Cell C advertising now on the right track

The way in which it is advertising its data services is a perfect example of how products and brands should be advertised.

Cell C seems to have taken to heart the good old marketing fundamental of resisting everything that it wanted to say but rather concentrating on what South African consumers want to hear.

It's what we wanted to hear

And what SA consumers have been wanting to hear for a long time is someone actually promising to give them more affordable data packages. It is no secret that Internet access in this country has been frighteningly high and this has been an opportunity for someone like Cell C for years.

In a nutshell, what this all boils down to, is that whether you like Cell C or not, whether you think the Trevor Noah campaign was good or a complete and utter con - it really doesn't matter because when you can buy a gig of data for a third of the price of anyone else, you don't much give a toss where you get it from. As long as it connects and does the job.

Loyalty is lekker

Brand-building today is not about making service delivery promises. It is not about cute TV commercials that amuse audiences. It is not even just about trust, honesty and integrity either. It is about selling a product or service that will lead to customer loyalty. That is what is going to separate the brand men from the brand boys.

Consumers have become cynical. They are tired of being promised things by politicians and big business. They are tired of being told that companies "care" and then finding out that the only thing companies care about is the bottom line.

Come on, sport

And all because some big company sponsors their favourite team or sports stadium does not make them loyal. Frankly, they couldn't care less. Which is why so many companies are rethinking their sponsorship strategies to include more than just a name or a banner. Sponsorship today is very much based on interaction with customers.

It is going to be fascinating to see how things pan out for Cell C this time next year.

Did absolute wonders

Of course, it will argue that its Trevor Noah campaign did absolute wonders for the brand. But, I reckon that all the kudos should go to some brilliant data product advertising which has surely already started bringing new customers in to the Cell C fold in their droves.

I am one of the biggest cynics of all and I can't wait for my present data contract to end so that I can switch across to Cell C as well. Hopefully, they will continue to produce the goods and ensure that their data products are technically as good as they say they are.