation. We needed to create a new brand story to maximise Freesat’s appeal with those Sky customers who were most likely to switch. To reboot the brand, we had to go back its core offering and empower audiences with the ‘freedom’ to enjoy what they love most − TV entertainment.  

Concept:

We created a new brand platform: Live Life Free. This was our brand-spanking new call-to-arms for those out-of-reach Sky customers, who had suffered enough from, ahem, Sky-high bills.

Freesat was going to lead the charge and champion the ‘Live Life Free’ cause to them – meaning they could live life free from monthly TV bills and watch the TV they love freely.  

But, to do this effectively, we needed some intrepid mascots to bang on the TV freedom drum loud and proud for the campaign. Enter our cute crustacean duo Ossi and Pod, two crabs literally unaware of the world of free entertainment just above their heads. Leaving their dark dreary home under the pier, they embark on a voyage of discovery in the fairground above, using all the fun of the fair to bring to life Freesat’s most compelling benefits.

Launching with an initial 30 second TVC, our clawsome double act scuttled into social assets, doordrops, the webstore, happily tackling all the Sky TV customer pain points big claw first. 

Execution:

Introducing Ossi & Pod – our two adorable crabs who look up from their dark dreary home on the seabed and discover a world of free entertainment just above their heads, where they can enjoy ‘a free ride’ for the rest of time. Freesat’s TV platform offers everything you love in one place, so we found the perfect creative metaphor for this in the form of the classic British seaside pier.

Filmed on the world-famous Brighton pier, our lovingly crafted brand TV ad features a seamless combination of live action and animation. Elsewhere, we used much-loved fun fair games to land key messages across different touchpoints, from ‘snappy’ Social assets to impactful doordrops to help super-charge sales and deliver our new brand promise: Live Life Free

Results:

In just three months, Live Life Free caught loyal Sky customers hook, line and sinker, making them TWICE as likely to choose Freesat. 

There was also a net positive increase in brand perception scores across the board with more Sky owners than ever before aware that Freesat means enjoying TV on your terms (41%, +8 points) as well as the place to enjoy top channel programming (51%, +15 points). As a result, we saw the Freesat brand topple Sky for 1st choice brand consideration in regions the TVC ran as well as reach a record high of 15% in 1st choice brand consideration amongst Sky owners.