building a strong telecom brand in africa
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Presentation by Olu Akanmu at GSM in Africa ConferenceTRANSCRIPT
Building a Strong Telecom Brand in Africa
Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
GSM in Africa Conference
Capetown, South Africa
Olu Akanmu
November 2002
Origin of African Telecom Brands
• Former or current state monopolies or incumbents
• Entrepreneurial organizations usually in mobile or the last mile as applicable
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
mobile or the last mile as applicable challenging incumbents
• Global brands in Africa– Orange• Focus of presentation on entrepreneurial
organizations with international ambitions
Consolidation of Operators in African Markets
• Pyramid Research – November 2001
• True pan-African mobile operators have emerged
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
– MTN, Vodacom, MSI, Econet, Telecel?
• Multi-country presence implies defining a consistent brand identity across countries
Brand Development in Entrepreneurial Telecom Organizations
• Brand Strategy not robust and well defined at market entry
• Strategy tend to be limited to “providing a better service than incumbent ” and “pricing”
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
service than incumbent ” and “pricing”
• Tend to be inadequate in a three plus player market– “better service” and “pricing” tend to become industry
generic strategies, easily adopted by a third entrant
– Brand differentiation becomes blurred
Brand Development in Entrepreneurial Telecom Organizations
• Going abroad to new markets, there is usually a second entrant already staking a claim to “better service” and “pricing” positions.
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
positions.• Marketing communications become
generic– the consumer struggles to find “what is
different about you”– Commoditization and low industry
profitability
Competitive Positions and Strategic Options (Porter)
Differentiation
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
Low Cost
Broad Focus
Commoditisation- everyone competes in the same way
Differentiation
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
Low Cost
Broad Focus
Exploring Differentiation Opportunities-
A Robust Brand Identity (Aakers)
Brand
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
Brand asProduct
Brand asOrganization
Brand as Person
Brand as Symbol
Brand as Product
• Product Category– Mobile/ fixed
• Product Scope– Packages, VAS
• Product Attributes
• Users – Who are your users?
• Country of Origin– France and Orange in
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
• Product Attributes– Coverage, VAS
• Quality/Value– Perceived Quality*****
– Value for money
– France and Orange in Cameroun
– SA for MTN, Vodacom (headstart in Nigeria, Congo)
– From Africa, we know Africa and its needs
Brand as Organization• What organization attributes have you got
that your brand can leverage?– Culture, values and people– Innovation, trust and integrity– Customer champions
• Local or International
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
• Local or International• Very difficult to copy by competitors • Provide credibility to brand value
proposition• Drive internal alignment with brand values• Corporate brands and pay offs• Align PR Strategy with this part of Brand
Identity
Brand as Person• Brand is like a person.
– demographic and lifestyle descriptions
• Brand Personality can be created by– User imagery -“Vodacom Yebo”– may be different from actual user
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
– may be different from actual user profile
– Sponsorships- be consistent– Age in the market (keep your brand
forever young)
• Not personality for personality sake. – Create a personality with relevant
appeal
Brand as a Person
• Personality descriptors– Caring, energetic, upwardly
mobile, young, intelligent, funny
• Reflects the user’s ideal or actual personality concept
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
actual personality concept• What does it say about me?
• Forms an emotional relationship with consumer e.g friendly
• Weak telecom brands tend not to have a distinctive personality
Brand as Symbol• Visual imageries
– Graphics and colors (MTN’s yellow)– Logos– Brand Identity is greater than colors
• Metaphors– Mystiques associated with brand– Build positive mystique around your brand
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
– Build positive mystique around your brand– Create stories /allegories that support your brand uniqueness– Most African Telecom Brands lack “mystiques” and
“metaphors” • Mystiques can only come out of strong lifestyle associations
• Brand Heritage– Do you have a worthy pedigree?. Orange enters Africa with
significant brand power due to pedigree– Vodacom / MTN in African Countries
Brand Value Proposition• Distill brand identity into a clear brand value
proposition – unique and relevant functional /emotional benefits
• Strong telecom brands deliver more than functional benefits
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
functional benefits– they connect with consumer emotions by leveraging
the other three parts of the brand identity– From “Bundles of talktime to bundles of love”
• Self-expressive benefit– What does it say about me?– How does it make me feel?
Define a clear brand architecture
• Structure of roles and relationships among the brands, branded packages/ VAS
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
VAS
• A defined brand hierarchy is critical to optimal portfolio management and resource allocation
Define a clear brand architecture
• Driver brand(s), Endorsers and Sub-brands– Which network? Am I on the right network?
(Driver brand)– Which package? (Branded Package/ sub-
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
– Which package? (Branded Package/ sub-brand and endorsement) from driver brand)
– Which VAS? (Branded VAS endorsed by branded package/ sub brand or driver brand)
• Driver brand(s) should be given priority in resource allocation
Telecom Brand Leadership• A robust brand identity and clear
architecture• Lifestyle/ Emotional connections with
target markets• Perceived or Real quality means brand
leadership
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
leadership– Deliver quality as defined by subscribers and
communicate it
• Aspirational image• Innovation leadership and Perception• Align the organization behind the brand
– Deliver on your brand covenant/ promise
• Brand is more than products
Telecom Brand Leadership• A strong play in the mass market with
differentiation strategy and reasonable price premium
• 360” marketing, multiple media beyond advertising– Sponsorship, PR, Channel, Pricing
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
– Sponsorship, PR, Channel, Pricing
• Create a brand experience– Events– The Vodaworld– Cadbury theme park
• Brilliant Execution and consistency• Persistent investment• Measure brand equity (tracking)
Brand Asset Leverage across Africa
• Convergence and commonalities of market segments across Africa
• Lifestyle values cuts across countries– HNIs, youths, family, fun
• Emergence of cross-country media and spill
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
• Emergence of cross-country media and spill overs– Satellite Pay TV- Supersports, Channel O, TV Africa
• International travels and migrations in the continent
• International Events and Sponsorship Properties– African Cup of Nations
Leveraging Brand Assets across countries
• A consistent/ robust brand identity and positioning in all markets
• International view in developing brand campaigns (a common ad across Africa)
November 2002 Olu Akanmu GSM in Africa Conference
– Brand Strategy must be robust as to be relevant across borders
• International Brand Management Structures• Appoint endowed countries as centers of
excellence for experimentation and learning• Roll out learning
Conclusion
• A strong brand is critical to strong ROI and Shareholder Value
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Shareholder Value
• Build, build and build
• Thank you