Page 18 - Sphere No.7 (Oct 2002)

SPHERE
16
B R A N D I N G
the natural next step, not by trying to
change people or how they live their
lives, or imposing what we think they’d
like, but through fulfilling them better
by delivering more usefulness and more
pleasure in ways that they choose.”
THAT WAS THEN ; THIS IS NOW
Behind the name and logo lies a new
adventure.
3 is the door to a brand-new mobile
multi-media communications category
where the experience is more varied,
more useful and more enjoyable than its
technological predecessors.
Quite simply, 3G is better than 2G.
More inspiring, more relevant and more
liberating.
3 merges mobile telephony with the
power of the Internet and the eye of a
TV camera.
It delivers the convenience of a
PDA, the entertainment value of an
MP3 player and the fun of a games
arcade.
As such, it can assume the gravitas of
CLEAR AND SIMPLE
“We were keen to avoid the hype that
can sometimes surround brands,” says
Kirby, “it wasn’t long ago that over-
promised, over-hyped products and ser-
vices of all kinds involved a trade-off.
What was promised was not necessarily
delivered. So why not call it something
obvious?
“3 will launch gently at first, in tune
with reality and not making empty
promises. Brands are incredibly impor-
tant. People are more individualistic
than ever and express their individuality
partly through the brand choices they
make – if we each look at ourselves we
select a portfolio of brands that attract us
and we want to be associated with –
each portfolio contributes to our indi-
viduality.
“We want 3 to be part of that port-
folio for all the right reasons, and that
includes delivering what we say we will.
We no longer expect to make choices
between pleasure and performance, we
expect both at the same time, experi-
encing usefulness more enjoyably and
enjoyment more usefully. 3 doesn’t
promise perfection in a fantasy future. It
aims to deliver what we really want in
the real world as it is, not what we are
told we want in a world as it ought
to be.”
Adds brand strategist Simon
Jameson:“We don’t have to create a rev-
olution in people’s behaviour, we have
to deal with the real revolution that
exists now. A demand for more enjoy-
ment, more usefulness and less restric-
tion. The technology is real; it’s time to
put it all together. We’d like to deliver
next step
a board meeting or the levity of a
rock’n’roll concert.
Mobile phone companies are not
the only competitors. 3 will also be
compared to Playstation, X-Box and a
host of entertainment and communica-
tion options.
After all, this is a category that com-
bines voice communications with
music, entertainment, video, photogra-
phy, multi-media, global positioning,
and more.
Soon, we will be able to pay with our
music system or call a friend’s camera.
the natural