Telenor seeks to profit from youth activism
While the company began rebranding its “Djuice” product four months ago – well before revolutions broke out in Egypt and Tunisia – its tagline seems set to benefit from an aversion to silent suffering. Djuice is now going to be accompanied by the slogan “Khamoshi ka boycott (boycott silence)” instead of “it’s fun to be young.”
Telenor, however, did not mention the revolution in Egypt or the political turmoil in the Middle East at any point during the launch event here on Saturday. The management insists that the rebranding was simply a means of keeping the brand fresh.
The event for the rebranding effort resembled a youth rally more than a product launch. Besides journalists covering the event, there were several university students who were provided a forum to speak out on a variety of social, political and economic issues.
Instead of a marketing executive, the proceedings were hosted by a motivational speaker, though the company’s chief marketing officer did address the audience.
The company then showcased its new advertisements which will be airing on television in the coming weeks. One depicted a student screaming in frustration at the sight of his classmates cheating in an exam and the apathetic indifference of the teacher supervising them. Another depicted yet another young man screaming out after a well-connected young man gets a job for which he is not qualified. Each of the young men is then seen confronting those in authority, via text message or a phone call, and asking them why they allowed injustice to occur on their watch.
“We spoke a lot to our youth and found out that they don’t just want fun and frolic,” said Aamir Ibrahim, the company’s chief marketing officer in an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune. “They want to do more because the youth over here is frustrated and worried about their future. They want to scream out. And this ‘Khamoshi ka boycott’ is all about that screaming out.”
It remains unclear as to whether or not the campaign will actually help Telenor increase its revenues. Even though the company has seen the fastest growth in subscriber base, crossing 25 million users, its average revenue per user (ARPU) – a key measure of profitability – has stagnated over the past few years. Nevertheless, the company turned a profit in the country for the first time in fiscal year 2010.
Telenor Pakistan is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norwegian telecommunications giant, Telenor, which is the seventh largest mobile telecommunications company in the world by subscribers.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th, 2011.
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