• by Aaron Baar , November 10, 2017

Coverage is important for both wireless services and wrapping gifts. This year, Cricket is putting them both together. 

Via a digital video campaign, the prepaid wireless company is banking on the striking images of an entire family covered in wrapping paper as a visual metaphor for excellent wireless coverage. 

“The idea of ‘coverage’ can be difficult to illustrate to our customers,” Cindy Rozier, associate vice president of marketing for Cricket Wireless, tells Marketing Daily. “Fully covered in Cricket-branded holiday wrapping paper, we tie together family with our great big network and ‘coverage’ in a different way.”

In the videos (from agency Argonaut), the family is depicted in various situations in their home. In one, for instance, a teenage girl comes down the stairs to a family dinner (where her parents and siblings are wearing green wrapping paper), with her midriff exposed (and wearing magenta wrapping paper, the color of T-Mobile). Her mother complains that the girl doesn’t have sufficient coverage, and insists that as long as the girl lives in her house, she will also use Cricket Wireless, because it has better coverage than T-Mobile. Other videos show the mother bundling up her son for an extra layer of coverage before going outside and a woman making a snow angel while covered in wrapping paper. 

The videos (and their arresting visual image of a family covered in wrapping paper) are part of a “new paid social approach” for Cricket, Rozier says. With research showing that many people view social media videos without sound, a striking visual was an important element.

“We wanted to start with a striking image that caught consumers interest within the first six seconds that also brings the viewer back to our main message,” Rozier says. “We think these illustrate our network and value propositions in a fun and engaging way.”

That doesn’t mean, however, that Cricket will be abandoning its other approaches. For the past few years, the company has been staging guerrilla marketing efforts (and stunts, such as one video featuring WWE star John Cena being surprised by fans) to great effect, and the company will continue to use its animated characters in television brand advertising, Rozier says. 

“Our social media campaigns (like the Unexpected John Cena prank) help extend Cricket’s brand and social media reach – and enable us to connect with our customers in meaningful ways,” she says. “The characters helped us to create a visual identity that was unlike anything else in the wireless world. In a category where the most we have to fight with is parity (in many instances), it’s very important for brands to create visual distinction in order to help boost awareness and familiarity of the brand.”