UScellular, Chicago, Illinois, United States: UScellular's Built for US Marketing Campaign

The campaign launched on February 12, 2023 during the Super Bowl.

Written answers to the questions

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UScellular is the 4^th largest full-service wireless carrier in the United States. We have nearly 5 million customers, while our top three competitors each have more than 90 million. We are outspent nearly 30:1 by these competitors, so we must compete in the marketplace differently.

UScellular was built from the ground up in small communities across the United States and at the end of 2022, our brand awareness was dragging, which is a key metric that helps us determine marketing success. As a challenger brand, we determined that we needed to challenge something bigger than the wireless category and stand for something meaningful to make a difference in our communities.

So, we decided to stand for genuine connections and stand against constant connections that distract and divide us. We saw an opportunity to challenge something bigger than ourselves, and go somewhere others in our industry haven’t been - we are bringing awareness to the hyperconnected relationship we have with our devices and the lack of connection with those around us.

As technology advanced, it’s become apparent that we’ve entered a time where we need to reset the relationships with our technology. The technology and by extension our service isn’t the issue, it’s the fact that it has gotten out of balance. The “Built for US” campaign was designed to take on the problem of over-connection and provide tools and resources to help people have a reset moment and get back to connecting to what matters most.

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Built for US was motivated and informed by insights and data at every step. We have lots of data that shows the need for this reset moment.

• The average person spends more than five hours every day staring at their phone screen.
• Most Americans reach for their device between 300 – 400 times a day.
• 47% of Americans say they are addicted to their phones, and parents say Screen Time is the #1 battle with their kids.

To kick off planning, we held an "enemy session" with our lead creative agency, The Martin Agency, to look at what our brand stands for and bring different potential "enemies" to the discussion. The outcome of this session led us to choose the brave and interesting territory of standing against constant connection with clarity and conviction.

The overall goal was to inspire connection by inviting everyone to have a reset moment with technology, the first step in having a healthier relationship moving forward. The main marketing goal was higher consideration and love of the brand and that translates into meaningful action taken in store or on digital channels. Secondary goals were brand/message awareness, site traffic, social chatter, positive sentiment, and increased net promoter scores (NPS).

A cross-functional team assembled to ensure that we launched this campaign content via a fully integrated 360-degree Marketing plan across paid, owned and earned media, specifically deploying vehicles ranging from video (both linear and digital), radio, OOH, display, social, influencers, expert panelists, digital/website, local marketing/sponsorships and retail.

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During 2023, we had several moments to leverage our full suite of marketing and communications vehicles:

• Built for US started with “Missing the Big Game,” a first-of-its-kind AI application that shared real-time data of how many fans at the Super Bowl were looking at their phones instead of the field.
• The campaign included a personal experiment called “Phones Down for 5”, which challenged people to take a phone break for 5 days, 5 hours, or just 5 minutes, to reset their relationship with technology.
• In April, we launched “US Mode,” our commitment to helping people set up personalized phone settings to take control of how their phones send alerts, empowering people to minimize distractions and focus on human connection.
• In July, we announced our partnership with non-profit Screen Sanity and introduced the Smarter Start Toolkit – a free, downloadable kit for families looking for guidance on building better digital habits.
• For the holiday season, we are inspiring human connection through “The Gift of Connection,” with special offers and charitable donations.

We have seen meaningful results from this campaign (as of 10/31/23)

• 477 million + brand engagement impressions (inclusive of PR, social and digital)
• 1/3+ of UScellular customers state they are aware that we are promoting healthy relationships with technology. 34% of those customers state that it improves their opinion of the company.
• Non-customers feel the campaign improved their opinion of UScellular by 54%.
• More than 35,000 people have taken the Phones Down for 5 challenge.

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The attachments, videos and links showcase the various touchpoints of the campaign, tactics we used and the channels that supported it.

In the links/attachments, you will see how we worked with partners – both professional (Dr. Marisa Cohen and Screen Sanity) and influencer – to back up our message and amplify it further. We also sent “Phones Down for 5” toolkits (photos attached) to key reporters and influencers. Our PR tactics were to reach out to national and local media, including options that could highlight our executive’s thought leadership and connect with different audiences. For the launch of “US Mode,” we conducted a satellite media tour with our CEO, and there is an example of a local placement in the attachments.

The campaign was featured in all our Marketing channels, and there are examples of TV, digital, social media, in-store elements, out-of-home, customer communication and sponsorship integrations. We also created a Name, Image and Likeness campaign with several athletes across the country to align to the messaging, and there are two examples of their social posts.

The various supporting materials were designed to help us “set up” the problem of over-connectedness and provide a solution with US Mode, tips, the Screen Sanity partnership and Smarter Start Toolkit.