Sky Case Study

Sky-high ambition

Ever since its launch Sky, a subscription television service in the UK and Ireland, had kept ahead of its UK competitors. But by the late 90s though it had over three million customers it faced increasing competition. Sky needed to express clearly what it now stood for, and what its personality was. Wolff Olins began work by helping Sky articulate its ambitions: it wanted to be at the heart of 21st century living and to make the every day extraordinary for every one of its customers.

A digital vision for everyone

Wolff Olins helped Sky identify what was needed to offer its customers the best possible experience, and keep at the forefront of entertainment and information technology, by using, developing and supporting the skill of its staff. To express the brand clearly, we also devised a unique tone of voice, style of imagery and set of icons which are friendly and approachable. Finally we helped Sky with brand implementation, running brand workshops for staff and offering on-going brand management.

UK's largest

Sky's re-branding, ‘A digital vision for everyone', set it aside from its competitors and communicated its ambitions for the 21st century. In the summer of 2001, the year after the re-brand, Sky announced a 20% increase in subscribers. In 2008 Sky's number of active subscribers reached over 9 million. Since the new brand Sky’s revenue has grown steadily at an average rate of 12% per year, reaching £5 million in 2008. It is the UK’s largest paid television service provider.