Altice USA said it has begun the rebranding of all of its Suddenlink systems under the Optimum name, launching a nationwide brand campaign, “Get Closer, Go Farther.”

Altice USA took the first steps toward retiring the Suddenlink brand in July 2021,  when it said all of its wireless products would be rebranded under the Optimum Mobile name. In April of this year, it launched its “Let’s Reconnect” campaign with a pledge to rebrand the Suddenlink markets later in the year. Suddenlink has about 1.8 million customers in 17 states mainly in the Midwest, southern and western parts of the country. Altice purchased the systems in 2015 for $9.1 billion. 

The rebranding news also comes days after reports claimed that Altice USA had hired Goldman Sachs to seek a buyer for the properties.  

“Get closer and go farther. That’s our Optimum brand promise and what we aim to deliver to our customers through our connectivity services and experiences we offer,” Optimum EVP consumer and business services Matt Grover said in a press release. “We are thrilled to launch this new campaign and officially bring our Suddenlink products and services under the Optimum brand, uniting our telecommunications division under one name, one voice, and one promise to customers to deliver the very best internet, TV, and mobile service to them every day.”

Starting August 1 and throughout the months ahead, the company will transition Suddenlink properties and assets to Optimum, including vehicles, stores, websites and uniforms.

In the press release, Altice USA said the aim of the new brand and tagline is to demonstrate the company’s promise to bring customers closer together with its products and services to enable them to go farther into the future. This effort includes new campaign TV spots, the acceleration of the build out of its fiber internet network; the launch of Optimum 2 Gig and 5 Gig Fiber Internet; removing data caps on all Suddenlink internet plans as part of the transition to Optimum; opening nearly 20 new state-of-the-art Optimum retail stores across the country in recent months; and rebranding its Optimum Mobile service, which was recently ranked #1 in customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. ▪️

Hulu, the O.G. streaming service, is urging consumers to "start with Hulu" in a new marketing campaign.

TV commercials feature a consumer wondering what to watch. His companion tells him to “start with Hulu” and he discovers “everything I love is on Hulu.” That sentiment is repeated by celebrity spokespeople including Kris Jenner of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, L.A. Ram Aaron Donald and actress Andra Day. Each of them drops whatever they’re holding and the item shatters. “Time to have everything you love. Time to have Hulu,” the spot concludes.

Also Read: Why ESPN Plus on Hulu Is a Much Bigger Deal Than Disney Plus’ 100 Million Subs

Design elements carry over to outdoor ads featuring individual Hulu shows.

The streaming market has grown, but has become much more crowded with ViacomCBS (Paramount Plus), NBCUniversal (Peacock), AT&T (HBO Max) and Discovery (Discovery Plus) launching new direct-to-consumer offerings in the past year.

According to a recent report from Ampere, Hulu has a 13% share of the market, behind Netflix and Amazon Prime, and just ahead of HBO Max and Disney Plus.

The Hulu campaign was developed with Dixon Baxi, using feedback from consumers about how they choose their streaming platforms and how the user interface can be improved.

Among the things that emerged from the research were:

• Younger viewers are much more likely to consider streaming services as “indispensable.”
• Consumers use symbols to navigate and gravitate towards things that move them from stress to relaxation.
• Consumers expect Hulu to be fun, modern, simple and straightforward.
• The Hulu Green is a source of power in brand cues and stands true to consumers.

E! News, part of NBCUniversal’s E! cable network, is launching a new marketing campaign using the theme “Be Pop Cultured.”

The campaign, running on multiple platforms, features humorous questions to test viewers’ knowledge of what’s going on in music and entertainment.

“If you think Belieber is a typo, you need to Be Pop Cultured” goes one of the promos.

The campaign will also feature TV promos -- one plays on the notion of "an Iggy Azalea" being an exotic flower) and daily news flashes on the network, and will receive cross-channel support from other NBCUniversal networks via video spots and talent social efforts.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.