On Celcom

I've used handphones since 2003 and my first SIM card was from DiGi's back then Prepaid Plus. 0165425495 to be exact, bought at a dodgy looking cellular shop in Kuala Kangsar on one Saturday morning.

Along the way and after several phones gone and confiscated, I asked mak for a Maxis for birthday present since DiGi's reception was rather spotty back then. By the way kids, back then a Hotlink Starter Kit costs RM123, one SMS is 20 cents and there are no RM5 top ups. Heck, there wasn't even RM10 top ups back then. So anyway, I was stuck to Maxis ever since.

Last week I was having lunch in Baling when a nice chap wearing a Celcom tee came over to me. Unlike most direct salesmen who are excellent public speaker, this chap was possible new. He was begging me to change to Celcom. I told him thanks but no thanks. I'm happy with Maxis. He kept bothering me until I turned and pointed at the TV. Maxis iPhone ad.

He smiled and walked away.

One of my classmate's parents work at Celcom and from what she told me, the company doesn't quite have enough market share among youngsters and is stuck with a rather cold and corporate image. I was like, oh.. so that's why laa.. That is why Celcom is being trying so hard to portray coolness in its ads.. whatever that means.

You know it, you've seen it. The flashy cars, the smokin' girls, the baggy pants, the sideway caps all in a strange purple-ish glow. That is Celcom trying to tell you that you are cool if you use their service. That is advertising. Advertising doesn't promote the physical values of a thing but instead it promotes all the intangible ones. You don't buy an iPod because of its scratch resistance, aluminum enclose, made by the hard working people of China. No. You bought an iPod because it looks cool and it makes you look cool.

A cheap Low Yat MP3 player can do everything an iPod can, but still people go with the premium product. You can thank advertising for that.

Okay, the thing about Celcom's ad is that coolness is rather subjective and its scope is narrow. A scene suggesting cool kids going out clubbing with awesome girls and pimped out car might look cool to some people, but to some other people who don't club and the crowd that loathe clubbing, that is definitely not cool.

DiGi and Maxis on the other hand, skipped the cool factor and go for cuteness. DiGi's Yellow Man ads? Cute. DiGi's yellow rubber duckies? Cute. Maxis' paper art ads? Cute, natural and organic. It's like something you can do at home. Maxis' claynimation? Cute also.

The good thing with cuteness is that it appeals to a broader crowd. Cute quacking rubber duckies are cute in the eyes of the grandparent, the parents, the child and the toddler. Even kids too young to understand what its all about can easily remember and fall in love with them rubber duckies. It appeals to the mind, creating brand loyalty. Kids seeing this things as a child will very likely go for it when they finally can get it.

Looking at the future, I think things will be kind of tough for Celcom if they still couldn't get more market share among the youngsters. Why? The senior crowd loyal to Celcom will soon be replaced by this young crowd of non-Celcom users. Plus the fact that Maxis is the sole carrier for iPhone makes it a tougher battle. Why? Because iPhone is cool. The very thing that Celcom want to associate itself with.

So okay, Celcom is going to bring in the Sidekick soon. So what? Even Blackberry, the corporate businessman's phone is feeling the sting of the Apple effect and is busy churning out half-baked products dubbed as the iPhone killer yet failing to even prick the tough skin of the fruit company's product and Palm is desperately promoting its still under development Pre in hope to gain enough public interest by the time the product launches. With Maxis tapping into Apple's cool factor, Celcom definitely need to buck up.

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By the way, I'm just a 20 year old boy/man who talks big. None of this things are scientific, just me observing and thinking. Feel free to lambaste me.

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You’re currently reading “On Celcom,” an entry on pelangi hitam putih

Published:
Monday, March 30, 2009
by amerhadiazmi