CityFibre pimps its brand to drive customer acquisition

CityFibre has repainted its branding in a bid to convey some readability to the UK fibre broadband market and finally to additional its personal full fibre agenda.

Alongside the model refresh, the fibre community builder is finishing up a broad advertising and marketing drive to push the advantages of full fibre, versus part-fibre broadband companies, one thing it insists shoppers are nonetheless combating from a terminology perspective.

It’s all within the tone, apparently. In its rebrand announcement, CityFibre refers to modifications to its tone of voice in its advertising and marketing, bigging up its new straight-talking credentials designed to assist shoppers of their buying choices. However to the informal observer that tone might equally be described as ‘lurid,’ with the telco having splashed lime and brilliant blue over an internet site that when boasted a brand in a sedate shade of inexperienced and, if the imagery accompanying its announcement proves to be correct, painted its vans in a fetching mixture of orange and retina-withering magenta.

It won’t be everybody’s alternative of color palette, however there’s some logic in it. Nobody’s getting that branding confused with Openreach, are they?

And on a extra critical observe, that’s basically what that is all about. CityFibre is trying each to distinguish itself from the competitors and to ease shopper confusion within the fibre broadband market…the tip aim of the latter level absolutely being that prospects will more and more select a full fibre broadband service from one in every of its retail companions as a result of they are often positive what they’re getting.

“Due to years of forced-reliance on outdated copper and cable networks, folks throughout the nation are underwhelmed, confused and mistrustful of the broadband trade,” mentioned CityFibre’s chief advertising and marketing officer Dan Ramsay. “Given its significance to each facet of our lives, we don’t consider that’s acceptable.”

Ramsey’s remark is the continuation of a message we have now been listening to from CityFibre for quite a lot of years.

In 2019 the corporate famously misplaced a authorized problem towards the UK’s Promoting Requirements Authority, having sought to overturn the regulator’s ruling that part-fibre broadband companies – people who don’t take fibre all the best way into the client premises, that’s – might be marketed merely as ‘fibre.’ CityFibre argued that prospects had been being misled, however a Excessive Courtroom choose disagreed.

Three years on and CityFibre nonetheless believes there’s a drawback right here. It cites analysis carried out on its behalf – by whom and amongst whom it doesn’t state – that exhibits 64% of shoppers are unaware of the distinction between full fibre and part-fibre broadband. Regardless of the shortage of full information, it definitely appears believable. Broadband promoting, and arguably telecoms service promoting usually, is notoriously fuzzy and riddled with small print. Add in further choices like TV packages or gadgets, throw in a free reward or a restricted time particular provide, and evaluating service choices turns into very tough certainly. It’s totally doable that each one the would-be buyer hears is ‘fibre’ on the subject of the community know-how factor.

“The up to date model’s belongings have been designed to assist reduce by this confusion, explaining the superior user-experience when related to CityFibre’s community, made doable by a brand new, fibre-only infrastructure platform, unencumbered by legacy community or programs,” the community operator says.

The agency has begun a direct engagement marketing campaign, concentrating on 2.5 million residence and companies monthly with direct mails, letter drops, digital promoting and electronic mail advertising and marketing, all designed to encourage broadband customers to modify to companies offered by its retail companions, the massive names being Vodafone, TalkTalk and Zen. Its marketing campaign will dovetail with these of its retailers – it has round 30 companions in all – serving to them to select up prospects and migrate them to the CityFibre community.

Finally, this model refresh and alter in tone is about precisely that – gaining extra prospects for CityFibre through its retail companions. However something that clears up a number of the market confusion that also stays to 1 extent or one other has received to be factor.

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