Rebranding of Almatel. Friendly telecom
Almatel is a telecom company from Kazakhstan, after rebranding developed by ONY Agency, the brand entered the Russian market. The main goal of rebranding was to maintain a single line of brand positioning throughout all the services and to help high-tech become more simple and comfortable for the user through emotional involvement and brand persona.
Internet + IT = Almatel
A year ago, “2Com”, “Cifra Odin”, and several other telecom operators united under the brand Almatel and developed a single standard for home Internet, pay TV and several other services based on Internet and IT technology.
But the opportunities for growth in the telecoms market are limited. Almost everyone already has home internet, and Internet service providers offer similar facilities in terms of functionality.
That’s why Almatel is actively launching value-added services that give users new opportunities. The company plans to integrate all necessary services into a single infrastructure and create a kind of ‘smart’ ecosystem.
The rapid development of Almatel has also called for a renewal of the brand itself: it must represent the scale and philosophy of the group and reflect all the changes that are taking place within it.
Emotional branding
Usually, the choice of an Internet service provider is subjective: the user finds it difficult to identify the functional advantages of the provider and is guided by the convenience of the service and personal attitude towards the brand. That is why Almatel must establish an emotional connection with the audience at the branding and communication message levels.
At the same time, the positioning should emphasise the innovative nature of the brand, but not scare customers away with excessive technology and complexity. Even the most advanced users do not want to spend their time and delve into the technicalities when choosing a home Internet provider. “Smart home” and other complex solutions are still perceived as tricky and complicated for the average person to understand in Russia. This insight told us that Almatel should become a brand that speaks to users in a simple and accessible language.
Emotionality, openness and a willingness to help are the character traits we took as a basis for the rebranding concept. A friendly logo, a recognisable brand persona, and a casual, conversational style support this idea at all levels of communication.
Digital Brownie
Just in case: Brownie — a small imaginary creature in old stories. In the legends it helps humans with the housework and protects the spirit of the house. Brownie is a small, short and friendly creature (so in the article we are speaking not about delicious cake).
Kind, cute and friendly Digital Brownie that reminds everyone of a familiar smiley face has become a “brand ambassador”. The visual image is based on dots and the connection between them, which conceptually reflects the essence of telecom services: to connect people by transmitting the information.
The simple language of communication and the short phrases we “taught” him (“Cheer up”, “Take care”, etc.) helps to build a trusting relationship with the audience. This domestic wizard not only adds emotionality to the brand but also helps the user to deal with complex technology.
Sergey Serezhin, ONY Creative Director:
“It is getting harder and harder for many people to understand the new technologies that are coming into their homes, so the only way to talk about them is to present them with a friendly face. Almatel’s team believes that the complexity of the technology shouldn’t bother the user at all: it’s not the way it works inside, but the features people get as a result. It should all be really simple for understanding”.
An important stage in the work with the Brownie character was copywriting, which had to bring it to life. Almatel is a friend and helper, so we wanted to convey the feeling that the brand is not just communicating with us, but speaking the same language.
Purple, which has become the main colour in the branding, is associated with magic and supports the image of the Digital Brownie, while the warm, light colours help to convey emotional tenderness and cosiness. Besides, this colour scheme creates an additional distinction in the telecom market.
To ensure brand continuity, in the new logo we partly retained the styling, but merged spelling and added the descriptor ‘Friendly Telecom’.
The photo style used in the visuals continues the concept of emotionality and openness. Sunny photos, vivid emotions and sincere feelings — that’s the Almatel style.
We decided to divide the launch of rebranding into two stages — a teaser and a reveal. Teaser billboards located on specially selected routes introduced the audience to the new character, who wished everyone a good journey and a good mood, but has not disclosed himself. Only after the Digital Brownie became familiar for the audience, the brand and its key messages appeared in communications: “Hello, I am your new internet”, “The mobile operator you will love”, and “The cosiest internet”.
From home internet to “smart home”
Almatel develops its services and technology and we continue to bring to life the concept of a friendly operator. Using artificial intelligence technology, we are working to turn the Digital Brownie into a competent site assistant. So it will be able to carry on a full-fledged conversation, handle customer queries, suggest solutions and find answers to various questions.
With the new visual identity, Almatel will keep things simple, open and ready to help, even while offering increasingly sophisticated products and launching “smart home” technology. We hope that over time, the brand’s friendly character will become a mediator between the user and the Internet of Things and make the world of high-tech more human, simple and comfortable for everyone.
