Vodafone has announced a significant evolution of its brand positioning strategy, strapline and visual identity worldwide – the first changes to one of the world’s best-known brands since the introduction of the Power to you strapline in 2009.
The strategy – to be implemented across 36 countries including New Zealand – is designed to underline Vodafone’s belief that new technologies and digital services will play a positive role in transforming society and enhancing individual quality of life over the years ahead.
The strategy will coincide with the release globally of a new television commercial, Hello, the NZ version of which will appear across television and digital media from today (Friday 6 October).
Vodafone NZ consumer director Matt Williams said the brand positioning strategy focuses on the theme of optimism about the future.
“Technology is changing the way people connect, and that is exciting, but there is also a lot of uncertainty about what technology will change in the future,” he said.
“We firmly believe there are many good reasons to be optimistic about the future – with emerging innovations in science and technology already having a profoundly positive impact on society. Our focus now is really about ensuring all our customers are ready to step forward with us and make the most of what is coming,” Matt said.
Concept testing in 17 countries
The brand positioning strategy and related advertising campaigns were developed after a period of extensive research and concept testing, including quantitative and qualitative inputs from nearly 30,000 people in 17 countries.
Vodafone’s new visual identity will place much greater emphasis on Vodafone’s iconic speech-mark logo in the biggest change to one of the most recognisable symbols of Vodafone since the ‘speech mark’ logo was created in 1998. The speech mark will now appear as the central graphical focus overlaid on all marketing and marketing communications activity. The logo will also appear in a new 2D design.
Grounds for optimism
Vodafone commissioned opinion research among 13,000 people in 14 countries (including NZ) to assess the extent to which the public are optimistic – or pessimistic – about their future prospects. The research conducted by YouGov found that:
- people of all ages believe that technology innovation will have the most positive influence on the future over the next 20 years;
- 18-24 year olds are the most optimistic about the future: 62% of younger people surveyed believe that living standards will be better in 20 years’ time compared with today; and
- respondents overall in all age groups, believe that their own living standards, and those of children, will have improved 20 years from now.
- Vodafone also commissioned the Futerra consultancy (www.wearefuterra.com) to identify 10 of the top emerging trends that could transform home and working life. Technological developments identified by leading futurologists from five countries included:
- 3D printed components for housing construction, with 4D printed components that evolve over time as families’ accommodation requirements change;
- a five-fold increase in global power generation capacity as clean energy such as solar panels are extended from rooftops to windows, walls and even some highways;
- personalised medical interventions such as 3D bio-printing of organs and limbs;
- new public transportation systems connecting cities with trains running at up to 600mph (966kph);
- large-scale water capture projects, including precipitation harvesting, groundwater replenishment and improved desalination, transforming the lives of 1.2 billion people in water-constrained areas; and
- a tripling of connected sensor usage in farming leading to increased food yields coupled with the development of new protein sources that increasingly displace meat.
The YouGov research was conducted online between 18-25 September. A total of 12,766 people aged 18-55+ participated across Australia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, and the UK.
CREDITS
NZ Agencies: FCB & True
Campaign Agency: Santo London
Created by: Orlando Hooper-Greenhill, Tom Evans, Olly Courtney
Production Company: RSA Films London
Director: Caspar Balslev
Vodafone NZ PR: Alice Paine
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