The new Gel Cell by Alcatel is a mobile phone for specified markets. It is very small, the gel is the actual battery, it comes in many colours, and the most important factor is that it is disposable. It has been developed because of the large demand to produce new products in the over saturated mobile phone market. It is a new product with an unfamiliar concept; therefore the advertising campaign is key to the success of the Gel Cell.
This part of the plan is the creative brief. The extensive advertising campaign will include these markets:
1. Senior citizens
2. Youth age 6-17
3. People in an emergency
The forms of media used to advertise the Gel Cell are:
1. Television
2. Newspapers
3. Radio
4. Magazines
5. Internet
6. Cinema
7. Outdoor advertising
8. Transit advertising
Campaign 1: “Have you got your Gel?”
Target: Youth age 6-17, parents, people in an emergency
Youth are the perfect target for the Gel Cell. They like to talk on the phone, because they think it is cool. Parents do not want to trust their children with a 150 mobile phone that will most likely be lost or stolen. So parents will also be targets in this campaign. With the help of this campaign, kids will think it is so cool to have a Gel Cell and parents will be more than happy to buy them for their kids because it is economical and keeps their kids safe.
Television:
Set in a mall. A fast speed pan of kids hanging out, boys skateboarding in the entranceway, girls talking in a group, and boys throwing something colourful around. The colour of everything in the commercial is not very bright, but the phones that they will all be carrying and throwing around are all very bright. There will be upbeat music playing and there will be sounds of laughter. Then the screen will go to black and in bright colours it will say:
This will arouse interest about what they all have and are using in the mall. Kids will talk about it and guess what they all have. This will be shown during popular times on TV where most kids will be watching: Friday or Saturday nights and during frequently watched television shows. There will be similar ads and slowly there the kids will start actually using them as phones and then the screen will go to black and it will say:
Coming to stores near you December 1st
After they understand that it is a mobile phone then there will be a campaign that explains why they are different from other phones.
There will be a white background and the different colour phones will rotate around in a circle, showing the many different colours. Then there will be cartoon of a person talking on the phone and a clock on the wall run down for an hour. The cartoon person tosses it in the garbage and grabs another one from a drawer. And walks out the door. A voice says: “Talk it up, toss it out.” Then there will be a black screen that says:
Cinema:
Show a longer version of the first advertisement. Make sure to position it at the right movies that kids would see, and maybe would see with their parents as well.
Radio:
This is a good medium to address what the Gel Cell actually is and address the practicalities. There will be boppy music in the background. A youths voice can say, “Pink, Green, Blue, Orange, Red, ClearWhat is your mood? Talk it up, toss it out. The first 100% biodegradable mobile phone. Gel Cell, by Alcatel.” This can be played on pop stations that cater to young listeners.
Online:
This will be a good form of advertising when, the kids are still not sure what the product is that everyone is playing with in the mall. They can search on the web for the product and there will be a web site giving clues about the product, creating interest.
Newspaper:
Youth are not very likely to be reading the newspaper so this aspect would be directed more at the parents. This would emphasize the benefits of buying the Gel Cell for their kids. There would be a picture of a crying kid standing in a parking lot, and the line could say, “Does your child have their Gel?”
Then right next to it could be a picture in the same deserted parking lot, except this time it is a picture of someone the parents’ age and they obviously have a flat tire. They are reaching for their phone but it has no signal. And the line will say “Do you have your Gel?”
Magazines:
This is a very important medium for both young boys and girls. Girls read many teenybopper magazines and boys read many video game magazines. There must be adverts in all of these. These should be bright, eye-catching adverts. The girls’ magazines should focus on all of the different colours and how cool it is have one, because everyone has one.
Following the “Have you got your Gel” Campaign, there could be a picture of a group of girls hanging out, all holding their different Gel Cells and one girl standing outside of the group, she has an exaggerated frown on her face. Underneath is the line: “Have you got your Gel?” For boys in their magazines, there will be ads with boys throwing them around and throwing it into a bin, as a game. It will say, “Talk it up, Toss it out.” And in the corner it will say, “Have you got your Gel?”
Outdoor advertising:
Billboards: It is very important to catch attention. People have only 6-10 seconds to look at it. Since an important aspect to the campaign for youth is the colours, the posters should be bright. The ads will use day glow colours to get attention. It should be simple. Since this age group doesn’t drive, they will not pay attention to billboards as much, so they will be more marketed to the parents. It can show a picture of a person on a deserted road, and on the top it can say, “Do you have your Gel?” There can be a series of these in a row to keep attention for longer than 6 seconds. One can say “Stranded”, the next can show a person that is stranded, and out of batteries on their regular mobile it can say “run out of batteries” And the next can show the person standing there pondering with a “?” And the last one can show a taxi there with her Gel Cell in the other and I can say, “Have you got your Gel?”
Another form of outdoor advertising is in bus stations. These will be effective by schools. There can be pictures of the phones in different designs. They can say Talk it up, toss it out. And at the bottom it can say, “Have you got your Gel”
Transit advertising:
Make advertisements similar to the magazine adverts above where people are waiting for the Tube to come. On the escalator going up or down, there can be pictures similar to the billboards, or pictures of a different colour phone going up the escalator and the slogan can switch off between “Talk it up, Toss it out” and “Have you got your Gel?”
Campaign 2: “In a pinch you’re covered for pence”
Target: Senior citizens
Senior citizens are a segment of the market that is untapped in the mobile phone market. Yet, the Gel Cell could be a great product that could really help out senior citizens in a jam. They will be hesitant at first. But once they realize the benefit, they will become loyal customers. The Gel Cell is perfect for this segment because it is not a big investment, and it serves the exact purpose they need from a mobile phone – safety. Many senior citizens realize the benefit from having a mobile phone while driving, for emergency purposes, but many do not want to spend the money for a mobile that they will rarely use. The products attitude for them will be about safety. It will be sold around places where they would see them, for example, near the pharmacy in the chemist. It will also be useful to place the phones around their house in case of an emergency.
Television:
These advertisements will focus on the practicality of the Gel Cell explaining exactly what it is and how it can help them. It will be showed during daytime game shows, and other regularly watched television shows by senior citizens. There can be a series of ads that show stranded senior citizens and then they realize that they have a Gel Cell and they are saved! Then the line could say, “In a pinch you’re covered for pence.”
Cinema:
This can follow the same lines as the television ads, but they will go into more detail about what the phones are. After the scenario about the stranded senior citizen deserted. While the senior citizen is talking on the phone there will be a voice over with a person saying “3 a phone, one hour of call time, small enough to fit anywhere, just enough to get you out of a pinch.”
Radio:
“Italian music playing for a few seconds, then hear a car putter out, the music screeches to a stop. Only birds can be heard in the distance. An ominous voice says, “Stranded? Lost? Confused? Do you have a phone?” Then another voice says, ” Gel Cell: In a pinch you’re covered for pence.”
Newspaper:
This would be a good form of media for senior citizens, as they are avid readers of the paper. This is a way to show them what the phone is about. There could be ads right next to each other. One would be of a scenario where they really need a phone, like being lost, stranded, or hurt with a Gel Cell in reaching distance. With the line, “Gel Cell: In a pinch, your covered for pence.” Then next to that ad there would be a picture of the phone. There will be a picture of the phone; there will be arrows pointing to the on button.
Brochures:
This would be placed in doctor’s offices, and at chemists. It would be with the brochures on different diseases and treatments. It would be something to read while they waited for the doctor or the prescription. It would describe exactly what the phone does and how it can be used. It will emphasize that it is inexpensive and necessary for safety.