MindShare gives CWHKT a ticket to ride

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

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