The Marketer Leading Plusnet’s Brand Revolution

Meet Plusso, the very fluffy, oversized plus symbol tasked with giving broadband provider Plusnet a new lease of life. The mascot is at the heart of the brand's relaunch under EE ownership, led by Kelly Engstrom, Plusnet's brand and communications director, who has introduced the new platform, Massive Value. Massive Plus.

Created by both The Exchange, Plusnet’s in-house creative agency, and a cross-agency team from BT Group’s long-term partners at Publicis Groupe UK including Saatchi & Saatchi, MSL UK and Publicis Production, with media by WPP Media, the campaign aims to show that spending less on life's boring necessities leaves more money for the brilliant things people love doing online.

The social-first launch began with a tongue-in-cheek search for the new face of Plusnet. A series of audition tapes sees familiar faces, including Charity Shop Sue, Diane from The Traitors, Rhys Does Things, George Baggs, and 7.goldd, competing for the role of brand mascot. All are ultimately pipped to the post by Plusso.

"Plusnet is for people who love to live life to the full and want their money to go further,” explains Engstrom. “Our customers know the value of a great deal, and we want to help them spend less on the necessities, so they have more for the things they love. That is the idea behind Massive Value. Massive Plus: we take care of the boring stuff so our customers can focus on the brilliant stuff. Our bold, larger-than-life brand ambassador, Plusso, brings that promise to life in a fun, distinctive and unmistakably Plusnet way. We can't wait for the world to meet him."

Engstrom brings extensive experience from across the BT and EE businesses. She joined EE from T-Mobile in 2010 and progressed through a series of senior marketing roles. Following BT's acquisition of EE in 2016, she oversaw sponsorship and brand activation, including the development and delivery of partnerships with Wembley and the FA.

Her remit has since expanded across the BT Consumer portfolio, including BT Sport, EE, and Plusnet, where she has helped shape major brand campaigns and integrated creative platforms.

Now, with Plusso fronting the latest chapter for Plusnet, the challenge is to make a budget broadband proposition feel as distinctive as the mascot selling it.

Claire Hollands, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi London, says of working with Engstrom: “For me, Kelly demonstrates the kind of modern marketing leadership that we should all look up to. Her recent work on the new Plusnet platform is a brilliant example of this, turning a commercial challenge into a clear, distinctive creative platform with the flexibility to keep growing.”

She continues: “The Massive Value. Massive Plus work takes a marketing strategy geared towards a specific audience and translates it into something genuinely distinctive and joyful. Kelly has a clear understanding of the role Plusnet needs to play within the wider portfolio: winning value-conscious customers without falling into the trap of equating value with simply being cheap. Instead, the team has created an ownable brand world around the smart idea of making spending feel good, from the unapologetic pink identity and new Plusnet stamp to Plusso himself.

“Kelly is a true partner and collaborator, and this campaign, a real team effort across Plusnet, The Exchange and Publicis, is a perfect example of that,” concludes Hollands.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Marshall, SVP clients at WPP Media, adds: “Kelly brings a strategic mindset, a deep understanding of Plusnet’s customers and a laser focus on the commercial needs of the business. A brand relaunch is a mammoth undertaking, and having Kelly on the team was invaluable.”

Marshall continues: “Beyond the strategy, the rebrand brought together creative, media and client teams across multiple workstreams. Kelly’s ability to unite people around a shared ambition was central to the success of the collaboration. Going to market with a social-only media plan was also a smart move that effectively catered to our audiences and demonstrated how Kelly challenges the team to think beyond category conventions. From the initial brief through to execution, working alongside Kelly and the wider team was both fun and truly rewarding.”