Three Uk Branding........

[Bleubean]

.......is it working? Personally I dont get the branding of Three at all. I dont really see what weird creatures mutilating each other has to do with 3G? Maybe thats the point, so people think "whats that about?!"

I actually prefered the adverts where there was some random person on their video phone talking to another person! That to me showed the full capabilites of Three and what first caught my eye! I think Three should go back to showing what exactly 3G can do! Not what a panda can do to a Eel!

If you were incharge of Three's branding what exactly would you to do make it more attractive etc?

[Ben]

Now there's a question!

Ok, first off - I think some of Three's branding is working (I like the Cherry ad... gives a positive image of the company to me, but doesn't tell me a lot about them). I think the cartoony ads look rather cheap, but probably work with a younger audience. Whether any company should target mobile video phones at children is, in my opinion, another kettle of fish altogether.

If I was in charge then I'd probably want to make a mini-series of adverts to showcase Three's online services. If there really are real world uses for half of the stuff they've got on the triangle key, then I want to see them. I want to think "Oh yeah, that'd be really useful!" While clever branding like the 'Cherry' advert are nice for giving off the whole brand, 3G is just so new that they need to get right in there and convince the general public that the time has come to embrace a new way of using mobiles.

There are probably far better, cleverer ways - but off the top of my head that's what I'd like to see. The adverts would still have to be interesting, of course, and funny/witty/clever.

[Bleubean]

Yeah, agreed Ben. I would like to see a more "Vodafone" type advert whereby someone is out with their phone and they get a videocall from a loved one... bla bla bla and so on! It'd be good to show how fun video services can be! After all the public arnt going to work out what these 3G handsets do by a fluffy little pand doing kong fu LOL.

As you said, Three seem to be aiming their products at kids for the time being. I wonder if this is a direct attempt to capture the kiddie market who quite high spenders, before switching to the adult market with a more grown up advert campaign?!

My favourite advertsing technique of all the networks is O2's. Who ever is in charge of the branding there needs an award lol I think its eye catching and as soon as you hear the music from the ad you instantly know who it is...

[miffed]

Marketing has become a bit like modern art , where no-one involved has the bottle to say "this is crap" through fear of being the only person in the room not to "get it"
I think the MAJOR card that Three have (or had) was the cheap calls thing , although now all the others have all but caught up (OK so not totally , but a lot closer than they were )

Why the hell they didn't make a bigger deal out of this I'll never understand !

[Hands0n]

I think I'd get something started with Videocalls/Videomessaging along the lines of that famous coffee ad series that ran for years and years (damned if I can recall the name of the coffee at this late time of night!). Perhaps they keep passing like ships in the night, and so keep in touch with Video shorts to eachother.

I also think that the jokey Italian videocall ad is superb - the one where the fat bird is showing her body off to her new lover - except that its a cardboard cut-out of the bod that she's standing behind. Even in Italian (which I don't speak) it is very funny and sticks in the mind.

[3g-g]

3's animated panda adverts do annoy me, I really do struggle to see the point. The cherry advert I can cope with, but I think it's the song I like more than what it's trying to inform me of... however, if you listen to the words it makes even less sense. "If you leave me know, you take a little.." are 3 subliminaly trying to get customers to stop leaving and heading back to the other 4? Are they trying to make you feel bad because a smiley cherry lost it's life? Hmm.

Saying all that, If I recall correctly, when Orange first launched it was a baby swimming underwater. Now I suppose that could of been a birthing pool, and Orange being the youngest network had just been born. I dunno, I just want an advert to be entertaining and make me laugh. Like on here.

[Jon3G]

Personally I think the adverts are aimed at Kids. Again I dont think Vid calling is good for children for obvious reasons, but that is upto the parents.