Dave, the self-proclaimed “home of witty banter”, have become a stalwart of British television since their emergence from the channel’s previous incarnation, G2. With a whole array of well-watched programming, with popular magazine, panel and documentary shows such as Top Gear, QI, and Airport, Dave has worked hard to create a brand personality which stands out from its competitors. Following on from this, the channel wished to run a campaign across social media that would allow them to promote and continue to develop this brand personality, as well as communicate with their consumers across a variety of platforms, attracting more followers on Facebook and Twitter, and engaging their viewers with funny content.
Why Hoot?
Hoot were a clear choice thanks to their in-depth understanding of the expectations of Dave’s audience and their comedy style. Hoot also have award-winning comedy writers within their team- making them extremely well-placed to partner for Dave’s campaign.
The Method
Hoot were careful to maintain the same communicative style, sense of humour and witty voice that Dave has cultivated over the years. The message was simple- the voice should sound like “your funny mate down the pub”.
To begin with, Hoot just set out to make Dave’s existing customers laugh. With a target of two Facebook posts and six to eight Tweets a day, Hoot created funny, bite sized and shareable content, and monitored their reach. Gradually they were able to build up a firm understanding of what kind of content Dave’s viewers really wanted, and could build on this understanding to further increase their reach across various platforms.
The Result
The campaign was a great success, with Dave’s Facebook fans more than doubling, and Twitter engagement ten times higher than the industry norms. The organic reach on Twitter was four times higher than that of paid reach. Facebook’s algorithm now favours Dave’s content, and it therefore reaches 60 per cent of its target audience.
Next Steps?
The work is far from finished, as Hoot and Dave are planning to expand their social media network into other channels, as well as investing in new channels, such as digital interstitial advertising on mobile and static out of home billboards. Their main goal is to continue to build new audience and reward their existing fans with great content.