Everyone knows Facebook is popular, and every marketer worth their name seems wanting to piggyback on it. And why not, there is nothing wrong with that! So you have Facebook Pages, Facebook Campaigns, Facebook Apps, Facebook Plugins and what not! But this one seems to have stretched things a bit further. A phone designed for Facebook!
"Vodafone Blue" may well be the next biggest innovation in mobile internet, which was waiting to happen, that no one thought about earlier. It could as well be the dud that thought that the Facebook plank was enough to attract some elusive customers. Though I have my views on the relevance of the product, I will hold them for now, as it goes beyond the realm of this blog. My views are restricted to the TV commercial, and how much it is in coherence with the stated marketing mix.
What is "Vodafone Blue"? It is an entry level Alcatel mobile phone with shortcut hardware keys specific to Facebook features (‘like’ key, for example), that comes packaged with a year-long unlimited 2G connection to Facebook, at a sub-Rs 5K price. It is targeted at yougsters in the non-metro (tier-2 & tier-3) cities.
Let us forget for a moment that I mentioned any of that, and now have a look at the Ad.
Not once during the initial 120 seconds (yes, 2 long minutes!) did it feel to be an Ad for anything other than Facebook itself. One could debate that the Ad attempts to show an enhanced Facebook experience that one could savour through hardware integration of Facebook features on a phone. But if this was the case, I think it’s a miserably failed attempt. Nowhere does the viewer get the message that there is some other additional device that is ‘enhancing’ the Facebook experience; it sounds like a listing of Facebook features and nothing more. Moreover, the initial 25-30 seconds are dedicated to Farmville, when the product does not even support social gaming!
Perhaps it would have helped to show the protagonist holding a handheld device, at least at the start, to hint at the source of the enhancement, but would that not have been tantamount to saying the phone supports all highlighted features, when it obviously doesn’t.
When the suspense is finally unraveled in the last 10 seconds of the Ad, “Love Facebook? We’ve got a Phone for you”, it leaves the viewer with a lot more questions than answers. Raising curiosity or giving germ to skepticism, you decide.
The theatrical broadway music and the fast moving act separate the Ad from the clutter, no doubt. And the ‘cool’ “join the club dad” image may have many youngsters aspiring to associate with it. However, the musical, which is the saving grace, becomes a bane if you consider the target segment. The act just seems too long, too theatrical and too English,and hence too alien and elitist for common youth from non-metros to associate with.
Verdict: Hummable Ad. But that is where it ends. Weak on message and weak on addressing the target segment.
On a lighter note, if Facebook were to buy out the rights for this Ad, it would make an excellent TVC with very minor modifications (like deleting the last 10 seconds).
P.S.: Only recently has Vodafone started to answer some of these questions - the price, the year-long 2G connection et al, in the shorter versions of this Ad.
8 comments:
Will leave a comment for this on facebook. Wait looking for my Vodafone Blue...
Loved the act in the ad, but had the impression that the phone may be quite expensive (more than 5K you mention.) Are they misleading people?
Imagine Motorola planning such a phone..;) lol
Anyway the ad is just too long and i was really not too bothered at the end of it to check what it was all about..
It just didnt click.. or maybe its just me..:)
Also, i really would love to see how many of these pieces they will actually sell.. I wouldnt bet my money on this product.. I will make sure i will remember this and in an years time frame check out its sales..:)
By the way this is not the first time, if i remember Aircel had done a similar gimmick of attaching to FB couple of years back..
On a lighter note, FB really doesnt need to buy the rights.. There are many who would do it for free for them..:)
The first few times when I watched this on MTV, I thought it was a brand new song by itself! And later on I was like, "Oh no, this is not gonna end soon"! And I too did no care much about what exactly it was meant for...
In this era of smart phones and tabs, I doubt of such a dedicated phone for FB being a hit in the market.
Recently there was a survey conducted at my office to know the usage model of mobiles/smart phones w r t guys and gals... Almost 98% of gals preferred a phone that provides everything under one umbrella... while guys preferred it all seperate.
Looking at the cost, it isn't v far from a decent 2g smart phone (~8k)which can offer more!
@Divya Pavoor, I share your opinion. The price seems fine, but the act gives it an air of richness that is in contrast with its positioning.
Misleading people? Probably not worth the risk; because deliberately confusing people could be disastrous. The product, the price and places it is sold would keep the rich away, and the promoted air of richness could keep away the entry levels. I feel it is a case of incoherence.
@dilip, I agree the sales for these phones will be an interesting statistic to follow. I am as curious, and neither will I bet my money on this. :-)
On linking with FB, there is an Airtel ad too, 'Kanthilal Godbole'. This one shows the speeds with which you can locate people on FB. Quite hilarious! But it is more reasonable, in my opinion, that someone says your FB experience is faster on Airtel 3G. Voda on the other hand seems to be saying 'buy Voda, because FB has these features'.
Totally agree with you on the 'rights' comment. In fact this Ad does more good to FB than to Vodaphone/Alcatel, I suppose. And I wouldn't be surprised if FB charged them for the co-branding of this phone.
@Divya AL, I was on a music channel too and same was my reaction. Only when I heard "He is always on Facebook", I got curious. :-)
Interesting statistic on gender determining user behaviour. Can you please share any more info from the survey? Was this done by any marketing agency?
@Sagar: yep... Not sure who conducted the survey. But the purpose was to get to knw the usage model amongst ppl in age group 18 - 30yrs.
Gals preferred a phone that would offer as many features as possible - a decent cam, dual sim, music, mobile tracker, stylish looks in colors like pink and purple, maps, auto detection of mobile (if you've forgotten it somehwere and its in silent mode),,internet, wap services etc etc... all this in a price range of 8k-10k
:)))
While for guys, they were more technically glued - like android xyz version and so and so hardware. All they cared for was the performance. (esp faster internet access)And interestingly most of them voted for blackberry even over iphone! :P
Intel's trying to venture into smartphone business, battling between android and meeGo! :)
Looks like they will go with android - http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9220014/Intel_hopes_for_smartphone_breakthrough_with_Google
@Divya AL, very interesting info. Thank you.
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