Vodafone: can ‘kidults’ save a struggling brand?
I have to be honest, I don’t envy the marketing team at Vodafone charged with relaunching ‘the new Vodafone’.
The troubled telco has lost 1.5 million customers since 2011 and is now seeking to reintroduce itself to consumers with a new branded campaign built around a slogan ‘discover the new’ and a TV campaign in which the characters are all ‘kidults‘, a combination of adult human/baby.
Vodafone wants to reconnect with consumers however, the campaign is arguably flawed in that it doesn’t emphasise on the substantial investment Vodafone has made in improving its mobile coverage nor does it address the key issue facing the company: a lack of confidence / trust in the brand among consumers. (Anyone remember: Vodafail?)
Don’t get me wrong the ‘kidults’ are an interesting creative idea, attempting to connect consumers to their childhood wonderment, and were this a brand where consumers had positive memories (I’m thinking maybe a chocolate or ice cream brand) it could well work.
But that’s not the case here.
The 1.5 million people who left Vodafone didn’t just disappear. They moved to competitors and told their friends about their poor mobile coverage.
These people do not have fond memories of the brand rather they are the brand’s worst nightmare. More than 1.5 million consumer advocates actively telling their friends not to consider Vodafone for their mobile needs.
This TV campaign does not emphasise the positives: the steps Vodafone has taken to improved coverage, its mobile pricing or Australian call centers.
Rather, as Ogilvy’s Steve Black conceded, the campaign is about changing the conversation to start talking about Vodafone in a positive light. And that’s a challenging proposition when despite the investment in coverage, 500,000 people left in 2013, and Citigroup’s Justin Diddams predicts Vodafone will still lose 250,000 customers over the next six months.
Vodafone is confident the timing of this new campaign is right and that the network’s coverage is now in a position to meet customer expectations. “We have expanded our coverage by 40 per cent and we are not resting here so yes, the timing is right. We’ve relied not only on the science of our network capability but on feedback from our customers” said a Vodafone spokesman.
But the reality is that this message is going to take some time to sink in.
Vodafone clearly wants to stem the tide and the ‘kidults’ are an improvement on some of the “self deprecating” television ads of late. (Note to marketers: comparing yourself to a broken down Datsun might be funny but there is a difference between consumers laughing with you and at you).
As the Mumbrella comment thread noted at the time, the self deprecating ads might have acknowledged the problem and demonstrated that the brand could laugh at itself. But what it didn’t do is win back consumer confidence and trust.
This new ‘kidults’ campaign arguably doesn’t do that either, and while there are outdoor materials around 4G speeds and some of the coverage improvements, an outdoor campaign won’t be enough to rewire the view millions of consumers have of Vodafone.
It’s also worth noting that the telco faces an even a bigger challenge on the horizon, from Telstra and Optus, who will in 2015 have 700MHz frequency, allowing them to offer more superior mobile coverage, a point they’ll be keen to emphasise in their advertising.
In the end this campaign may win attention, and even awards for its creative, but I doubt it will do much to fundamentally change consumer perceptions around the brand.
Nic Christensen is deputy editor of Mumbrella
Just another example of Vodafail. I am loving being on Optus MyPlan.
User ID not verified.
beggars belief that these ‘strategies’ were approved
Vodafone is still in reputation repair mode which requires acknowledgement, redress, committment to flawless service and exceptional offers to entice people back
not laughing about how people couldnt rely on what many regard as an essential service, or making creepy baby ads
User ID not verified.
I took part in the campaign feedback before this hit the public and told them it did nothing to change my perception of their poor coverage. Not to mention the kids freak me out…..
User ID not verified.
Vodafone have seriously missed the mark here.
This new creative direction does nothing to address consumer concerns of the poor coverage and service they have had to endure over the past years. Even if they gave it away, I still wouldn’t join the Vodafone network.
User ID not verified.
Not sure who the Datsun ad was for, but made me glad I pay a few bucks a month more for Telstra.
Shame really, I’m an ex-Vodafone loyalist who was looking for a reason to come back.
User ID not verified.
I used to have Vodaphone when they had the best service around. It’s the reception that stinks. Everyone renews their plan and gets a phone thrown in for nothing. My daughter just did that with Optus because it was a great deal. Vodaphone need to put there money where their mouth is – offer a full refund if not satisfied!! At least customers can then try before they buy. That’s worth advertising.
User ID not verified.
I have been with Vodafone for about four years now, and I can honestly say I have never had a day’s problems with them. Perhaps I”m somehow one of the few lucky ones – VERY few by the sound of things – but their customer service has been first-rate and I can’t find any comparable plans for what I pay. I really hope they make it
User ID not verified.
yeesh, scarily close to sexualising very young girls
User ID not verified.
This is the weirdest ad on right now. It knocks the Holden one out of the park in terms of pure idiocy. Hell, it even gives “down down” a good run for it’s money.
User ID not verified.
Great ad….done originally by Sony for PlayStation!
User ID not verified.
Vodafone has tried to do what Inner Child did for Maccas, but to your point, noone has any fond memories of using the brand when they were young, so the execution has nothing to evoke in the audience – just situations in which they may or may not use their phones. So I’m just left with a slightly creepy image of babies in sequin dresses heading out on the lash.
User ID not verified.
I have put up with the disdain from Vodafones call centres and store staff. The lack of product and plan knowledge, the couldn’t care less attitude, lack of response from their CEO to a direct email, Bills that are hard to understand confusing web page etc since they bought out three. I had been with three for years, In February the last of my families mobile phones will be out of contract and that means the five mobile phones will be leaving them. The only way they will save the continued blood letting is if they up their network provision considerably so that I’m not always roaming when I leave the metro areas and offer the new iphone or Samsung galaxy s4 for no extra fee’s on a $30.00 dollar plan with at least $500.00 worth of calls, unlimited free calls within the network and 1gb of download. A shock marketing plan like this is what may save them not some these “creative fools” at the advertising agency getting them to sign off on a creepy ad using kids. Sack the marketing department and get the managers to “do a Bob Ansett” and go out to the public and see what would bring them back. The executives at Vodafone are fools who have been parted from their money with this advertising campaign. Get real fix your problems.
User ID not verified.
Nothing irks me more than “kidults”. Evian was the worst I’ve seen but this is pretty bad too. Let’s leave something to be sacred please
User ID not verified.
Telcos don’t centralise child-like characters for good reason, and this is the last thing in the world that should have made it to the table. I literally cannot believe this.
The greatest challenge for a child psychologically is that of Autonomy vs Shame. As the VF network continues to struggle to meet requirements, customers will only find their anger subconsciously fuelled by these Ads as they recall themselves symbolised as a ‘communicatively challenged’, juvenile, concrete-operational archetype.
Once again an unoriginal rip-off of someone else’s creativity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCaABBeRtUw) is forced through, with all common sense, planning competency and brand thinking somehow ignored completely.
Watch as creepiness turns to resentment turns to an even greater mass exodus.
User ID not verified.
I don’t normally comment on ads just because they’re woeful. But this one is also gob-smackingly socially irresponsible. Does anyone who helped make this stain have children? Extremely bad idea. Extremely bad taste. You were way ahead when you only had to apologise for terrible service and no coverage. Repulsive. Apologise to Australia and also to any tourists who happen to have the misfortune of accidentally stepping in it. Then grow a brain you morons
User ID not verified.
The ‘girls’ dancing make me think of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. Not in a good way.
User ID not verified.
I dont understand how they havent rebranded. Get a new name and a new logo and signify to customers that you have evolved to be something better and different. Their name is tainted now.
User ID not verified.
Spot on! Great article.
Who at Voda is so delusional on what consumers are actually thinking about – that they think this commercial is anywhere near what the brand needs?
User ID not verified.
This ad is sick. Vodafone marketing should be absolutely ashamed of themselves – anything that even has the slightest chance of making children “attractive” to the wrong part of our society should never be pursued but good ol Vodafone decide not have any standards on this. The ad is repulsive and in the worst taste possible.
User ID not verified.
I don’t believe changing the conversation would’ve been the best strategic play. Addressing the improved services, perhaps highlighting the ‘wider coverage’ or ‘better coverage’ would’ve made more of an impact with a positive reception.
User ID not verified.
Awfully similar insight to the O2 Be More Dog campaign. Just not as fun, or as funny. Where’s the half decent online for this? And why don’t the kidults feature in the outdoor or print?
User ID not verified.
Another woeful and disturbing ad. How do people get paid to produce this rubbish?
User ID not verified.