Now everyone has a mate called Dave (2008)
Campaign: Now everyone has a mate called Dave
Brand: Dave
Client: UKTV
Agencies: Red Bee Media, UKTV
Authors: Hannah Yelin, Red Bee Media, Jonathan Wise, Red Bee Media
All brands want to stand out in the crowd, but in TV these crowds are huge and many digital channels can appear anonymous. This paper shows how by rebranding uktvG2 as Dave and reframing its content as the ‘Home of Witty Banter’ the channel achieved stand-out. The communications promoted the channel rather than the individual programmes, and gave Dave its own personality and tone of voice. This was achieved with PR and the use of high-impact large-scale back-lit outdoor sites across the UK’s major cities, making its arrival unmissable. Its success attracted an additional eight million viewers and generated payback of £2.99 for every £1 spent.
Judge's Comments:
Dave was an excellent story of how rebranding the product without changing it produced an impressive scale of effect. The campaign did something no one else has done in this market, it created an individual channel and gave it a name.
Hilary Cross, Director of External Affairs, Macmillan Cancer Support