MindShare gives CWHKT a ticket to ride

<p>Hongkong Telecom has always been a well-respected and powerful </p><p>brand in Hong Kong in its own right. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Cable & Wireless, custodians of the business from afar, had increasingly </p><p>become involved in the running of Hongkong Telecom as market forces saw </p><p>a need for greater international application. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This, alongside increased global brand positioning by Cable & Wireless, </p><p>saw the need to rebrand Hongkong Telecom as Cable & Wireless HKT </p><p>(CWHKT). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The requirement was simple: to deliver a wide-reaching, highly visible </p><p>and word-of-mouth oriented campaign that would steal the limelight from </p><p>the competition. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Last year saw other mobile providers using familiar media, especially </p><p>TV, as a battleground of attrition, while Hongkong Telecom had </p><p>deliberately avoided using TV to avoid the squabbles and </p><p>product-knocking which its rivals indulged in. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The marketing platform, therefore, was to offer CWHKT a position of </p><p>strength and to gain public recognition. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, no brief had been issued and no discussions between the </p><p>creative and media teams regarding the rebranding had been held at this </p><p>stage, so what evolved came solely from MindShare. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>'Mobility' was the theme to underscore the most commonly recognised of </p><p>the three core offerings of CWHKT: mobile services, fixed line and </p><p>interactive multimedia services (IMS). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The key was to 'own' a medium, use it creatively for the first time and </p><p>to create empathy and relevancy with the consumer. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Following protracted and extensive negotiations with the Mass Transit </p><p>Railway (MTR), MindShare put together a unique package including painted </p><p>trains and platform pillars. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Simplicity and strong use of colour were vital for the creative </p><p>execution to convey CWHKT's new logo, while offering a direct visual </p><p>link to the already-established and well-recognised mobile brands (1010, </p><p>One2Free). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Six trains, each carrying a different brand/visual message, plus </p><p>platform pillars at each of four key stations and regular posting was </p><p>agreed. The campaign ran for three months. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The eye-catching, impactful and newsworthy campaign generated </p><p>significant PR; while word-of-mouth and consumer feedback was </p><p>substantial. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Hongkong Telecom had been the first provider to offer consumers </p><p>MTR-usable mobile services - thus, utilising the MTR again and being </p><p>seen as having been first yet again (continually innovating) was the </p><p>result. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>* This ongoing National Geographic Showcase series features selected </p><p>material from winners and other entries in the Best Use of Media </p><p>category in MEDIA's Agency of the Year Awards 1999. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>