Cable TV. Satellite providers. They rank right up there (or more accurately, down there) among the least popular consumer brands and categories. So acquiring new customers can be quite a challenge, because your target may not particularly like you. And that’s just the type of challenge we love. When DISH reached out to us for ideas on how we’d approach their acquisition efforts, we knew we couldn’t ignore this universal unpopularity. As we started to dig, we discovered that the founders of DISH were hard-working, small-town entrepreneurs who started their business to bring high-quality, technologically-advanced yet affordable TV to the parts of the country the other guys were ignoring. To us, these founding values had weight, and set DISH apart from the cable/satellite company monoliths. We therefore proposed re-branding DISH as the brand that truly understands rural America’s values and needs, because it has from the beginning. Our brand platform was captured in one word—homemade—which we transformed into two words that said even more: Home Made. This positioning connected the DISH brand instantly with an America where making things from scratch, and working with your own hands, are strong core values. An America where budgets are tight, and value is paramount. Across brand advertising concepts, direct mail, email, social and digital channels, we leveraged each platform to highlight key elements of how this was the one brand that really understood their values. DISH was the brand that made their home more affordable. That made their entertainment budget work harder. That made their home even cooler with the latest tech goodies. That even made it more peaceful, by giving everyone the ability to record and watch their own programs without some DVR conflict triggering another sibling wrestling match. In short, DISH made their home a place that was even more about them, backed by DISH’s #1 customer service ranking from JD Power. So you see, when messaging that hits home with a brand’s target is your specialty, you don’t have to work in America’s heartland to connect with its great people. You can be a New York City ad agency that manages to find the words that reach anyone across our diverse landscape.
