SMS Alert!

Glow 1.0 and Glow 2.0 have been taking over the market lately. From personal sources, including myself, a lot people have started to initiate their port-in process to Warid. And why shouldn't they? Especially the youth who would kill to get a package that offers upto 10 Glow Gang members to whom you could make calls for as low as 45 paisa per 30 seconds! And not just that you have upto 1000 SMS to any network for Rs. 7.99 valid for an entire week! Compared to that, there is probably no other network that is providing the customer with as much choice specially for SMS bundles. Jazz on the other hand provides 500 SMS that are valid for two days. Practically speaking, it is quite unlike;y for an average txter to send more than 200-300 txts in two days. So the remaining 200-300 SMS end up getting wasted. As for ZONG SMS bundles, there's one that charges Rs. 10 for 1000 SMS a week but then compared to GLOW, one has the disadvantage of not having as cheap call rates coupled with the SMS bundle offer. Same goes for djuice txt message packages. The call rates offered are not as appealing as those offered by GLOW.
To sum up, I think only if Warid improves its MNP services, it can cash on an increasing number of potential customers. Warid MNP services are less than satisfactory with delayed SIMs delivery, rejection rate, non-operating SIMS as well as delayed customer service response. This one improvement can create a world of opprtunity for Warid GLOW- unlike any other!

Mobilink

Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited, better known as Mobilink GSM, is a telecommunication service provider in Pakistan. According to PTA statistics, Mobilink has 29.55 million customers by July 2009.Mobilink is the largest cellular service provider in Pakistan. Mobilink's corporate postpaid package is sold under the brand name "Indigo" and prepaid by the name of "Jazz".
In addition to cellular service, the Orascomm group is diversifying its service portfolio by setting up new businesses and also expanding through acquisitions. Recently, they started offering DSL broadband through a wholly owned subsidiary, Link.Net. Company is in place for launch of wireless broadband service through WiMax based technology.With a softlaunch on 1 July 2008, Mobilink is now the second WIMAX internet service provider in Pakistan. Currently providing services only in Karachi.
WiMax services will be sold under the brand name "Mobilink Infinity". Technology is backed by Alcatel, and company is using a ZYXEL Customer Premises equipment.
In addition to Mobilink, the Orascom group also owns TWA (Trans World Associates) which operates an undersea fiber optic cable from Karachi to Fujairah, UAE.

Telenor ( Easy Paisa)

Telenor Pakistan and Tameer Microfinance Bank together have announced the launch of easypaisa, a uniquely convenient and safe way for everyone to carry out financial transactions. easypaisa users will have the freedom to make bill payments and send and receive money at thousands of outlets and in addition manage their bank accounts over their mobile phones. easypaisa combines the best from the financial and mobile sectors, offering the first branchless banking solution of its kind in Pakistan and neighboring countries.

Chief Executive Officer, Telenor Pakistan, Jon Eddy Abdullah called easypaisa a revolutionary solution. He said, “easypaisa will allow users across the board to access convenient and secure financial services. In an environment where only 12% of adult population is formally served with financial services, easypaisa will promise tremendous financial empowerment. It will provide opportunity for everyone to utilize well-priced, secure, and efficient financial services at the corner store without opening a bank account, or through ones own handset with a Tameer Bank account depending on the transaction type. The inclusion into the general economy will create opportunities to save, pay for services more efficiently without the loss of productivity, and to utilize more advanced financial instruments in the future.

Where is Warid? What's that GLOW?

Lately we have seen Warid advertisements missing on TV. Where have they gone? Why aren't they as aggressively conducting their marketing campaigns as some of their rivals i.e. Ufone, Moblink, Zong? Its one question that we at Telecom Branding in Pakistan have been pondering over for a long time.
We came up with a number of possible reasons but there is one that I deem far more plausible than others. When Warid entered the market a few years ago, its marketing campaign was as energetic as any other. But over the years we have seen a steady decline in its branding aggression. I personally think that it may be due primarily to the fact that once Warid was done promoting itself so energetically, it had its loyal customer base created and they no longer needed to attract more customers. Instead they were probably more inclined towards the qualitative element of 'providing the best' to their current market share instead of poorly serving a very large rather unmanageable customer base.
However at the same time in order to retain these customers they kept on providing offers such as lower rates and SMS bundles and late night cheap call rates in a steady manner. This in technical terms is what they call 'market penetration' in which you try and make more sales to existing customers. And this is apparently Warid's plan for now.
Another interesting aspect to this situation is the introduction of GLOW, however. Previously Warid had two main dishes on its menu- ZEM & ZAHI. While the former dealt in pre-paid service, the latter had its name amongst post-paid numbers. GLOW is the recent addition to the pre-paid service family of Warid. I think the way they have promoted themselves this time is more inclined towards youth and youngsters than Zem was. Zem with its basic red and white colors while GLOW employs the entire spectrum of colors. By word of mouth, I have heard that GLOW is offering the cheapest SMS rates these days with some of them being as low-priced at 'unlimited number of text messages for 7 Rs. a WEEK!' I mean what else could today's young people of Pakistan ask for who are constantly glued to their phone sets sending texts. But even GLOW isn't being as actively marketed as its Telenor djuice and Mobilink Jazz counterparts. The question is WHY? Is the answer market penetration or is it something else?
Feel free to share your opinion with us by commenting on this post.

Zong : Say it all (sab keh do)

When you have a telecom market with a large number of packages available and fierce competition, how do you make a new package stand out? One approach is to cut through the clutter and go for simple. This is the approach used by Zong: Cheap, Simple, Done. Here’s a quote from their website about zong 45 package. "Ladies and Gentleman, we bring you ZONG 45, the new pre-paid package of ZONG which offers lowest call rates in the industry, with calls at 45 paisa only".
"We promise to provide our customers with best services and offers that are transparent, simple and miles ahead of competition; just like ZONG 45 Package".
I like the focus on simplicity but if you go through the rate list, it is not THAT simple. I mean, if you really want to make things simple for consumers then the rates should also be mentioned for a 1 minute call. That comes out to be Rs.1.35. Warid has a 60 paisa package but only for 9-5 people and the pulse is 60 seconds. But they clearly say ‘Rs.1.20 per minute’. So a direct comparison is not possible, but you get the idea.

Now can someone explain the elephant in the ad?

Ufone - TUM HE TOU HO?

What comes to your mind when you first hear ‘UFONE’? For us, here at PK-TELECOM it definitely has a lot to do with comedy and smiles! The effort put in their aggressive marketing through TV and print advertisement must be lauded because when it comes to television and newspapers Ufone definitely takes it away. One is left wondering who exactly is heading this creative marketing team who have been continuously coming up with great idea that they have employed in their ads.

So who are they really targeting? If you go around asking people in Pakistan (try that in LSE!) you will find that most of the customers of Ufone belong to the youth segment. Their great call rates, late night lower call rate offers, frequent on+off-net free minutes on recharging as well as cheapest SMS bundle packages have turned Ufone from nothing to the next big thing! Only a few years ago Ufone (whose parent company is PTCL, for those who didn’t know) started out and wasn’t doing an impressive job. The great turn has been witnessed only recently perhaps three years back when telecom competition rose and every company desperately worked to snatch away the largest chunk of the market. We have seen how Ufone has been quite successful in doing so, thanks to its aggressive branding techniques.

The following is one of the latest ads by Ufone that have recently been played on TV:

Almost every two to three weeks we see a new ad playing on TV. The ads that get repeated dozens of time in every one hour program only bears witness to the fact that the marketing team of Ufone is bent upon staying in the minds of their customers- as they say “Out of sight is out of mind!” Ufone never lets such a time come!

So what do we gather from this ad? Ufone provides information whie keeping its ads humorous and light and employs such technology(animation/simulation, in this case) in their advertisements yet unused by other companies such as Mobilink, Warid, Zong or any other.

Branding Wars

We’ve seen numerous ads on TV all proclaiming to provide the ‘best’ service but which one of these handful of telecom companies is really doing that? This is the place where we analyse the various methods that these companies have employed in order to grab the maximum market share.

In a country full of youngsters dying for some entertainment, texting and calling via cellphones happens to be the most prevalent pastime. In a country facing all these terrorism attacks and security uncertainties one feels a need to stay updated wherever they are, even if out of the vicinity of a TV set. Guess what! Now you can receive breaking news on your mobile phone within minutes of the incident! AND guess what, previously one service provider proclaimed this, now every single one of them is letting you enjoy some kind of a special feature or another be it about following the latest cricket series or paying your bills through your phone!

Welcome to branding wars!