Freely Agency Roster: The Proven 2024 TV Launch Ecosystem
Aligning four fierce commercial rivals under a single brand identity is a notoriously difficult marketing brief. The BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 all have distinct audiences, stakeholders, and corporate agendas. Yet, managing this complex joint venture was exactly the challenge Everyone TV faced when transitioning UK viewers from traditional Freeview to a new broadband-first platform.
To achieve this, Everyone TV did not hire a single, monolithic agency. Instead, they deployed a highly specialised roster of top-tier branding, creative, and media partners. Together, this collaborative ecosystem helped Freely scale fast—surpassing 500,000 weekly users by 2025, and later crossing 1 million weekly users during Christmas week (announced January 2026).
What is the Freely agency?
There is no single Freely agency. Instead, the UK streaming platform uses a specialist multi-agency roster. In 2024, Everyone TV partnered with DixonBaxi for brand identity, TMW for the initial launch creative, Hearts & Science for media buying, and Ratchet for subsequent Autumn 2025 retention campaigns.
Key Takeaways: The Everyone TV Marketing Playbook
- Specialist segmentation: Splitting duties across DixonBaxi, TMW, and Hearts & Science allowed for best-in-class execution at every funnel stage.
- Unified brand voice: Despite using multiple agencies, the core message of “futureproofing free TV” remained incredibly consistent from the initial UI design to the live-action television spots.
- Rapid market penetration: The multi-agency ecosystem helped Freely hit 500,000 weekly users by 2025, and later surpass 1 million weekly users during Christmas week (announced January 2026), based on Everyone TV updates.
Phase 1: Naming, UI, and Visual Identity (DixonBaxi)
Before any media buying began, Everyone TV needed a consumer-facing brand. They appointed global brand and design agency DixonBaxi to architect the platform’s entire look and feel ahead of the April 2024 launch.
- Naming: The agency selected the name ‘Freely’. This immediately signals the free-to-air nature of the product while evoking a strong sense of liberation from expensive paid subscriptions.
- Logo: DixonBaxi designed a modern, digital-first logo. It is heavily optimised to stand out on crowded smart TV home screens, competing visually with global streaming giants.
- UI/UX: The agency integrated the new visual identity directly into the user interface. This created a seamless navigation experience that successfully merges live broadcast television with on-demand content View the Freely design case study on dixonbaxi.com.
Creating the ‘Freemoji’ and Tone of Voice
To give the brand distinct personality, DixonBaxi developed the ‘Freemoji’. This animated character acts as a guide, bringing a playful and dynamic element to the technical interface.
Expert Tip: Stand out with Tone of Voice
Establishing a “cheeky tone of voice” helped differentiate Freely from the often clinical, tech-heavy interfaces of competitors like Apple and Amazon. A playful, human-centric brand identity builds immediate warmth and trust with UK audiences.
Phase 2: The ‘Set Yourself Freely’ Launch (TMW)
With the foundational brand identity locked in, Everyone TV brought in integrated creative agency TMW to handle the go-to-market strategy. TMW was tasked with developing the strategic proposition to introduce the platform to the British public.
Proposition and Creative Execution
The resulting launch campaign, titled “Set Yourself Freely”, successfully connected the physical hardware of smart TVs with the emotional benefit of unrestricted viewing. TMW produced high-energy video assets and experiential activations designed to cut through a very noisy broadcast market.
According to official Everyone TV press releases, the core goal was futureproofing free TV for the broadband era. Amy Rowcliffe, Marketing Director at Everyone TV, emphasised the need to reflect changing viewing habits while fiercely protecting the heritage of the public service broadcasters.
Phase 3: Media Planning and Broadcast Strategy (Hearts & Science)
A strong creative proposition requires an equally robust distribution model. To handle media planning and buying for the Freely brand launch, Everyone TV appointed Omnicom agency Hearts & Science. Their core objective was to maximise visibility across a highly fragmented UK media market.
Hearts & Science executed a full-funnel media strategy designed to drive both immediate awareness and long-term consideration. This approach spanned traditional broadcast television, video-on-demand (VOD), out-of-home (OOH) advertising, and targeted social media placements.
| Funnel Stage | Media Channel | Strategic Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness | TV Roadblocks & OOH | Achieve massive simultaneous reach during prime-time broadcast hours, establishing immediate brand legitimacy. |
| Consideration | VOD & TikTok | Engage younger, digital-first demographics who index lower for traditional linear television viewing. |
| Conversion | Retail POS & Co-branding | Drive hardware sales at the point of purchase by partnering directly with smart TV manufacturers. |
Overcoming the Pay-TV Goliath
Launching a free-to-air service in 2024 meant competing directly for screen space against heavily funded pay-TV giants like Sky and Virgin Media. To counter these massive competitor budgets, Hearts & Science leveraged the unique assets of the Everyone TV joint venture.
The media agency orchestrated strategic TV roadblocks across ITV and Channel 4. By airing the “Set Yourself Freely” launch advertisements simultaneously across these major public service broadcasters, Hearts & Science guaranteed maximum viewer penetration.
This tactic effectively bypassed the spending power of the pay-TV operators. It utilised the broadcasters’ own inventory to promote the new digital platform directly to existing live TV audiences Read the full media breakdown on uk.themedialeader.com.
Phase 4: Autumn 2025 Retention Campaign (Ratchet)
Following the successful April 2024 acquisition phase, Everyone TV needed to shift its marketing focus. Initial awareness was high, but the platform required sustained user engagement. To manage this secondary phase, they partnered exclusively with the creative agency Ratchet.
Ratchet developed the Autumn 2025 advertising campaign, titled “This, That.”. This represented a significant evolution in the overall marketing strategy. Instead of focusing broadly on brand identity, the messaging became highly feature-driven.
- Pivoting from emotion to utility: While TMW’s launch focused on the emotional freedom of the platform, Ratchet highlighted specific technical advantages, such as pausing live television.
- Focusing on content discovery: The campaign emphasised the ease of switching between live broadcast channels and on-demand catalogues.
- Driving daily habits: By showcasing specific user interface features, Ratchet aimed to turn casual trial users into daily active viewers.
Multi-Agency Roster vs. Integrated Approach
Everyone TV could have awarded the entire Freely account to a single, integrated network. Instead, they actively chose a multi-agency roster. This decision offers clear strategic insights for B2B marketing professionals evaluating their own procurement models.
Pros of a Specialist Roster:
- Best-in-class expertise: DixonBaxi provided elite visual design, while Hearts & Science delivered highly technical media buying power.
- Diverse creative perspectives: Splitting the ideation process prevented the brand messaging from becoming stale or predictable over time.
- Agile budget allocation: Everyone TV could scale investment up or down with specific agencies based on live campaign requirements.
Cons of a Specialist Roster:
- Risk of siloed messaging: Managing multiple creative teams increases the danger of producing disjointed consumer campaigns.
- High administrative burden: The internal marketing team at Everyone TV had to dedicate significant resources to aligning four distinct agency timelines.
What to Avoid: The Disjointed Brand Trap
When managing a multi-agency roster, failing to establish rigid brand guidelines is a critical error. Freely succeeded because DixonBaxi’s foundational visual rules (the ‘Freemoji’ and colour palette) were strictly adhered to by TMW and Ratchet in all subsequent video production. Never allow secondary agencies to overwrite the primary visual identity.
Campaign ROI: From 500,000 to 1 Million Weekly Users
The true measure of any B2B brand strategy is the commercial return on investment. For Everyone TV, the bespoke multi-agency strategy delivered exceptional business results. The core objective was not just to win design awards, but to actively migrate viewers to the new digital infrastructure.
Performance ROI Highlight
Everyone TV updates show Freely surpassed 500,000 weekly users by 2025, and later crossed 1 million weekly users during Christmas week (announced January 2026).
The true measure of any B2B brand strategy is the commercial return on investment. For Everyone TV, the bespoke multi-agency strategy delivered exceptional business results. The core objective was not just to win design awards, but to actively migrate viewers to the new digital infrastructure.
By 2025, Everyone TV updates confirmed Freely had surpassed 500,000 weekly users—and by Christmas week, the service went on to cross 1 million weekly users (announced January 2026). This milestone validates the strategic decision to split the brand, creative, and media duties among specialised experts.
Conclusion
The launch of Freely proves that collaborative, specialist marketing can successfully modernise legacy products. Moving from the traditional Freeview model to a broadband-first future required immense stakeholder coordination.
By mapping the entire agency ecosystem, the blueprint becomes clear. DixonBaxi laid the visual foundation. TMW built the emotional launch proposition. Hearts & Science engineered the media distribution. Finally, Ratchet secured long-term retention. This phased approach helped Freely reach 500,000 weekly users by 2025, and later cross 1 million weekly users during Christmas week (announced January 2026)—cementing a strong foothold in the competitive UK streaming market.
Assess your own agency ecosystem using the specialist strategies outlined above, or explore more of detailed industry breakdowns. Browse our B2B broadcast marketing case studies.
FAQs
Who does the advertising for Freely TV?
Advertising duties for Freely are split across a multi-agency roster. The initial 2024 launch advertising was created by TMW, while the subsequent Autumn 2025 campaign was developed by Ratchet.
Which agency created the Freely logo and brand identity?
The global brand and design agency DixonBaxi created the Freely name, logo, user interface, and overall visual identity, including the animated ‘Freemoji’ character.
Who handles media buying for Everyone TV?
Omnicom agency Hearts & Science handles the media planning and buying for the Freely platform. They execute full-funnel strategies across linear TV, VOD, out-of-home, and social channels.
How many weekly users does Freely have now?
Everyone TV reported Freely surpassed 500,000 weekly users by 2025, and later crossed 1 million weekly users during Christmas week (announced January 2026).
What was the budget for the Freely launch campaign?
Verified data not available – cannot assume. However, the use of prime-time TV roadblocks across ITV and Channel 4 indicates a high-value media investment designed to compete with major pay-TV providers.
Who owns the Freely TV platform?
Freely is owned and operated by Everyone TV. This is a joint venture backed by the UK’s leading public service broadcasters: the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5.
What is the Freely “Set Yourself Freely” campaign?
“Set Yourself Freely” was the primary launch campaign for the platform in April 2024. Developed by creative agency TMW, it focused on the emotional liberation of accessing free, broadband-first television without expensive subscriptions.
Did the same agency create Freeview and Freely?
No. While Freeview and Freely are both managed by Everyone TV, the brand identity for the new Freely platform was built entirely from scratch by DixonBaxi in 2024 to reflect the transition to digital streaming.
When did the Freely platform officially launch?
The Freely service officially launched to UK consumers in April 2024, supported by the multi-agency marketing rollout detailed above.
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