DirecTV’s “For the Birds” advertising campaign emphasizes that customers no longer need a satellite dish to provide service. The pigeons are voiced by former NFL star Deion Sanders and actors Steve Buscemi and Henry Winkler.
Courtesy: DirecTV
Coach Prime wants consumers to know they can watch DirecTV without a satellite dish.
The company, best known for delivering traditional television programming via satellite dishes posted on the sides of homes and on top of buildings, is launching its next-generation ad campaign, “For the Birds,” starring NFL star-turned-college football coach Deion Deion Sanders also joined the ranks.
The focus of the campaign: DirecTV is also a streaming company.
As pay-TV distributors, including satellite and cable companies, see customers flock to streaming, DirecTV is trying to send the message that its service no longer requires bulky satellite dishes.
“We’ve been selling streaming products for a while, right? This is not new to us. But a lot of customers don’t know that,” said Vince Torres, chief marketing officer of DirecTV. “We built this as an alternative… We know 80 percent of people don’t like having plates on the side of their house.”
Additionally, Torres said the company’s research shows that 75% of consumers believe DirecTV still needs a satellite dish, even though it has offered a streaming option since 2016. “That’s a very, very large percentage of potential customers.”
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Colorado head coach Deion Sanders speaks during the Colorado Buffaloes vs. Chatted with Colorado State quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) between games in the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ home opener.
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The research and a shift in the media landscape prompted DirecTV to refocus its marketing efforts — though Torres claimed the company remains a satellite TV provider and values those customers.
this advertising campaign In the show launched earlier this year, actors Henry Winkler and Steve Buscemi voiced pigeons, and as people watched DirecTV, they looked out their windows and thought Know how it is possible without a satellite dish on the roof.
The pigeons lamented the loss of the plate. Winkler’s Frank says he “loves plying my trade in these things,” while Buscemi’s Bobby quips, “These dishes keep the rain off our mouths.”
While changes in media sparked his interest in advertising, Buscemi said in an interview that he was committed to perfecting the New York City Pigeon’s voice and personality.
“For me, it’s more the creative part,” Buscemi said. “I really find these characters very interesting.”
Torres said potential customers visiting DirecTV’s website have increased by about 50 percent since the campaign launched.
Sanders’ addition coincides with one of the busiest times of the year in American sports: starting with college football and the NFL, then the NBA and NHL and the start of the MLB playoffs.
Sanders, once known as “Prime Time” in the NFL and now as “Coach Prime,” is essentially playing himself as coach of the NCAA’s Colorado Buffaloes, wearing a cowboy hat and gold chain.
“We have a long history of working together, dating back to 2011,” Saunders said in an email interview. “It’s a perfect fit for us to reunite again. Coach Prime is giving DirectTV its wings again!”
In the 2011 ad campaign, Sanders was the NFL’s version of Tinker Bell, wearing a DirecTV football jersey under his wings. He said Sanders was hanging from a rope while filming the commercial, so voicing the pigeon was a different experience.
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The industry has also changed since Sanders last advertised on DirecTV.
Satellite TV providers such as DirecTV and echo star Dish was once one of the largest distributors of TV bundles. When cable companies began offering broadband services, competition intensified.
MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett said that for a while, satellite companies’ solutions were to focus on customers in rural areas, where wireline broadband was rarely available.
But competition between cable and satellite TV for pay TV subscribers has evaporated as streaming has led many to abandon bundled services.
“This is all happening against the backdrop of cord-cutting, where media companies are increasingly putting their best content (including sports) on streaming platforms, so the remaining TV packages are not It’s not a good sell,” Moffitt said.
MoffettNathanson said that the first quarter of this year was the worst quarter for traditional pay TV subscriber losses, with the total number of losses expected to exceed 2.37 million households for the first time in history.
Although DirecTV’s financial health is now the result of private equity firm TPG Get 30% stake in DirecTV AT&T According to people familiar with the matter, the company will have about 11 million customers in satellite and streaming media by 2021. MoffettNathanson estimates DirecTV added more than 20,000 streaming customers earlier this year.
Most of these customers still own satellite dishes. For DirecTV’s streaming options, consumers can use their own devices, such as Roku. But the company also offers its own hardware, called the Gemini box.
DirecTV offers two streaming options – DirecTV Stream (a contract-free Internet TV package) and DirecTV via internet (requires a contract and is only available through Gemini devices).
According to Antenna’s data, DirecTV Stream has the smallest total monthly incremental percentage compared to Hulu + Live TV, Philo, Sling TV and YouTube TV, although it generally has one of the lowest monthly subscriber churn rates.
“The challenge consumers face now is that it’s increasingly difficult to find the content they want to watch,” Torres said of the division of content among various TV and streaming services. “This is our version of the entertainment industry’s road rage.”
The device allows viewers to switch between streaming apps, e.g. Netflix and DirecTV Guide without changing remote controls or inputs or leaving the app.
Other pay TV providers offer similar options, such as ComcastX1 set-top box, and Xumo streaming device, a joint venture Chartered Communications and Comcast.
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DirecTV’s “For the Birds” advertising campaign emphasizes that customers no longer need a satellite dish to provide service. The pigeons are voiced by former NFL star Deion Sanders and actors Steve Buscemi and Henry Winkler.
Courtesy: DirecTV
DirecTV is also trying to differentiate itself by focusing on sports, which has been a major selling point for the company for some time.
Since its founding in 1994, DirecTV has been the exclusive provider of “Sunday Ticket” game packages until the 2023 NFL season. GoogleYouTube TV, a competitor to the DirecTV streaming option, has become rights owner Go to “Sunday Ticket”.
but live tv still “Sunday Ticket” is offered to bars, restaurants and other businesses, many of which rely on subscriptions to broadcast all out-of-market NFL games to attract large audiences.
Still, streaming has shaken up live sports, the most-watched TV show. Amazon’Prime Video and Netflix have exclusive NFL games, while traditional media companies secured exclusive game rights for their growing streaming services.
On the residential consumer side, DirecTV is still pushing the idea that it has the most complete live sports package from a pay TV and streaming provider. Its streaming service includes all nationally televised games and regional sports networks — a rarity for Internet TV bundles.
Torres said that’s where Coach Prime comes in before football season.
“He’s very recognizable, he’s fun to work with, and he’s able to convey his message effectively,” Torres said. “When you think about this challenge that we face, how do we continue to build on our brand message of trying to educate the American people about who better to be a part of than Coach Prime.”
Revealed: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.
