Cuckoo

As a more established challenger brand compared with its start-up days, Cuckoo was calling out for an identity refresh. I wrote and developed ‘Broadband, done better’ – a new brand positioning line that brought to life our key USPs, alongside key messaging tools.

To launch, I created a new spoof OOH campaign that took everyday ‘better’ upgrades and related them (rather ridiculously) back to our broadband.

From manifesto to mission, 3D worlds blurb to Tone of Voice, I wrote Cuckoo’s ‘Proper Eggy’ brand guidelines for all the world to see. This included a conceptual writing framework, ‘Writing in Yellow’, plus messaging guidelines for style, structure and vibe. And, in proper ‘Cuckoo’ fashion, we launched these on an external website – so anyone can see how we write, design and think. These guidelines were submitted for a D&AD Yellow Pencil award under the category of Brand Strategy, 1–249. Find them at propereggy.com.

Across the end-to-end customer journey, I oversaw hundreds of comms – from warm prospect emails through to winback, welcome messages to Star Wars-themed buffering blogs.

I wrote and developed multiple YouTube videos across 6-second and 1-minute ads; from script through to directional feedback on VO. These were inspired by current frustrations with the broadband industry, and how we solved them through our USPs – amazing customer service, fair pricing, fast full fibre speeds.

From hooks to storyboards, filming to scriptwriting, I developed a tonne of ideas for social media organic. This included fun campaigns such as our ‘Good Eggs’ project – where team members answered off-beat questions and did a bit of show-and-tell, plus filming our bobsleighing sponsorship team at their Olympic track. (I even got to do bobsleighing myself.)

As part of our ‘Refer a friend’ initiative, I concepted a B2B partnership sub-brand identity and creative – asking local businesses to sponsor us in exchange for a cash referral.

What do you do to get brand fame with absolutely no budget? A wacky idea, and a bit of nerve. We reached out to folks living on ‘Cuckoo Close’ offering them two years of free broadband, simply because we shared a name – then asked them to talk us up on social media. Turning coincidence into earned attention.

I partnered with our Art Director to bring to life ‘Broadband, done better’ across all our web pages – including how we position our key product, eero, and our different speeds. Plus, we had way too much fun advertising the benefits of security, and just how powerful your Wi-Fi signal could be.

Across upper, mid, lower funnel and meta consideration campaigns, I worked with Art Directors and Designers to bring key messages to life in a truly Cuckoo way. I still can’t believe ‘That chunky ass...et’ got approved.

I wrote the launch of Cuckoo Mobile – our SIM-only range – from headlines to product positioning. Plus, I wrote the Cuckoo App from scratch – which was designed as a self-serve function reducing calls in to Customer Care. This required a hybrid blend of Cuckoo tone and UX/UI copy, working closely with UX designers and product managers throughout.