Scout could care less about high-speed Internet or cable TV, preferring treats and good walks instead. But she’s a great representative for BendBroadband.

Scout is the black Labrador retriever that has gained dog fame in BendBroadband’s new marketing campaign, her friendly face seemingly smiling in TV spots for the company. Instead of guiding the blind, for which she was being trained at guide dog school before, shall we say, failing to lick the strict requirements for such work, she is helping TV viewers to see BendBroadband in a new light — one that stands out in the barrage of messages from its bigger, non-local competitors.

This holiday weekend, when many of us need to work like dogs in the gym to burn off Thursday’s feast and leftovers, seemed a good time for a fun, behind-the-scenes look at this major new campaign.

First, changing the logo and branding of a longtime company like BendBroadband is no small matter.

“The strongest brand differentiation in the marketplace takes the highest level of risk,” said Bill Chiaravalle, principal owner and creative director of Brand Navigation, the Sisters company that developed BendBroadband’s campaign.

Scout represents a live face for a dog icon BendBroadband worked into its new logo and branding featuring a running, silhouetted pooch, its pointed tail beaming a wireless signal. The logo’s tag line: “We’re the local dog. We better be good.”

“We just wanted to accurately portray in a compelling way what BendBroadband was all about” as it sought to connect deeper with the community, Chiaravalle said. It was the concept of being the local dog — trusted, reliable, fast, responsive and loyal, he said. “We wanted to add a component of likability to it.”

Scout’s face reinforces that logo, oozing likability. It beats the facelessness of most of corporate America, especially in a category like telephone, cable and Internet that, generally speaking, may not be the best-perceived. And the campaign seems to strike a chord in this dog-crazy town, where canines have their own parks and participate in an annual parade.

Amy Tykeson, president and CEO of BendBroadband, said the campaign is going well. “It gives a personality to our brand. … It really brings it home to the community where we live and work,” she said. “Five years ago, we probably could not have made this move with our brand. We have built a strong culture with a team that really cares about our customers and the experience they have with our company. That culture gave me the courage to take the risk and stand out. To be recognized as different, because we are.”

That comes in various forms, Tykeson said, noting the commitment of 200 local employees and contributions to area public schools, causes and events, and providing top-tier technology through annual multimillion-dollar investments that total more per-customer than large publicly held companies. But people won’t buy a product just because it’s local, she said. The company has to deliver.

And the company has, she said, noting its technology also has played a role in the area’s economic development. Indeed, people here are very well “connected.” That will improve even more next month when the firm launches what it says will be the nation’s fastest wireless broadband system.

As for Scout, who’s 4, she’s enjoying the good life in Bend with owners Bruce and Sandy Cummings, who couldn’t be happier Scout was among the 50 percent of dogs that typically fail to make the cut at Guiding Eyes in upstate New York. They got her when she was 18 months old and named her after the character in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. “She’s smart, playful, good and fiercely loyal,” said Bruce Cummings.

She didn’t mind a bit that her ears, too heavy for fans to blow in one TV spot, were assisted in their movement by Cummings gently pulling on some fishing line attached to Scout’s ears with black electrical tape. “She just sat there through the whole thing and she was terrific,” he said. Scout’s favorite treats, held at eye level by Sandy Cummings, kept Scout focused on her role and she didn’t drool, as she’s apparently prone to do, on camera. Fortunately, Scout didn’t have a “speaking” role because as Bruce Cummings said, she’s all wag and no bark.