Cell C on Thursday refreshed its brand at a major launch event in Johannesburg aimed at signalling that the mobile operator remains a force to be reckoned with in South Africa’s telecommunications industry.
South Africa’s fourth largest mobile network provider by subscriber numbers, whose biggest shareholder is JSE-listed Blue Label Telecoms, took the wraps off a new logo, brand design, payoff line and audio mnemonic that it hopes will make consumers consider it as a top option when selecting a cellular service provider.
CEO Jorge Mendes, a former Vodacom executive who took the reins at the troubled mobile operator in 2023, said the brand refresh forms a key part of the turnaround plan being driven by the company’s leadership team.
“We want to build the best culture in the country, not only in the telco business but in any business,” Mendes declared at Thursday’s launch. “I believe we have the best strategy in the country in this space.”
Chief marketing officer Melanie Forbes conceded that Cell C has had “many rebrands” in the past. “But we’ve been absent from the market in recent years, and this has led to missed opportunities. We knew it was time to change, time for us to take back our place in the hearts and minds of South Africans.”
Forbes said the brand refresh follows extensive consultations with customers, partners and other stakeholders. “What was clear was that we were not visible enough [in the market] compared to our competitors. Cell C just did not have the requisite share of voice, and ultimately share of wallet.”
‘Consideration’
Cell C is well known by South Africans – the challenge was what Forbes called “consideration”, or having consumers consider the company as a serious option for their communications needs. She said the change is not simply “cosmetic”, but marks a “transformation” of the business, supported by its network partnership with MTN and Vodacom.
The company no longer operates its own radio access network (RAN) – the part of the network that serves consumers with the tower infrastructure – and now leans on its bigger rivals to provide RAN services. This is after it determined that competing in capital expenditure for network infrastructure had put it on a hiding to nothing, contributing to the huge debts that almost dragged it under.
“We knew to transform our brand we needed to significantly improve our network capabilities,” said Forbes. “We now have strategic partnerships in place that give us access to the best network infrastructure in the country,” said Forbes.
A series of recapitalisations, led by Blue Label Telecoms — which is in the throes of acquiring control of Cell C — has kept the company alive. Now the appointment last year of Mendes as CEO has infused a new energy into the company.
Of course, the proof will be in the pudding, and Blue Label’s annual financial results to 31 May 2024, which will be published on 29 August, should provide insight into whether the turnaround plan is gaining traction. — (c) 2024 NewsCentral Media
