Etisalat dominates 2010 Effies!

Etisalat Lanka Ltd. dominated the recently concluded Effies ’10 awards by becoming the overall winner across all categories, while winning three separate awards in the telco category.

The ‘Blackberry for Everyone’ campaign, ‘The Big Bang Theory’ campaign and ‘Two Friends’ campaign managed to win two silver awards and one bronze award, respectively.     

The jubilant Etisalat CEO Dumindra Ratnayaka, sharing the secret formula for the company’s success, said: “Launching Etisalat in Sri Lanka was a tremendous challenge, despite it being a strong global brand, due to the heavy competition that exists in the mobile service industry of Sri Lanka.

Knowing very well the tricky journey we had to negotiate, Etisalat took calculated risks and executed a well-planned, holistic 360 degree communications strategy to arrest the challenges that lay ahead of us to become a force to reckon with in the highly competitive mobile services market of Sri Lanka.”

According to Ratnayaka, the collective efforts had paid-off in winning the prestigious awards at the Effies.

The ‘Blackberry for Everyone’ campaign secured a silver award at the Effies. A campaign that was all about achieving a significant perception shift about ‘Blackberry’ that was considered as a dreary communication gadget of the CEO.

The breakthrough was that Etisalat positioned the Blackberry to be ‘more than just an office device,’ but rather a device that entertained, built relationships, a boredom buster, a social media tool, a means of broadcasting yourself to the world... in short it was communicated as a means to enjoying the best bits of life a device which is accessible to the solemn executive as well as the ebullient youngster.

The ‘Big Bang Theory’ campaign was solely about re-launching Tigo under the giant international brand name Etisalat, which had to undergo a re-launch twice within a three-year period. This placed a heavy load on the communication discipline of the organisation.

The forceful marketing communications of Etisalat not only managed to achieve this within a very short period of time, but also ensured that it won a Silver award at the Effies this year for the campaign.

The communications campaign was so dynamic that it managed to achieve a 4.7 ranking (out of five) for spontaneous visual recognition of Etisalat brand.

Senior Manger Brand Marketing Sunjeewa Perera, commenting on their overall communications strategy, said, “Etisalat not only had to reposition the brand as a sophisticated, ambitious, international and tech savvy one, but also had to reinvent it for the second time in just less than three years. It was not only a change in its brand signage but also to rise above and appeal to a sophisticated consumer amidst the noise and clutter of a very aggressive competitive environment.”

Perera added: “The communication objectives were meticulously planned with the assistance of renowned marketing communications, advertising and research agencies in Sri Lanka and appreciated them for the yeoman support extended by them in elevating Etisalat to its current position.”

Etisalat also won a bronze award for its ‘Two Friends’ campaign, a campaign that communicated a new product, where a consumer collects his previous month’s calling minutes, which is collected and carried forward to the next month, enabling him to call two nominated Etisalat numbers of his choice free – Another innovation in product and services which has not been offered by any other network in the market.

Encouraged by the recognition and success at Effies, Etisalat is now geared to cater to its discerning customers with more value additions through next generation mobile solutions, creating value for stakeholders and ensuring industry stability while keeping in mind the long term interest of the end user.