Q2 Offer Brief — $35 Universal Intro + Price-Lock Save

What we're shipping Jun 1 Graduated intro pricing for 6 months · Ultimate excluded. $35/mo for Budget & Family · Tech at Budget price ($45) · Pro at Family price ($55). Built on Kelly's $35 ad headline but graduated for higher tiers so margin exposure stays controlled — each tier sits one step down's standard price during intro. After 6 months, customer steps to their tier's standard pricing (or can step down to a lower tier). Paired with a quiet, never-advertised multi-year price-lock save offer at month 6 for graduates who'd otherwise churn at the rate-step moment. Brand stays "no contracts" by default; locked rate is a one-on-one rep tool, not a public option.

Acquisition mechanic · The offer customers see

Graduated 6-month intro · Ultimate excluded

$35/mo startsEach tier at one step down's standard price · 6 months

Plan	Standard	Intro	Intro GP	6-mo cost
Budget $45 std → $21 GP/mo at $35	$45	$35	$21/mo	$60
Family $55 std → $21 GP/mo at $35	$55	$35	$21/mo	$120
Tech $70 std → $31 GP/mo at $45 (Budget price)	$70	$45	$31/mo	$150
Pro $85 std → $41 GP/mo at $55 (Family price)	$85	$55	$41/mo	$180
Ultimate Excluded from offer · standard $175 only	$175	—	—	$0

Math works because COGS is uniform $14/mo across all tiers. Every intro price stays positive on GP. Higher tiers actually retain more margin during intro (Pro at $55 = $41 GP/mo) than Budget/Family at $35 ($21 GP/mo). Graduated pricing controls cost exposure without sacrificing the $35 headline.

Retention mechanic · Never advertised

Multi-year price-lock save offer at month 6

Customer is 30 days from rate step-up. CSR or rep reaches out (or fields the inbound save call). Offer: lock in a small rate discount for 2 or 3 years. Catches the customer who'd otherwise bounce at the sticker-shock moment.

Lock pricing across all tiers:
• 2-year lock: $5/mo off standard · saves $120 total
• 3-year lock: $10/mo off standard · saves $360 total
Modest discount, meaningful commitment. Customer guaranteed for 24-36 mo. Net positive vs full churn.

How it stays "no contracts": Lock is never advertised, never on the website, never in ads. Brand position remains month-to-month freedom. Rep-only tool for customers who specifically want price certainty at the intro-graduation moment.

Stay-rate sensitivity — the key variable at month 7

When the 6-month intro ends, customer steps to standard pricing. What share stays at standard (or accepts the price-lock save) drives the math.

Conservative · 30% stay

~$50K LTGP / month-cohort

70% step down to a lower tier or churn at month 7. Graduated pricing protects more margin during intro than a flat $35 would have. Lower bound — offer still wins.

Moderate · 50% stay (target)

~$115K LTGP / month-cohort

Half retain at their tier's standard pricing or lock in for 2-3 years. Carwash works. CAC drops materially. This is what we plan against.

Aggressive · 70% stay

~$180K LTGP / month-cohort

Service moat works; loss aversion + price-lock save retain most cohort. Upside if positioning + retention flow hits.

Coming Q3 — Tag-and-go free-tier-upgrade trial (decided 2026-05-13) Layered on top of whatever offer is running that month: customer signs up at any tier, gets the next tier up for month 1 as a free taste. At month 2 they decide — keep the upgrade or step back to their original tier. (Budget → Tech trial · Family → Pro trial · Tech → Pro trial · Pro → Ultimate trial.) Carwash psychology layered on top of Kelly's intro pricing. Deferred from Jun 1 to keep launch simple; activates Q3 once we have 90 days of $35-offer data. Memo: projects/trial-up-mechanic-2026-05.md.

Decisions still needed Friday May 15

Plan naming. Kelly's ad uses Essential / Gamer / Family / Professional / Ultra. Canon is Budget / Family / Tech / Pro / Ultimate. Update canon to match the ad, or update the ad to match canon? Recommendation: separate conversation — naming change should be a deliberate brand decision, not a side-effect of an ad concept.
Rep discretion at acquisition. Reps still able to extend additional free months on top of the graduated intro? Recommendation: no — the intro is the offer. Rep-discretion margin moves to the price-lock save offer at month 6, where it has clearer ROI.
Existing customer comms. The ad says "for new customers." Existing customers may complain — proactive note, or quiet rollout? Recommendation: quiet. CSR talking points handle case-by-case.
Stay-rate target. Plan against 50% (moderate)? Sets the LTGP:CAC math we report in July. Recommendation: yes — 50% with stretch to 70%.
Ad headline. Kelly's ad reads "$35/mo · one price for 6 months · Essential, Gamer, Family, Professional, Ultra." With Ultimate excluded and Tech/Pro at different intro prices, the headline needs a sub-line. Options: "Starting at $35/mo · 6 months · all plans except Ultimate" or "Internet from $35 · Tech for $45 · Pro for $55 · 6 months."