Ufone Super Internet but not so super creative strategy
BY ALI NAQVI –
Telecom sector is hard selling daily, weekly and monthly packages. Ufone Super Internet campaign, coinciding ICC World Cup 2019, has nothing special to appeal to the consumers. The package itself is standard and routine.
If we look at the telecom industry, all companies are busy dishing out call, SMS and internet packages. None of them, including Ufone, has an effective communication strategy to back them up. Ufone Super Internet campaign has produced a couple of short snippets. Make every cricket update your status update is the idea that invites the audience to dial *220# to subscribe the package. The one featuring the girl is too obvious and the other one with the man asking for the internet password makes little sense.
The snippets do not specify the package details except the subscription string. Important information like data volume, subscription charges and package validity are not mentioned.
The connection of the campaign with the cricket world cup is not seamless either. The way the idea is associated with the world cup is superfluous and tasteless. JWT-Grey is the creative agency of Ufone for the last couple of years. During this time the Ufone creatives have suffered a great deal. There has been a dearth of genuine ideas. JWT-Grey has failed to produce even a single creative ad for Ufone.
JWT-Pakistan, now JWT-Grey, has developed of late a reputation of destroying the business of brands. The closure of JWT-Lahore office in December 2018 is an example where clients were terminated unceremoniously without notice. JWT-Grey’s handling of Ufone is badly affecting the image of the brand.
The campaigns developed by Ahsan Rahim and Faisal Qureshi were the finest campaigns in the advertising history of Pakistan. The ideas were developed into attention grabbing situations that creatively communicated the core message of the campaigns.
Ufone needs to refuel its marketing team and restructure its creative strategy to make effective communications.
