Tequila will manage O2’s through-the-line communications, working alongside other roster agencies which include Starcom on media planning and buying, and Upstream Asia for PR.
According to sources, the BT-owned company is planning to ramp up its communications strategies alongside the rollout of several new products — including the Xda Flame — in a bid to counter the increased competition from its chief rival, BlackBerry. “As more players enter the industry, there is a need to reach an even wider audience to win share from the traditional phone and converged device markets,” said Mark Billington, CEO, O2, Asia-Pacific and Middle East.
The review, which began in early March, follows the appointment of Sanjay Sabnani, Asia-Pacific VP of marketing and branding, in January this year, replacing veteran Pei Wen Wong, who had been with the company for six years (Media, 2 June, 2006).
Sabnani noted that the challenge would be positioning O2 as a brand clearly differentiated from BlackBerry. “Ours is more than just a business device — although it has all the features required for business, it also has entertainment at its core,” he said.
Sabnani declined to reveal when the first work was expected to break.