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| Branding |
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| Zain:
Rebranding For Better Services
- By
ROMMY IMAH |
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eight years ago, in 2000 to be precise, a group of institutional
and private investors as well as three state governments namely
Akwa Ibom, Delta and Lagos came together and established a
company that was later to become Econet Wireless Nigeria;
an aftermath of the deregulation exercise in the telecommunications
sector carried out by the Nigerian government.
This company was to pioneer the commercial Global System for
Mobile (GSM) communications service on August 5, 2001, following
a historic launch in Lagos. Until 2004, Econet Wireless was
the second leading GSM operator in Nigeria coming behind South
African owned MTN.
However, in 2004, following a shareholder dispute that stunted
its growth, an offer by another South African based operator,
Vodacom SA was accepted by the board of the Strive Masiyiwa-led
mobile operator. This romance was however, short-lived and
the search for another suitor seemed to have begun.
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But in what looked like
a sharp reaction to the unprofessional manner with which
Vodacom pulled out of the deal, and in a bid to prove
its readiness to continue playing in the Nigerian telecoms
market, what in a short stint traded as Vodacom was to
become Vmobile Nigeria promoted |
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by Vee Networks Limited. Nigerians thought it was going to
be the last time the 'Preferred Network' would be rebranding.
This was not to be after all.
On April 16, 2006, Celtel, owned by Sudanese-born millionaire
investor, Mo Ibrahim made a conditional offer for Vmobile.
In May 2006, it succeeded in acquiring Vmobile in a massive
US$1.005 billion deal, holding a 65% controlling equity. And
so, it was nunc dimitis for the 'it's all about you' network.
Originally known as MSI Cellular Investments, the company
began operations in 1998. In January 2004, the name was changed
to Celtel International.
In April 2005, the company was acquired by and became a subsidiary
of the Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC). Celtel operated
in over 15 countries in Africa with over $750 million in investments.
In its first two years of doing business in the country, Celtel
Nigeria attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of about
$3.5billion, which started with an equity injection of $1.5billion
in May 2006 when it took over from Vmobile. It has since then
invested heavily on network expansion and consolidation.
Under Celtel, Nigerian voice telecom subscribers had the privilege
of enjoying the benefits of the 'One Network' service which
the company introduced in September 2006. By this, Nigerian
subscribers were allowed the benefit of using their phones
freely in other countries where Celtel was operating. This
borderless network enabled Celtel's traveling customers to
move across geographic borders without roaming charges.
Two years after Celtel 'made life better' for Nigerians, it
has once again rebranded to Zain- this time though, it is
still owned by the same people; it is only a change of name.
The name change was not only effected in Nigeria; it took
place simultaneously across 13 other African countries in
a rebranding exercise commenced in the Middle East.
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Established
in 1983 in Kuwait as the region's first mobile operator,
Zain was known as MTC until September 2007. From modest
beginnings in Kuwait, the company now has more than 16,000
employees serving over 50 million customers in 15 African
and seven Middle Eastern countries (including Ghana and
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the company will launch
its mobile telecommunications networks in the coming months).
In the Middle East, Zain operates in
Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, and Sudan
as well as in Lebanon where it operates as MTC |
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Touch. In
Africa, it is doing business in Burkina Faso, Chad,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo,
Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra
Leone, Tanazania, Uganda and Zambia.
Since 2003, it has grown significantly becoming the
4th largest telecommunications company in the world
in terms of geographic presence with a footprint in
22 countries spread across the Middle East and Africa.
But why the rebranding?
The management of the former Celtel said by rebranding
from Celtel to Zain, it was taking an |
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African
success story to the world and establishing a global brand,
which will drive efficiencies across markets, create greater
brand equity and improve returns for its employees and shareholders.
“The rebranding to Zain underlines our ambition to become
a top ten global mobile telecommunications company by 2011,
building on our heritage and successes in Africa and the Middle
East. A strong, distinctive brand name has always been the
prerequisite for any company with global aspirations”,
Bayo Ligali, chief executive officer of the company said at
the official launch of the new name in Lagos.
The new brand and pay-off line 'a wonderful world', capture
the energy, inspiration and diversity of Zain employees, its
customers, partners and stakeholders. With 'a wonderful world'
Zain aims to build on the tagline already familiar to millions
of its customers in Africa like when it was 'making life better'
under Celtel.
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“Zain
was a front-runner from a list of over 400 names and
was chosen for its simplicity, memorability and ease
of use. In Arabic, Zain means 'beautiful, good and wonderful”,
and it has many positive meanings in other cultures
found in Africa, Asia, Europe and beyond”, Ligali
noted.
Zain Nigeria, which currently covers over 1500 towns
and 14000 communities across the six geopolitical zones
of the country, will continue with the corporate social
responsibility programmes of the former Celtel.
“Zain is culture, health and education, |
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in the communities where it operates is an integral
part of its business.
Zain has pioneered a range of education-based initiatives
across Africa and is partnering with governments and
communities to help them achieve the UN Millennium Development
Goals,” assured Ligali. For its millions of customers
in Nigeria, Zain as one brand will
be better positioned to offer customers more innovative
products and services with the best network service
across Africa and the Middle East.
According to Ligali, “Our customers
will |
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directly
benefit from a respected and recognized global brand, one
that provides them with a consistent quality of service, reliability
and standards of excellence wherever they live, work or travel.
“We plan to expand our 'One Network' to all our operations
in Africa, allowing our customers to move across geographic
borders without roaming call surcharges and without having
to pay to receive incoming calls. One Network makes it easier
for families to keep in touch and supports cross-border business”.
Rural Nigeria is not left out in this new wave of innovative
services. The Zain Nigeria chief executive officer noted that
because the GSM operator is the market leader in terms of
network coverage, it is committed to improving access in remote
areas.
Visually, the Zain brand identity represents Radiance, Heart
and Belonging, which remains a constant irrespective of the
different national cultures and identities.
This indeed is a wonderful world!
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