Etisalat On the Offensive Brand: Etisalat - 2008-09-15

Campaign:  Teaser/ Unveil                          

 Client: EMTS

 Agency:  141-Worldwide

 Reviewer : O'Lekan Babatunde

 The newest entrant into the Nigerian telecommunications industry - Etisalat Nigeria- two weeks ago, broke its introductory campaign after a very long wait and expectation by the entire industry, players and consumers alike.

Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services (EMTS) is a Nigerian company duly incorporated under the laws of Nigeria in partnership with Mubadala Development Company and Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates. Mubadala acquired the Unified Access License from the federal government in January 2007. The license includes mobile licence and spectrum in the GSM 1800 and 900 MHz bands at a price of $400million (Four Hundred Million U.S. Dollars).

Etisalat has been a renowned telecommunications services provider and was a natural choice as operator based on its outstanding performance in the Middle East and various parts of Africa.

M2 kept track of the company since its forage into the Nigerian market. It's marketing communication pitch and selection process has been one of the most tortuous in recent times, spanning well over six months.

At the end of the protracted exercise, one of the youngest contestants to the business  141-Worldwide led by Bunmi Oke, won the advertising aspect of the business.  Speaking about the new player, the Chairman of the company, Hakeem Belo-Osagie had promised Nigerians that Etisalat Nigeria will be a “powerful lifeline for integrating a fragmented economy, creating a market, raising productivity, and breaking down the geographical barriers that keep people in economic and physical isolation”.

To achieve this feet or impact on the market, the client and the agency has since set on a mission to register an impactful entry though belated campaign launch.

In the light of this ambition, an array of works was recently unleashed on the market which according to some analysts suggests the new company is poised to do battle with older competitors in the market.

The campaign teaser is a simple but an uncanny combination of simple elements.  Think of a zipper, a vivid image of the human lips in living green and golden-yellow colours indicating the Etisalat house colours. The green and golden-yellow sealed lips against a very luxurious black background gave the different materials very prominent presence in the media.  

The teaser materials which play on challenging some old wise saying as well as challenging the status-quo also feature the “sealed lip” gradually opening to allow for unfettered 'talk'.

For instance, the unencumbered material with the only line “Whoever said Silence is golden?, maintains a total sealed lips while challenging 'silence is golden' which has become an age-old wisdom.

This later progressed to ask, now with the zipper about a quarter way open, “Whoever said talk is cheap?

While the first exposure was shrouded in mystery because it succeeded in getting attention without giving away its mission or purpose, partly because the green and golden colour combination is not too popular in this market, the follow-up build on this to challenge the reigning price regime. Could this be a direct hit or challenge on the Glo brand's positioning as the network with the friendliest call tariff? If this is the undercurrent, then subscribers may be on the way to getting a deal through rate cuts and its attendant inter network migration. That is for those who could easy change numbers. There are other materials for the teaser arsenal, the few discussed here like others recorded significant impact.

On TV, a mysterious young lady with green coloured zipped lips held Nigerians spell-bound with her gaze. The on-line and radio versions of the multimedia campaign were equally arresting.

Looking at the materials for the unveil which  penultimate week, the media was awashed with materials that looked like an affront on the Glo campaigns and market positioning. First, the Glo ownership of the lemon green might no longer be exclusive. Shades of the colour are apparent in the Etisalat creative materials. Secondly, the use of “9ja” a corruption of Nigeria, is contesting the patriotic stance which Glo as a Nigerian network enjoys, a wholly Nigerian brand. Though, this will be a tough battle for the UAE originated Etisalat, the marketing egg-heads saddled with creating a soft landing for the brand in the Nigerian market, may be deploying “9ja” to build an interactive brand that “talks with” its consumer rather than “talking to” them. A brand deliberately positioned to share good affinity with its target audience and the public at large. It connotes the youthfulness of the brand.

With two insertions on the D-Day, there was no missing the 'landing eagle'. The first of the materials actually creates a link with the previous days' teasers, same layout and illustration. Safe for the fact that the zipper has progressed to being opened about 50% and the unconventional headline serving more as a rider asks “9ja, are you ready to talk?” This material actively links the reader with the reveal by urging him to “keep flipping”

And indeed, it takes the reader to a well laid out full page with this beautiful female model in a world of her own. The well cut lips finally opened for unlimited “talk”. “9ja, let's talk 0809ja” the headline urges.

Creatively, one could figure the Etisalat's  logo in the widely opened lips  (180 degree taking horizontally); “now you are talking” cries the brand pay-off playing under the logo being introduced for the first time.

The outdoor (Unipole) version of the material is quite more daring and bold in ones face. The aura breed by the family is infectious.

While the protracted pitch lasted,  this writer submitted that bearing in mind that the origin of the brand and its Islamic posture, tendencies are that the creative may likely be unaggressive and lacking in bite. The reverse is the case with the campaign under review. 

However, the creative use of the elements, including colour balance and the 'Nigeria' issue and its friendly patriotic tone suggest a brewing battle between the new entrant and older players, Glo in particular. However, taking a cue from Anthony Swart, CEO, The Brand Union Africa, the battle for colours will continue in the market. “It is absolutely impossible for every brand to have a unique colour, there are only five or six primary colours, so there will absolutely be more duplications” says Mr. Swart.

While the branding expert's submission may have put colour claims and counter claims, argued mostly by brand loyalists, at rest, the battle for market and pocket shares have just begun.

Burrowing from the DDB creative values which include elements of surprise and a smile among others, the campaign merits the tag of a good entry campaign- strategy and execution wise. However, the challenge is building on this to nurture the fledging telecom brand (in Nigeria)  to become a competitive brand in the market. 

Rating - ****Thumbs up.