The Wateen Case Study

The Challenge
For any organization, advertising represents the face of the company, its story and its communication with consumers. For a new organization, consumers do not have a perception about what the company represents and therefore do not have any brand equity. The challenge for Wateen was quite different when it was gearing for a re-launch in 2011. The company had a negative perception in the market and its communication had been entirely functional – based on pricing, similar to what its competitors were doing. The company was only known by most consumers for only being a WiMAX operator, which did not wholly represent that it had deployed the 2^nd largest fiber-optic network in the country, was a reseller for government and enterprise solutions, was a major player for selling long distance and international minutes and had a cable TV network in Lahore, Multan and Islamabad.
The Solution
Wateen adopted a ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ – clear sky thinking on thought leadership and leading the industry and the public in adopting technology to fulfill their needs for information, communication, education and entertainment. A new corporate identity with a new logo was developed. The new logo represents the concept of freedom – to break free from all boundaries. The colour green is the colour of saplings which represents freshness and inception of new ideas.
Key challenges for this relaunch campaign not only included improving the existing brand image of Wateen, atoning for the past experience and moving on with renewed faith in the company but also involved repositioning Wateen as a service provider that allows freedom of choice, ease of use and unlimited options to access the world.
Wateen initiated its relaunch with a pre-launch campaign – ‘Hello Again’. The purpose of ‘Hello Again’ was to represent a new start abreast with a promise of improved products and services by Wateen. This was also meant to subtly introduce the new corporate identity.
Once this preliminary phase was completed, the main launch of ‘Jo Chaho’ was set into motion.
‘Jo Chaho’ embodies all the multi-faceted dimensions the world of the internet has to offer. It represents the free will and opportunity provided to undertake any journey one desires. Thus, in turn denoting a profound expression of intellectual freedom that would not exist if it wasn’t for the internet. It transcends all geographical and psychological boundaries and is a muscle of empowerment accessible for everyone to flex. That is the ideology Wateen carries with its services. In a world demarcated with varied constraints and restrictions, Wateen brings to you a medium that breaks all the ties of bondage and unleashes you in a world of countless possibilities and experiences.
For the functional aspect of the campaign, ‘Jo Chaho’ represented the varied possibilities that are available through the array of services Wateen offers, ranging from the internet to telephony and multimedia.
The communication strategy was based on a two-phased campaign. The pre-launch incorporated a teaser campaign which was based on the launch of the new company image. This was followed by the main launch which introduced Wateen’s new positioning through a corporate thematic campaign through a TVC, print, outdoor, and revamping the company’s franchises and business centers. The company also revamped its corporate website which was fresh and simplistic in its navigation for consumers.The company also started its presence on the digital medium for the first time and has the fastest growing fan following on Facebook among broadband operators. These initiatives helped put a fresh face on Wateen, illustrating a new, mature start shouldered by seriousness in responsibility and delivery.
On-ground activation activities were undertaken, which included Freedom Booths that were part of freedom rallies organized in different cities by Wateen. These booths were set up to encourage freedom of expression, signifying the values of the company which uphold the rights of the people.  In order to raise the patriotic spirits of the country, another campaign Wateen Scouts, was also initiated. This was also aimed at the youngsters and ignited their fuel for bringing about a change. This tackled the challenge of Wateen not delivering anything new to the market and managed to cut across the youth segment of their target audience. Moreover, it allowed for the integration of the customers, making them not only feel part of Wateen but act as their representatives as well. Social mediums like Facebook and YouTube were also used for the promotion of the campaigns, allowing the company to expand their mode of communication.
Later, a non-branded video for a song was also shot to give ‘Jo Chaho’ a life of itself. Due to the growing popularity of the jingle, a music video has been created that goes beyond the corporate attachment and extends into a persona of its own. This was created as an ‘art-piece’ and embodies the positivity of achieving your dreams and potential by following your heart.
The Result
Wateen’s re-launch in 2011 didn’t just get the customers talking. It created a buzz among advertising pundits and peers alike. On 18 May 2012, Wateen took home the ‘best advertising campaign’ prize at the Annual PAS Awards in the Computer and Internet Service Providers category. Pakistan Advertisers Society is one of the very few organizations in Pakistan that not only acknowledge and encourage effective and efficient communication but reward it as well.
The biggest challenge perhaps was reestablishing Wateen as a dependable company pillared on quality and trust. In order to improve its services, Wateen relocated over 200 sites to areas of congestion and potential, as well as installing a caching solution to improve the browsing experience for customers. This led to Wateen being ranked the #1 wireless broadband service provider for quality of service and also winning the Consumer Choice Award for the best internet service provider.
After the re-launch, the gross sales were tripled which is testament to the success of the campaign. The advertisement recall nearly doubled after the launch as well, improving from 29{e1f18614b95d3cd6e4b3128e1cd15d99b042a60a5a19c19b7a8e07e7495efa10} to 53{e1f18614b95d3cd6e4b3128e1cd15d99b042a60a5a19c19b7a8e07e7495efa10}, with the TOM increasing from 24{e1f18614b95d3cd6e4b3128e1cd15d99b042a60a5a19c19b7a8e07e7495efa10} to 36{e1f18614b95d3cd6e4b3128e1cd15d99b042a60a5a19c19b7a8e07e7495efa10}. The campaign placed Wateen back on the digital map, reinstating confidence and loyalty in its customers.