EE Unveils Game-Changing Brand Overhaul, Taking Brand Equity Transfer to New Heights

A new era has begun for

EE, as the company aims to transition from being solely a telecoms company to a more diverse subscription-based model.

Undergoing a rebrand,

EE will maintain its logo and color scheme, but will now be positioned as the primary brand, while BT takes a less prominent role.

Christian Thrane, the marketing managing director of EE, explains that this signifies a transfer of brand equity, clarifying to customers that the 'new EE' is a fusion of both brands rather than a substitution. Despite this, the 'powered by BT' label will continue to be present on its connectivity products for consistency, but the BT brand will gradually be phased out as part of EE's goal to prioritize its own brand.

Tomorrow (20 October), a nationwide advertising campaign will be launched by EE to convey its new direction. This marks the largest campaign since its launch in 2012. Previously, EE customers were constrained to having a contract with EE or BT, limiting its customer base to individuals who already had a phone number or broadband service with the company. Consequently, the range of products and subscriptions was only accessible to existing customers.

Now, with the introduction of the EE ID, a digital identifier accessible to all, things are changing. By setting up an EE ID through the EE app, customers can access a wide range of products and services offered by EE, such as consumer electronics and insurance, regardless of their mobile or home broadband network. This move allows EE to focus on generating subscription revenue separate from phone contracts, which was previously the main entry point into the EE ecosystem.

According to Thrane, the brand has a presence in every other household in the UK, placing it in an ideal position for this new proposition. "We have always been a subscription-based business, and nowadays, almost every business aims to generate recurring revenue through subscriptions, regardless of whether they sell dog food or any other product. So, we are leveraging our subscription-based model to expand our relevance in other categories and offer more to our customers."

Shift in tone

citing EE's expansion into the gaming console market as an illustration, highlights that the previous proposition constrained EE's potential consumer base. With our transition, we have emerged as one of the leading gaming console providers in the country, exclusively catering to EE mobile customers. This, in turn, limits EE's reach to approximately one-third of the addressable console market in the UK.

EE's latest campaign, known as the 'New EE' campaign, aims to demonstrate how the company enhances daily life by highlighting four behavior patterns that the UK public engages in with EE's services: home, learn, work, and game. This campaign is the largest one by EE in over ten years and includes nationwide advertising, experiential activities, a revamped retail experience, customer communications for existing users, as well as social media initiatives and editorial content.

According to Thrane, the shift is significant and it poses a challenge to inform customers who are accustomed to the previous version of EE about the capabilities of the new one. However, he states that the company's investment in advertising technology and personalization tools allows them to target specific audiences rather than purchasing advertising space without discrimination.

"It involves reaching a wide audience initially and then utilizing data-driven strategies to comprehend intent. We work in collaboration with paid platforms and our media agency to identify intent and effectively communicate with customers at appropriate and specific moments."

The change in proposition has resulted in a restructuring of the marketing team at EE. According to him, the teams responsible for personalisation and marketing are now working together in a new way.

In addition, EE is utilizing automation and AI capabilities to enhance message targeting and personalization. He mentions that this is an ongoing and ever-evolving process.

EE aims to convey the message that their subscriptions and products are now accessible to a broader audience beyond their existing consumers. The objective is for new consumers to join the EE ID digital ecosystem, thereby enabling EE to offer additional products and subscriptions to a wider customer base.