Launching i-mode Phone Service for the 2nd Largest Telco

Using an integrated mobile online and offline media campaign, we drove 51,000 of StarHub's customers to a microsite that presented the i-mode concept (internet on a phone). Using Vocanic's Groundswell technology, it also elicited the data that would allow us to identify Influencers who were positive to the concept -- 5,000 advocates were identified. The microsite also included a "pop" personality profile, designed to encourage people to repost their profile on their blogs securing a high degree of blog coverage.

Influencer advocates were then invited to a private expo where they could collect the phone and experience the brand through games, hands on demonstrations, and exhibitions.

Follow-up campaigns -- such as "Treasure Hunts," where users had to hunt for treasure icons "buried" in content on the phones -- drove usage of the new functionality and facilitate familiarity.

Other campaigns were designed to stimulate blogging (e.g. people could submit the links of their blog posts to be listed on the main corporate web site) This program gave the launch of StarHub's i-mode phone SIX of the top 10 slots on Google Blog search and FOUR of the top 10 on Technorati for the duration of the launch -- despite O2 launching i-mode in the UK at the same time.

Further campaigns were designed to stimulate conversation ( e.g. each person who had a birthday during the trial period received a video birthday greeting clip from a local celebrity personalized with the recipient's name).

Recommendation tracking was enabled with i-treat -- an application that allowed an i-mode Influencer to send a friend an i-treat token, which could be validated and redeemed, granting them premiums and a discount on their phone purchase.

Finally, i-mode Influencers were invited to interact with StarHub, allowing them to provide feedback on the i-mode. They were engaged to suggest how the product, content offered, and pricing plans could be improved. Many of the feasible suggestions have now been implemented by StarHub.

Credit Information
--------------------------------------
Client: StarHub
Agency: Vocanic
Budget: over $350,000
Date of Campaign: Oct. 05 - March 06