Although brand cut-through was dire, we believed the channel had promise and were determined to make it the best performing brand in its market. But to succeed, we’d have to establish a clear and desirable point of difference.

The secret lay in the programmes. We knew the audience loved them for their intelligence, irreverence and genuine humour. Hence a eureka moment and the birth of a new positioning and strapline: ‘the home of witty banter.’

Clutching a great proposition we set about devising a name to match. We wanted it to be like one of our mates; Steve, Bob, Andy……why not Dave? Everyone’s got a mate called Dave. It had an accessible feel that people could relate to. And it was completely original. Nobody had named a channel after a bloke before.

From brief to delivery, the entire process was driven through excellent collaboration with the client – inspiring each other at every stage. Research was also critical, as we sought to get the connection with the viewer absolutely spot-on.

With the name agreed we devised various ident scenarios based around a convivial weekend at a country house. Then to announce the re-launch we devised a multi-media campaign including TV, radio, and out of home. Each element carefully designed to achieve maximum on minimal spend.

Dave’s new rating power massively exceeded our expectations and once again proved the value of an effective brand identity. And despite the fact that it was now available on Freeview, the re-launch was identified as the key driver of the channel’s success. It had little new programming. The big difference was that it was now known and loved by its target audience. Most critically, its improved ratings translated into a huge £4.5 million in extra advertising revenue.

Six months after launch:

• Joint number one channel among 16-44 men – tripled the previous ratings
• 8 million new viewers to UKTV
• Spontaneous awareness rose to 32% - beating More 4, BBC 4, ITV3, MTV 1 and Bravo
• Weekly reach increased by 67% among target
• Re-brand won prestigious Gold IPA Effectiveness Award