Included in this is the launch of a sales platform called EE ID, which will take on the likes of Amazon and Curry’s to grow the company’s retail offering by selling gaming consoles and other electronics to people via a dedicated app, even if they’re not existing customers. EE ID will also offer customers cyber security, home security and insurance products.
“This is about giving customers more reasons to be with EE more often, to create more stickiness with the brand,” Allera said.
Elsewhere, EE TV will also replace BT TV, having inked a deal with Apple to offer an enhanced package and refreshed set-top box.
These changes, and a desire to bring to the fore other little-known services and products EE offers—from parental controls to educational tools—have informed the narrative of the new brand work.
The “New EE” platform is launching with a series of three TV ads starring members of the UK public, which are all woven together by mixtape of British anthems including “Faithless” by Insomnia and “It’s Not Over Yet” by the Klaxons.
The first spot “Home” shows how parents can use EE Wi-Fi controls to limit screen-time. The second, “Sunday Funday” underscores the brand’s dedicated gaming Wi-Fi offering. The third focuses on the brand’s learning platforms, showing how teens can use the tech in class. The first two were directed by Daniel Wolfe and the latter by Elliott Power, all through production company Art Practice.
The ads have tested well among consumers, proving what Jeavons said was the “elasticity” of the EE brand name.
He explained: “We found it encouraging that people didn’t perceive us as being pigeonholed into a particular technology or, or vertical. And actually, there was a lot of love for the brand stepping out into new verticals. So once we had the confidence with that, we knew we were on to something.”
Ben Mooge, chief creative officer at Publicis U.K., said the hero ads had to build an authentic connection with consumers:”Giving real people a stage and elevating the every day with the music is what makes this creative stand out,” he said, adding the cross-agency approach was a testament to Publicis’ “power of one” model which draws talent from across the business to service clients.
EE’s brand identity has had a subtle overhaul too powered by Zag, with cohesive markers in each spot—including a refreshed logo and a clock—building a visual language that connects the dots between the different executions.
