SHANGHAI: Alcatel is positioning its new OT511 mobile phone in
China as a combined entertainment centre and communications tool in a
television-led campaign, which launches in early October.
The company, which is hoping to capture up to 10 per cent of the China
market within five years, will highlight its strengths by showcasing
lifestyle features in addition to technological and business
applications. These include the fact that the OT511 model has enhanced
messaging services (EMS) for audio and visual-enabled short messaging
capabilities and games.
The TVC views life through the eyes of a young man who observes that
injecting creativity into an ever-changing life can make those
inevitable changes fun. In the campaign, the talent morphs into
different roles to escape the more mundane aspects of life. He finally
finds creativity, enlightenment and satisfaction with his OT511
phone.
The campaign was developed by Arnold Worldwide Partners.
The agency's Shanghai office built the advertising strategy around the
tagline, "Everything is changing. Why not? Alcatel. It's time."
Emilia Wong, marketing director of Alcatel for China and Hong Kong,
said: "The agency's proposal strategy focuses on change.The campaign
aims to attract the youth market up to and including 30-year olds and
stresses the creation of an individual personality and style.
"The OT511 is an affordable rather than a high-end product and our
advertising concentrates on image and brand consciousness rather than
just presenting another technical development."
This is the first time that Alcatel has focused on the lifestyle
aspirations of its target market; past campaigns focused on
functionality. This shift, however, required a new executional
strategy.
"We are talking about communicating to the so-called Generation Yellow
group of people - the young, the mobile and the stylish. That's why we
went for a more mysterious style with MTV-type imagery," said Kitty Lun,
director of brand architecture at Arnold Asia-Pacific.
An MTV director was called in to oversee the production of the TVC.
The campaign, Lun said, was targeted at the Generation Yellow markets in
China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
- Additional reporting by Alfred Hille.
