Mr. Pickx

1. Market situation

Status of the residential telco market at the end of 2020

• The retail DTV (= Digital TV) turnover of Belgian telco operators is B€ 1,183 in 2020, 3,8% less than the year before. This turnover is under pressure due to the switch to cheaper DTV bundles via an app (Yugo, Epic Combo,…) & OTT video offered by third parties (Netflix, Disney+,…).

Status of Proximus within the residential telco market at the end of 2020

• Proximus has the second largest DTV-clientbase.
• Although average monthly revenues in the market are slowly eroding, DTV remains a strategic pillar for Proximus.

OTT (Over The Top) streaming services are stirring up the market

• These digital 'new kids on the block'' invest heavily in offline media to grow awareness and stimulate trial. In 2020, when most advertisers slashed their budgets during the pandemic, Disney+ spent € 5.149.150 and Streamz spent € 1.621.932.

Proximus anticipated the changing TV context, launching Pickx in 2019:

• One future proof platform for live TV (80 channels), VOD (movies, concerts), TV options (Pickx Sports,…). The Pickx platform also integrates OTT subscriptions (Netflix, Disney+, Streamz,…)

Pickx is a strategic platform for Proximus' transformation from a telco to a digital service provider. But eroding DTV revenues, rising OTT streaming brands, and a slow adoption of Pickx threaten its growth potential. If we don't act, Pickx will lose momentum. Therefore, in early 2021 Proximus decides to give Pickx a new boost and reveal its true potential.

2. Objectives

Business objectives

In order to keep ahead of the fast-changing TV landscape and to secure future revenue growth per user, we have to boost the adoption (= frequent usage) of Pickx, which remains low 2 years after its launch:

We are ambitious and aim to double the growth of 2020 (which was a year with COVID restrictions) in 2021.

Business objective 1: enlarge adoption of Pickx with an average of x unique users per month during 2021

Perception objectives

If we want to be seen as a digital service provider, Belgians (clients and non-clients) must be aware of our unique content platform (aggregation + curation of the best content).

• Perception objective 1: Pickx name awareness > x%
• Perception objective 2: campaign message take-out > x%
• Perception objective 3: campaign attribution to Proximus > x%

3. Strategy

In campaigning, the OTT-competition (Netflix, Streamz…) focuses exclusively on the content they offer. As the options for content consumption for today's customers are endless, we shift our focus from the offered content to our own added value, with full eye for our consumer. Two main insights lead us to a strategic direction that is inspired by the unmet needs of the TV consumer anno 2021.

Insight 1: brand relationship/familiarity

Research shows that new OTT and DTV platforms gain in awareness, but not in familiarity (except for Netflix). The presence of recurring familiar faces on a tv channel (presenters, news readers…) creates this familiarity. We want to fill in the need for familiarity again.

Insight 2: choice paralysis

44% of Belgian content consumers have a subscription to more than one streaming platform (free content providers disregarded), bringing an amount of content to people that's increasingly difficult to choose from (FOBO - Fear Of Better Options). Research shows that 4 out of 10 streaming consumers sometimes give up when looking for something to watch.

Strategic Core Idea

We revitalize & strengthen the 2019 Pickx value proposition for the TV consumer of 2021. We put forward a strong and unique brand promise focusing on both Pickx's large offer and its curating role. A best of both worlds: you have all the options, without the choice paralysis.

Creative Strategy

What could generate the familiarity we feel for traditional TV channels, caused by familiar faces? The answer is simple: a familiar face. We bring the strategic idea to life with a 'brand character' as a distinctive asset.

We personalise Pickx into a recognisable human being, always right in the center of our communication, presenting you: Mr. Pickx. He is the embodiement of the Pickx value proposition: an amiable character, at home in all content contexts, that explains in a very easy & direct way, and in spoken language, this curating role of our brand promise: 'Jo will find that fantastic'.

We let Mr. Pickx walk through 4 content types that would likely gather interest of new consumers within our target group: entertainment, music, content for children and sports. Since the UEFA European Football Championship is taking place in 2021, we show footage of our Red Devils and strategically let our campaign partially overlap with this period (June and July). This way, we attract football lovers, who then could discover other types of content as well.

4. Results

Mr.Pickx is more than just a campaign, he is a powerful ambassador of the platform for the years to come. With his arrival, Pickx finally breaks through and reaches a critical mass on which we can build future growth. Both business & perception results show that we shift to a next level with the Pickx platform.

Business result

Despite the good weather and the announcement of T-day (horeca terraces finally opening again on the 8th of May), we managed to bend the organic growth curve during the campaign period. As a result, we surpassed the KPI of x extra users and reached an average of not less than y extra users per month. A critical mass of almost z% DTV customers now actively uses the Pickx platform. Our data show that these results can be mainly attributed towards the campaign: during May, June and July we hit the largest YOY differences.

Perception results

The awareness objective was surpassed: Pickx name awareness has risen to x% of the population.

The campaign was well understood by almost half of the audience: y% had a correct message take-out (à la carte, content platform, personalized or anywhere/anytime).

The score for attribution was as good as the score for message take-out: z% of the audience attributed the campaign to Proximus.

The impact of Mr. Pickx was also felt beyond: the NPS of Proximus amongst young families increased from -1 (2020) to 10 (2021), surpassing Telenet and VOO.