Telstra cuts media costs in numbers game campaign

<p>SYDNEY: Australia's dominant telecommunications player, Telstra, </p><p>has moved to trim its media expenses with the launch of a new integrated </p><p>campaign which, for the first time, addresses all business units. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Abandoning its long-running "Making Life Easier" campaign, Telstra has </p><p>launched a new strategy built around a creative use of numbers. Called </p><p>the "Consumer Segment" campaign, the concept was 15 months in </p><p>development and is scheduled to run for at least the next year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It is ambitiously targeted towards all of Australia's demographics and </p><p>geographies within Telstra's consumer market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The concept will be rolled out through all media with tailored </p><p>executions for each of Telstra's customer business units, including </p><p>Telstra On Air, Country Wide, Telstra shops and retail. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"It is the first time Telstra has implemented an across-company campaign </p><p>with this level of consistency of theme in all business units," Telstra </p><p>director consumer marketing Simon Froude said. He added that the </p><p>extensive scope of the campaign and its duration were budgeted to </p><p>produce "some efficiencies and hence savings". Early executions include </p><p>a TVC showing Telstra's numbers at a training camp, while another TVC </p><p>depicts a Telstra Shop staffer showing a customer how to make his </p><p>numbers work for him. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The numbers themselves have been imbued with certain strengths - such as </p><p>leadership for number one and sophistication for number eight - which </p><p>will develop over the life of the campaign. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Existing campaigns such as the mobile TVCs featuring singer John Farnham </p><p>and manager Glenn Wheatley will also be integrated into the new </p><p>concept. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, Telstra has also been forging new alliances on its business </p><p>front, recently securing the right to broadcast AFL on the internet in a </p><p>deal which reportedly cost A$30 million (US$14.7 million). </p><p>The five-year contract enables Telstra to broadcast AFL visual, audio </p><p>and text through the internet and its mobile phone service. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>