UKTV G2 was not in a good place before its reincarnation as Dave. Despite four years in the market, it only generated 2% spontaneous awareness and the name confused viewers.
In the past 20 years, 497 channels have launched in the UK and the average number of channels a person watches has increased from four to 30. But with average weekly viewing hours in the market remaining static, achieving growth is no mean feat.
Qualitative research pinpointed the root of UKTV G2's programming as "intelligent, irreverent humour" and found that its content fulfilled a fundamental male need - having a laugh with other men. The idea of surrogating viewers' funny mates from the pub with the likes of rapier-sharp wits Paul Merton and Stephen Fry led to the "The Home of Witty Banter" positioning.
UKTV eschewed the conventions of a numbers-led naming strategy and instead opted for a creative idea born out of its research, which revealed that the viewer treated UKTV G2 as a place to spend time with witty men. In this way, Dave was conceived as a "location" analogous to a stately gentlemen's club. The unorthodox name gave the channel standout in a crowded marketplace.
Dave launched on 15 October, 2007, as a free-to-air channel on Sky, Virgin Media and Freeview. With a modest marketing budget of £1.5m, the focus was on building consumers' relationship with the channel as a whole, rather than individual programmes.
Since launch, Dave has climbed from being the 29th biggest multichannel channel to the 10th and was watched by more than 33 million viewers in Q1 2008.
In addition, Dave has tripled UKTV G2's share of the adult and 16 to 44-year-old men market segments, and spontaneous awareness has rocketed to 32%.
Perhaps most impressively, Dave's incremental growth will contribute £25m in ad sales revenue in 2008, from deals such as Cobra's £1.3m peak-programming sponsorship package.
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