Global mobile network, Tru, needed to reposition itself and make a clear distinction between its old consumer-focused brand and its new B2B arm. Jo Patterson, head of marketing at Tru explains how
Who or what are you?
Tru is the world’s first global mobile network, bringing an end to roaming charges in a growing number of countries by offering businesses local rates abroad.
Targeting business, large to small, as well as consumers, Tru charges local rates for calls, texts and data within its network: currently US, UK and Australia, with China, Holland and Spain to follow. Tru provides competitive roaming rates in a further 220 countries.
What was the problem?
Tru started life in 2006 as ‘Truphone,’ a downloadable voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) solution to high international call costs for smartphones such as Nokia and the iPhone. It was aimed at tech-savvy consumers and had a strong PR presence in consumer tech.
Four years on, everything has changed; the company’s business proposition; the target audience; and the company’s positioning. We needed to evolve the brand to distinguish it from the old Truphone and cease confusion in the marketplace.
What was the ‘big idea’?
The word ‘Tru’ has always been integral to our DNA. Thus it was a natural step to drop the ‘phone’ to focus on just ‘Tru’; the embodiment of the promise to our customers.
Rebranding also allowed us to exploit our challenger brand position. We did this through the idea of ‘Moments of truth’; illustrating the issue and presenting Tru as the solution. Our tone is disruptive and our look is born from a desire to position ourselves outside the category of mobile operators; you’ll see no phones in our advertising. Instead, we use a juxtaposition of a beautifully shot image and a challenging headline. For example, you’ll see on our website an image of a suitcase stuffed with money – ‘You’re not dumb we’re not greedy’ – calling out our point of difference over other networks (see above).
When and how?
The total project took six months. We began with customer focus groups exploring perceptions of the Truphone brand, as well as interviews with key individuals in the company. We secured the assistance of Dave, the Brand Consultancy arm of WCRS, to help us distil the genus of what the brand should be and so set us up for our new era of global enterprise.
Tru launched on 1 December 2010. No stone was left unturned – from website to sales literature to business cards.
Did it work?
Most importantly the rebrand has provoked a re-imagining of what our company can achieve and provides us with a design-to-work-by that has radically changed the way we sell. Feedback from the sales team has been extremely positive; they feel the new brand gives them a powerful differentiator and confidence to close deals. On a more measurable note, our website bounce rates are now 15 per cent lower since the rebrand.
