With Mint Mobile now firmly under T-Mobile’s umbrella, the prepaid carrier dialed up its marketing efforts in Q3 2024, seizing the NFL season and the election buzz as prime opportunities to boost brand recognition. By tapping into the excitement of game days and election season, Mint is making sure its name sticks.
What has changed?
In Q3’24, Mint increased its top-of-funnel spend, and carriers should pay attention to this shift in strategy. While online video has always played a prominent role in Mint Mobile’s media mix, the significant boost in national TV and OTT marks a notable change in the brand’s marketing allocation. Spend in both channels reflected new highs, dating back to Q1’23, indicating a more aggressive push for brand recall and credibility with an expanding audience scope.
With a definitive focus on 30-second spots, the prepaid carrier diversified its national TV allocation (client-link only). Where it could be easily assumed the brand went all-in on NFL coverage, reality shows Mint Mobile is stretching its reach across categories and maximizing its audience exposure.
What has remained the same?
Ryan Reynolds continues to be the cornerstone of Mint Mobile’s campaigns, creating a consistent and reliable brand identity. The latest spot “celebrates” Mint’s 100th commercial, but leans on its satirical sense of humor to further differentiate its value proposition from other wireless carriers.
It’s imperative to understand that the push for increased visibility has not changed the brand’s value proposition or points of differentiation. While consumers were more likely to be exposed to Mint Mobile’s messaging, the core value proposition still positions itself as a credible, low-cost alternative.
YouTube was Mint Mobile’s primary online video focus in Q3’24, earning 74% of channel spend.
Hulu was predominant in Mint Mobile’s Q3’24 strategy, representing 34% of OTT spend.
Source: Comperemedia Omni; Pathmatics [04/01/2024-09/30/2024] as of 10/29/2024
What’s the impact?
Mint Mobile’s boosted upper-funnel efforts paid off with elevated ad awareness, outpacing other brands with noticeable gains in Q3’24. According to data analytics from YouGov, Mint Mobile’s ad awareness increased by 4.7 percentage points in Q3’24 and was the largest boost of any other brand tracked in its database.
When asked what attributed to its boost, Mint Mobile’s CMO Aron North acknowledged its scaled-up media program and added that “viewerships in linear and connected television just increases at this time [the return of live sports coupled with election coverage], so we want to be there.”
What we think
The little guys aren’t so little anymore, and consumers have noticed; meaning, it’s imperative for wireless carriers to expand their scope.
Historically, wireless carriers could operate with narrow competition due to the general makeup of their target audiences. The Big Three isolated their focus within the triangle, and prepaid carriers stacked up against each other. As we’ve seen in 2024 and will continue to see in 2025, consumer consideration for viable wireless carriers is expanding, making this silo-centric approach quickly outdated. Carriers should head into 2025 with their eyes up and consider strategies that delineate their brand, offers, and incentives from an expanding competitive landscape.
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