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Dish Network Creative Brief
Skylar Rolstad Brendan Dzwierzynski
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Page 3
Background Information
Page 4
Target Audience
Page 5
Features and Benefits
Page 6-7
Current Brand Image
Page 8
Desired Brand Image
Page 9
Direct Competitors
Page 10-11
Indirect Competitors
Page 12
Advertising Goal
Page 13
Strategic Message
Page 14
References
Page 15-17
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Executive Summary
Dish Network is a publicly-traded company that provides satellite television to customers in the United States. It competes against Time Warner, Comcast, and DirecTV as well as other television providers which hold smaller market shares (“Dish Network – Competitive Landscape,” n.d.).
Our creative brief explores the competitors, features, desires, images, and goals of Dish Network and the Pay-TV or satellite television industry. Dish and the companies it competes with also provide other services along with television, like DVR and Internet.
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Background Information
Dish Network is a satellite television provider based out of Englewood, CO. It holds 13.4 percent of the market share of Pay-TV television. The company spent $300 million in advertising in 2013 and made $13 trillion in annual sales. Dish competes primarily with DirecTV in the satellite television market. Satellite television makes up 36.1 percent of the Pay-TV market, second to cable TV’s 54 percent. (RedBooks, 2013).
Dish employs 25,000 people and also owns Blockbuster Stores, which employs another 25,000 (RedBooks, 2014). The company was founded for Charles Ergen, Candy Ergen, and Jim DeFranco in 1980. The company launched its first satellite in 1995. Charles Ergen is currently the chairman of the company and Joseph P. Clayton works as the CEO and President (Dish, 2014).
Charles Ergen (Dish, 2014)
James Moorhead, Chief Marketing Officer Joseph P. Clayton
(Trefis, 2014) (Dish, 2014)
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Target Audience
Dish Network’s target audience has reportedly become younger, with emphasis on online services that show live television. The company’s new product, the Hopper, makes it possible to watch television on several devices with the same DVR (Gornia, August 2013).
The age 18-35 demographic, or Generation Y, should be very important to the company. According to HDTV Expert, this group is the first to have grown up embracing new technology with each decade. These are people who grew up using computers (HDTV Expert, 2013, August 12).
Dish Network began providing Internet TV services in March 2014. The company obtained the rights from Disney to show ESPN and ABC on the Internet without automated ad skipping.
Dish also provides Internet service for customers. The company has an advantage over services like Netflix because Internet service from Dish comes with Internet TV service whereas Netflix could only provide the Internet TV (Roettgers, March 2014).
Pay-TV services lost 316,000 subscribers in 2012, according to HDTV Expert. After that year, Dish began providing more online services for television and multi-platform services (HDTV Expert, 2013, August 12).
(“Dish Network targets summer launch,” 2014)
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Features and Benefits
Dish Network offers many different products, primarily satellite television with several different channel packages. As well as television, Dish also offers high-speed Internet.
Dish sells Spanish-language television as well, which the company calls DishLatino. This package provides service to customers in Mexico and also includes a Spanish- language package for $24.99.
Benefits of Dish are its new Hopper feature, which can save shows on a DVR to watch on any device and eliminates commercials. This is a benefit because it allows people to have multiple forms of entertainment using only one service (Dish, 2014).
(Gornia, August 2013)
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Current Brand Image
Dish Network’s current brand image is one that emphasizes the ease of use for the company’s product. Online providers like Netflix are threatening Dish and other television providers. Dish has attempted to convince customers to buy its product instead of online services with advertisements for service across multiple platforms (Gornia, August 2013).
Dish unveiled a new marketing campaign in March 2013 that featured a mascot named Hopper the Kangaroo. The company’s ads under that campaign showed the accessibility to live television from tablets and phones. This ad campaign began during the NCAA March Madness tournament and the commercials were about Dish’s mascot trying to watch basketball games at work (Business Wire, 2014, December 3; CG Arena, n.d.).
The current brand image presented by Dish is one that can give a user a multitude of uses. Unlike Netflix, live television is primarily the product sold by Dish, so the ability to play back shows and access them easily is valuable to the customer. In the context of March Madness, these ads are easily relatable for consumers and highlights the potential convenience that the service provides (Business Wire, March 2013; Gornia, August 2013).
Logo post-2012 (Dish, 2014) Logo pre-2012 (Dish, 2014)
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Desired Brand Image
Dish Network’s desired brand image centers around seamless transition of service from television to tablets and phones (Gornia, August 2013; Roettgers, June 2014).
(Dish, 2014)
Branding Source claims that Dish Network’s logo was switched in 2012 to a solid red color to show that the company wanted to be less technology-oriented and more centered around the service it provides. It also dropped the “network” from the company name and is known simply as “Dish.” (Branding Source, 2012, February 14).
One goal of Dish’s brand is to involve “cord cutters”, or people who want content without having to deal with cables and hardware. Dish’s services across multiple platforms accomplishes this with the seamless transition between platforms and by offering Internet service alongside television (Roettgers, June 2014).
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Direct Competitors
Dish Network is rivaled directly by DirecTV, Comcast and Time Warner Cable. DirecTV is the other major satellite television provider in the United States. DirecTV is seen as the larger company of the two, supported by their compared sales numbers and advertising spending. In 2013, Dish Network had $13.9 billion is sales, while DirecTV had $31.75 billion (“Dish Network – Competitive Landscape,” n.d.). DirecTV also has a larger market share than Dish Network, 19.5 percent compared to 13.8 percent, respectively (“DirecTV's pay TV market share,” n.d.; “Dish Network's pay TV market share,” n.d.). DirecTV has branded themselves as cool and funny in the media, with ad campaigns such as their current one with actor Rob Lowe, as well as a prior one for football (already a form of entertainment) with professional football players Peyton and Eli Manning in a comedic setting. DirecTV spends $548 million in advertising annually (“DIRECTV,” 2014). This is compared to $474 million annually for Dish Network (“DISH Network Corporation,” 2014).
(“Manning bros. bring sweet grooves,” 2013).
Comcast is the largest television provider in North America (“Comcast,” 2014). They had $64.66 billion in sales in 2013 (“Dish Network – Competitive Landscape,” n.d.). The corporation advertises more than any of the other major competitors, spending nearly $4.97 billion in advertising annually (“Comcast Corporation,” 2014). Their branding appeals to fans of a wide variety of products, especially sports. They advertise having the most live sports programming and other products, such as their on-demand video library. Comcast’s advertising features less creativity and more pure information in their ads. They have a negative image on social media, which is a potential representation of their wide-scale approval. A simple Twitter search for “Comcast” reveals a multitude of negative tweets aimed at Comcast for any one of their given services (“Results for Comcast,” n.d.).
Time Warner Cable had $22.12 billion in sales in 2013, third amongst the four major competitors, behind Comcast and DirecTV and ahead of Dish Network (“Dish Network –
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Competitive Landscape,” n.d.). Time Warner Cable spends about $676 million in advertising on an annual basis (“Time Warner Cable Inc.,” 2014). TWC has branded itself as a more cost-efficient television provider, with an ad campaign starring former professional football coach Bill Cowher instructing people how to save money.
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Indirect Competitors
Dish Network is rivaled by indirect competitors such as Netflix and AT&T. Netflix is a video streaming service, as opposed to a television provider. The streaming service spends much less in advertising than any of Dish Network’s other competitors, only spending about $437 million on advertising annually (“Netflix, Inc.,” 2014). Netflix brands itself as a low-cost alternative to regular television, with lower monthly prices and no in- program commercials. A service like Netflix appeals to consumers with a lower income, because it costs less per month than regular providers (“A Quick Update,” 2014). Netflix also appeals to those in a geographic area with little to no competition in terms of television providers, providing an online alternative to traditional network and cable television.
(“Netflix Redesigns Logo — Sort Of, 2014”).
AT&T is an indirect competitor to Dish Network because they provide television as one of their many services, as they are not just a media organization, but a full-fledged telecommunications provider. Unlike other competitors, AT&T does not have a focus in television. AT&T spends more in advertising annually than any of Dish Network’s direct competitors, spending $3.27 billion annually (“AT&T Inc.,” 2014). They brand themselves as a provider of numerous services, not just with a focus on any one product, as seen in their various ads for digital television, cell phone service and Internet service, amongst others. This is an attempt to appeal to consumers by showing them that it is better to have all services tied together than not (“AT&T Mobility's 'Not Complicated' Marketing Strategy,” 2013).
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Advertising Goal
Dish Network is creating an appeal to young peoples and Internet savvy consumers with their latest advertising strategies. They are accomplishing this by advertising the ability to watch programming anywhere with their Hopper product (“DISH Launches New Marketing Campaign, 2014)”. They are also doing this by announcing that they will accept the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as legal tender, something valued by a more youthful market (Frankel, 2014).
(Dish Network (DISH) to Accept Bitcoin Payments, 2014)
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Strategic Message
Dish Network providers customers with the most value for their dollar with multiple premium services included with a comparatively lower per month price than competitors (“See Why DISH Is the Best in Satellite TV,” n.d.).
(“DISH Delivers High-Speed LTE Internet Service,” 2014).
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References
A Quick Update On Our Streaming Plans And Prices. (2014, May 9). Retrieved from:
http://blog.netflix.com/2014/05/a-quick-update-on-our-streaming-plans.html
AT&T Inc. (2014, November 25). Redbooks. Retrieved from:
http://www.redbooks.com.www2.lib.ku.edu/advertiser/AT_AND_T_INCORPORATED/
Bilton, N. (2014, May 6). Netflix Logo. Netflix Redesigns Logo — Sort Of. [Blog post].
Retrieved from: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/netflix-redesigns-logo- sort-of/
Business Wire (n.d.) Business Insights: Essentials. Retrieved from: http://bi.galegroup.com.www2.lib.ku.edu/essentials/article/GALE%7CA361808907/7106996acb3d630e86b6ba091e176e24?u=ksstate_ukans
Comcast. (n.d.). Retrieved from:
http://broadbandnow.com/Comcast
Comcast Corporation. (2014, November 25). Redbooks. Retrieved from:
http://www.redbooks.com.www2.lib.ku.edu/advertiser/COMCAST_CORPORATION/
Comcast Deals, Offers, Specials and Promotions. (n.d.). Retrieved from:
http://www.comcast.com/Corporate/shop/productoverview.html
Davies, R. (2014, May 29). Dish Network (DISH) to Accept Bitcoin Payments. Retrieved
from: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2014/05/dish-network-dish-to- accept-bitcoin-payments/
Digital Cable TV Service Plans & Packages. (n.d.). Retrieved from:
https://www.timewarnercable.com/en/plans-packages/tv/digital-cable-tv- plans.html
DIRECTV. (2014, November 25). Redbooks. Retrieved from:
http://www.redbooks.com.www2.lib.ku.edu/advertiser/DIRECTV/
DirecTV Packages and Pricing. (n.d.). Retrieved from:
https://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/pepod/configure.jsp?packageType=ENGLISH# package-section
DISH Delivers High-Speed LTE Internet Service in Corpus Christi. (2014, September
24). Retrieved from: http://about.dish.com/press-release/dish-delivers-high- speed-lte-internet-service-corpus-christi
DISH Launches New Marketing Campaign; Featuring Voice of Award-Winning Actress
Rebel Wilson as Hopper the Kangaroo. (2014, March 17). Retrieved from: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140317005495/en/DISH-Launches- Marketing-Campaign-Featuring-Voice-Award-Winning
Dish Logo. (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2014, from:
http://about.dish.com/multimedia-gallery
Dish Mascot (2012) CG Arena. Retrieved from: http://www.cgarena.com/newsworld/newsimages/dish-teddy.jpg
Dish Network (2014) Dish. Retrieved from: http://about.dish.com/company-info
Dish Network (2013, August 12). HDTV Expert. Retrieved from: http://www.hdtvexpert.com/tag/dish-network/
Dish Network – Competitive Landscape. (n.d.). Hoover’s. Retrieved from:
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http://subscriber.hoovers.com.www2.lib.ku.edu/H/company360/competitiveLandscape.html?companyId=44500000000000&newsCompanyDuns=827028143
DISH Network Corporation. (2014, November 25). Redbooks. Retrieved from:
http://www.redbooks.com.www2.lib.ku.edu/advertiser/DISH_NETWORK_CORPORATION/
Dish Network targets summer launch for standalone Internet-TV service. (2014).
Retrieved from: http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/dish-network-targets- summer-launch-internet-tv-service/
Find Your Package. (n.d.). Retrieved from:
http://www.dish.com/entertainment/packages/offers/value/
Frankel, D. (2014, June 9). Free marketing and increased margins: Dish’s Bitcoin
decision examined. Retrieved from: http://www.fiercecable.com/story/free- marketing-and-increased-margins-dishs-bitcoin-decision-examined/2014-06-09
Gornia, K. (2013, August) Slideshare. Retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/kgornia/dish-brand-positioning
Manning bros. bring sweet grooves in DirecTV rap ad. (2013, August 6). Retrieved from:
http://www.wdsu.com/news/local-news/new-orleans/manning-bros-bring-sweet- grooves-in-directv-ad/21353220
Netflix, Inc. (2014, November 21). Redbooks. Retrieved from:
http://www.redbooks.com.www2.lib.ku.edu/advertiser/TIME_WARNER_CABLE_INCORPORATED/
Netflix Logo. (2014). Retrieved December 2, 2014, from:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/netflix-redesigns-logo-sort-of/
New Logo: Dish (2012, February 14) Branding Source. Retrieved from: http://brandingsource.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-logo-dish.html
Results for comcast. (n.d.). Retrieved from:
https://twitter.com/search?q=comcast&src=typd
Roettgers, J. (2014, March 3) Gigaom. Retrieved from: https://gigaom.com/2014/03/03/dish-just-secured-rights-to-launch-an-internet-tv- service/
Roettgers, J. (2014, June 11) Gigaom. Retrieved from: https://gigaom.com/2014/06/11/dishs-upcoming-internet-tv-service-to-target-cord- cutters-and-cord-haters/
Rooney, J. (2013, May 16). VIDEO: AT&T Mobility's 'Not Complicated' Marketing
Strategy. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferrooney/2013/05/16/behind-the-brand-att- mobilitys-not-complicated-marketing-strategy/
See Why DISH Is the Best in Satellite TV. (n.d.). Retrieved from:
http://www.dish.com/why-dish/
Statista. (n.d.). DirecTV's pay TV market share in the United States from 2008 to 2020.
Retrieved from: http://www.statista.com/statistics/251741/directvs-pay-tv-market- share/
Statista. (n.d.). Dish Network's pay TV market share in the United States from 2008 to
2020. Retrieved from: http://www.statista.com/statistics/251747/dish-networks- pay-tv-market-share/
Time Warner Cable Inc. (2014, November 25). Redbooks. Retrieved from:
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http://www.redbooks.com.www2.lib.ku.edu/advertiser/TIME_WARNER_CABLE_INCORPORATED/
Trefis (2014) Trefis. Retrieved from: http://www.trefis.com/stock/dish/articles/175251/dish-networks-pay-tv-market- share-outlook/2013-03-22
#Twitterbird. (2012). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from:
https://blog.twitter.com/2012/new-day-new-bird
