DIRECTV

The Objective

Connecting with new audiences through the creator house approach

DIRECTV is a legacy entertainment brand known for its best-in-class sports streaming and entertainment offerings over the past 20+ years. As part of a brand refresh in 2021, the company pivoted to a creator-led digital approach that allowed them to not only meet consumers on their preferred mediums, but to also uplift and invest in the next generation of entertainment stars who currently dominate TikTok's For You Page. Coming off the success of the award-winning The Crib Around The Corner — the first Black creator house in Los Angeles — DIRECTV launched the "Familia Fuego" house, a first of its kind for Latino TikTok creators with the aim of expanding their commitment to diverse creators and communities while continuing to drive positive engagement with new, modern audiences.

The Solution

Collaborating with a Creator Marketing Partner to create a first-of-its-kind TikTok creator house

Given the success of The Crib, DIRECTV’s emphasis on the next generation of entertainment as well as TikTok’s rapidly-growing user base, the platform naturally became the focal point for their next initiative. DIRECTV partnered with Whalar (TikTok Creator Marketing Partner) to create the Familia Fuego house, executing a careful casting process not only meant to find the biggest creators and ensure their comedic styles would mesh in their collaboration, but to also address diversity within the Hispanic diaspora.By working hand-in-hand, Whalar and DIRECTV were able to cast five creators with over 7.5M Followers on TikTok, 650K Followers on Instagram, and representing Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban communities within the cast. And Familia Fuego was born: an all-Latino creator house featuring some of TikTok’s buzziest stars: Leo González (@leogonzall), Alexia del Valle (@lexdelvalle), Monica Villa (@monitoocrazy), Isabella Ferregur (@lil1zzyvert), and Jesus Zapien (@jesus_nalgas).

Over the course of the partnership, the Fuego cast created relatable branded content for both the @familiafuego page and their individual handles that covered themes like workplace culture, growing up Hispanic, and spoofs of their favorite TV shows. The cast also attended and amplified DIRECTV’s activations around Super Bowl and Neon Carnival. Forever trying to empower their creator partners and understanding that TikTokers know the platform best, DIRECTV gave Fuego free rein over their content. The creator-led approach humanized DIRECTV and allowed the brand to establish connections with this important audience on their terms, through some of their favorite influencers.Specifically, Familia Fuego brought DIRECTV along as part of their always-on conversations with fans around key cultural moments on TikTok, allowing for deeper, more authentic engagement and positive sentiment with this new brand audience.

DIRECTV led by example, paying the creators equitably and utilizing their ample brand resources to uplift the Fuego cast via a dedicated webpage, integrating the cast into brand social and advertising efforts, and securing co-branded partnerships with programmers like Univision, Discovery, WarnerBrothers, and more on their behalf. Most importantly, leaning into the DIRECTV name and agency resources has elevated every Fuego cast member, securing them red carpet invites, celebrity collabs, and interviews with global publications. Through The Crib Around the Corner, Famila Fuego, and beyond, DIRECTV stands by its philosophy to show, not tell the world they are a champion of the creator economy.

The Results

How leading on creator equity drives brand results

Through The Crib and now Familia Fuego, DIRECTV has been able to have a consistent presence on TikTok while increasing awareness and engagement with new, younger communities. DIRECTV’s affiliated channel, @FamiliaFuego, garnered impressive results throughout its 8-month campaign. For example, discoverability was helped by 24.7M total impressions (23.1M TikTok), and audience relevance was improved with total engagements of 2.9M (2.84M TikTok), along with 130.8K new TikTok followers. Additionally, the campaign was widely celebrated — with one user even describing it as the "BEST CONTENT HOUSE ON TIKTOK NO 🧢 !!! IM SO EXCITED"

Creator channel performance results (from all 5 creators) were equally boosted. Specifically, the total impressions came to 19.5M (10.8M TikTok), total engagements were over 2M (1.7M TikTok), and the average TikTok engagement rate was a staggering 13%.

*results as of May 2022

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