‘We did a Mark Ritson on it’: How Plusnet rethought its marketing codes

Plusnet has been rethinking its brand, looking at everything from its positioning to its use of codes to ensure its marketing is as effective as possible.

In February, BT brought the Plusnet brand closer to its overall organisation to ensure it was managing the three brands of BT, EE and Plusnet “as effectively as possible”, according to the brand and performance marketing director for BT, BT Sport and Plusnet, David Stratton. Much of the work involved ensuring the brand was differentiated from its sister brands and going after a different segment of the market.

Its research found the brands were “statistically too close together” and that Plusnet needed to be positioned much more clearly in the value sector of the market.

Stratton tells Marketing Week: “We looked at the make-up of the customer base; they were too close. Going forward that wasn’t a sustainable long-term strategy. BT is very clear, it is a premium provider that offers one of the best services in the business – WiFi in every room, speed guarantees, home tech experts, a really comprehensive package.

“We want to make clear Plusnet is in the value space and appeals to a distinct consumer versus BT and EE.”