VimpelCom to Change Color
VimpelCom has officially confirmed yesterday it is going through re-branding. Renewed Bee Line trademark will appear in Russia on April 4. The experts say such move of Russian cellular leader is in line with the new stage of mobile market establishment, calling for new market solutions.
Having declined to elaborate, VimpelCom has confirmed it will have a new slogan and drop GSM from its name. Kommersant learnt VimpelCom may swap the blue rectangle of the SIM-card with ‘Bee Line GSM’ writing for a round logo with parallel black and yellow or black and orange strips. The new slogan will sound somewhat like “Always with you.” According to VimpelCom briefer Yulia Ostroukhova, today’s target is to make the brand brighter, lighter, more efficient, to win user’s emotional affection for the product and services of the company.
New promotion concept of VimpelCom has been elaborated by BBDO ad group and Wolff Olins brander, members of Omnicom holding. Though VimpelCom declines to specify the cost of services, the experts estimate it at between $100,000 and $150,000.
At VimpelCom, they are sure all changes will match the marketing budget, which equals around 3 percent of operating revenues. The revenues stood at $1.5 billion at close of the first nine months of the past year. The experts forecast around $3 billion by this year’s result, predicting higher sales for the company. In view of the above, promotion and marketing campaign of the new brand may cost around $100 million.
The costs would have been much higher, if VimpelCom had carried out complete re-branding, for instance, preferred mosquito to the bee, as it will mean launching a new brand from zero, said Marina Malykhina, general director at Magram Market Research. Changes in the appearance could be promoted under the current ad budget, as the extent of brand recognition by the population has survived. It may even grow fueled by the surge in the media’s coverage of the process, Malykhina said.
Telecom market players are apprehensive when asked about VimpelCom’s re-branding. “It is an extremely crucial step, as it crosses out all previous investments made in the image, relations with the clients,” Pavel Nefedov, PR manager at MTS, told Kommersant. However, the marketing experts are more optimistic, saying VimpelCom actions are in line with the market movement and will bring fruitful results in the middle term. “Cellular market’s future is with introducing high-tech services and differentiated approach to separate clients and groups of users,” Vladimir Tsvetkov, an expert with Russian Marketing Association, pointed out. MegaFon is targeted at the first component, when building its brand, MTS eyes the second. Bee Line used to place its stake on the simplicity and accessibility of cellular services, which is becoming less advantageous along with the market acceleration.
The effect from VimpelCom re-branding is expected in four or five years. “The competitors may copy tariff plan, type of services and idea of an ad videoclip in no time, but there is no way to copy re-branding,” Dmitry Sitnikov, marketing director at Lebedyansky holding said. “In the middle-term (four or five years), it will be a sizable competitive advantage.”
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 18, 2005
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