You saw the bubbly new logo and the yellow, round mascot thing. But here are the details behind Optus' ambitious new rebrand and it's all about the customer. No, really.
Yesterday, Optus revealed its new look – decidedly less corporate and more laid-back. But, as head of brand Nathan Rosenberg stressed, it's not just a new logo and a nice creative campaign, it's a entire brand experience.
“It's a journey we've been on for the past year, a lot of soul-searching. For us, it's about becoming the brand customers want us to be. The customer experience is at the heart of our business,” he said.
The 'new Optus' drew on the original Optus, the focus on 'yes'. “It's one of those words we seemed to be not as passionate about over time. We haven't been the brand customers wanted us to be. Their world changed rapidly but we didn't change as fast. But 'yes' is back to being the core of what we do,” added Rosenberg.
The animals are indeed gone and Rosenberg gave them a fitting farewell. He said: “The animals have left the building. They've had a nice, pastoral outcome and we thank them for their years of service but it was getting tired.”
In their place is 'Ollie', the round, yellow mascot unveiled yesterday. But Ollie is a temporary name and Optus will ask customers to come up with a permanent one.
The changes will be conveyed to existing and potential customers through a wide-scale campaign which will include main media spend as well as a heap of online components. It has already started to roll out and will continue to do so over the next six to eight weeks.
The campaign elements will feature a more 'fun' tone than previously. Examples included creative with copy such as 'May the 4G be with you' and 'Shane, Warning', the latter referring to customer alerts around usage tracking.
But if you're talking about a new game, you have to back it up with actual service and product. This is where the new plans come in. At the centrepiece of the new plans is what Optus hoped would be a solution to 'bill shock'.
For example, a customer on a $60 plan who goes over their data allowance by less than one gigabyte will only be charged an extra $10 for the month instead of $250. Same goes for going over voice allowances. This will be available to both new and existing customers.
Optus managing director of customer Vicki Brady said the plans are about responding to customer feedback and simplifying processes and language, such as changing voice allowances from 'value' to 'minutes'.
Brady added the company has been focused on improving customer service over the past 12 months.
Optus' new positioning was developed by M&C Saatchi's brand consultancy, Re.
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.
Have something to say? Send us your comments using the form below or contact the writer at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.