• by Danielle Oster , June 3, 2024

Wireless provider UScellular is doubling down on its commitment to existing customers with the latest phase of its “US Days” campaign.

Back in March, the brand kicked things off with an ad starring a 64-year-old graduate student named Bobbie, who has been a customer for six years.

The new spot centers around another committed customer, as well as a series of local activations and deals aimed at celebrating existing customers.

USCellular CMO Eric Jagher told Marketing Daily  the effort follows the measurable success of its “US Days” activations this spring, citing a significant increase in customer upgrades and foot traffic in its stores. The brand assesses campaign performance across several different metrics, including popularity, consideration, and peoples’ opinion of the brand. Testing those metrics for people familiar with the campaign, there was a 15-30 point increase.

“With a typical campaign, we’d be happy with something in the single digits,” he said, adding,  “The challenge as we continue… is growing the awareness of the campaign.”

This time around the ad at the center of the campaign, which debuted May 30, spotlights someone who’s been a customer for nearly three decades. Louis B. is shown hard at work in the gym -- with a trainer he says the company paid for after he reacted to being asked to participate by saying he needed to get in shape for the ad.

In addition to the TV spot, the current campaign also includes OOH and social media components, as well as local activations Jagher views as crucial to its strategy of driving earned media impressions. It’s ralso unning across linear and digital video, radio, display local marketing, and retail through June 26.

Jagher said the ad was shot around the same time as the launch spot, with the company taking a deliberate strategy on “lining up a 360 campaign” and timing the rollout of  activations throughout the year.

“US Days” marks an evolution of the brand’s messaging, he explained, with the brand moving beyond the type of David versus Goliath approach it has employed in the past, comparing itself to larger competitors.

Instead, USCellular is “attempting to turn ourselves into a  challenger brand” – something he said involves “standing for something and against something."

To that end, he said, “US Days” complements the brand’s recent marketing message about the need to take breaks from technology, to ensure it fosters, rather than impedes, genuine human connection. The brand began messaging around topic in early 2023, with a “Down for 5” challenge calling on people to take short breaks from their phones.

”We felt we needed to stand up for something important to the community. ‘US Days’ is  also about showcasing communities, the customers in those communities, and how important they are to us,” he added.

Jagher also hinted at more to come , including  n unspecified partnership with “someone who is also very passionate about the notion that tech is great but sometimes can get in the way of genuine connection with those around you,” which he anticipates running some time in July or August.

“US Days,” meanwhile will return “at least one more time” this year with another installment celebrating existing customers, he said, while noting the brand was “still going to have aggressive promotions for new customers” as well.