Page 15 - Sphere No.19 (Jun 2007)

SPHERE 13
ONE STEP AHEAD
T HE 3 brand has a shared idea at its core
called the Natural Next Step.
“The idea is to always be one step
ahead and to bring customers with us one step
at a time,” explains 3 brand guru Keith Kirby.“For
example, bringing broadband media to the mobile
environment is a step on from the old world of 2G.
But for customers it’s critical that it feels natural. If
it doesn’t they won’t come. Even if in reality it is 10
times more complicated than the old technology,
for customers we must make it seem natural.
“The idea of the Natural Next Step should not
be mistaken for something 3 does once and sit back.
The Natural Next Step is relentless as we bring new
products and services to our customers.”
There are three components:
■ The first is to at least match the level of experi-
ence customers are used to in the market.
■ The second is to bring new and better experi-
ences that are fulfilling, liberating, relevant and im-
mediate, so people get what they want whenever,
wherever they want it because 3 aims to deliver
what’s important and real, now.
■ The third component is really the outcome of
the first two.“It is to set the standard, to continu-
ally raise the bar,” says Mr Kirby.“3 wants custom-
ers to say ‘Why didn’t anyone think of doing that
before’.We want competitors to say ‘You can’t do
that’ and our response to be, ‘We just did’. Our
brand is about being real, delivering what’s want-
ed, now, in a way that is human and emotional.”
have a videophone), appealing to prod-
uct and lifestyle aspirations simultane-
ously. The ads used real life situations to
compare 3 customers who enjoy all the
benefits of new technology with those
who have to do without. Building brand
awareness was the main thrust.
Then a “fathers and sons” format was
introduced, with the younger genera-
tion explaining to their parents all the
advantages of having a 3 phone. The fo-
cus was very much on the huge differ-
ence between the old (GSM) and new
(UMTS) generation of phones, with the
sons symbolising today’s state of the art
mobile communications.
As a variation on the theme, Italian
movie star Claudio Amendola then
appeared with his daughters, who ex-
plained the new world of 3 Italia prod-
ucts and services to their modern dad
who is open to new ideas.
To underscore the desirability of high
visibility and to strengthen the bond with
the youth market, another ad shows Par-
is Hilton riding on the back of a scooter
being driven through by Amendola.
There can be few people on the planet
with a higher media profile in that par-
ticular demographic than the American
hotel heiress.
As the market changes, so do the prod-
ucts as technology continues to break
down barriers at extraordinary speed.
The X-Series – described as a glimpse
into the future of telecom and a mo-
bile revolution unleashing the true
power of the Internet over the mobile
phone – is a classic example.
Hutchison made headlines around
the world last year by announcing a
landmark package of services that al-
Clockwise from facing
page: Television
commercials and
advertising posters
cover a diverse
range of creative
themes for 3
companies in
the UK, Australia,
Hong Kong and Italy.
lows people to communicate, find in-
formation and be entertained in ways
they have never been able to do before
using a mobile handset. The X-Series
provides mobile phones with a con-
stant broadband connection that lets
users to make unlimited calls using
Skype, access their own televisions and
personal computers from handsets and
use the best of Internet and messaging
services from Yahoo!, Windows Live
Messenger and Google.
The X-Series is being rolled
out market by market accom-
panied by advertising cam-
paigns extolling the virtues
of the landmark new product.
In Hong Kong, one of the most
sophisticated and penetrated mobile mar-
kets in the world, 3 takes the lead in mak-
ing the PC, TV and the Internet available