The Hub and Vodafone: A Digital Partnership
On the 1st January 1985 Vodafone made the first ever mobile phone call. Almost twenty years later they are the biggest mobile phone operators in the world, with a customer base over 100 million, and networks in more than 28 countries. They invest £10 million a week into improving their network services and continuing to bring new technological standards to the mobile phone industry.
Vodafone realized that with their range of existing 'digital touchpoints' customers were interacting with the company through a variety of mediums beyond their high street stores. They needed a source of knowledge and understanding in order to maintain and strengthen their presence within digital 'channels' and continue competitively as the largest mobile operator in the world. A partnership was needed with an organisation that understood both the customer's use of these digital 'channels' and the technology to translate such use into significant added value.
The Hub began by undertaking a large-scale pan-European study of all of Vodafone's digital 'channels' and the ways in which they were embraced by the customer. With the resulting information, four major strategies were developed, making The Hub an ongoing digital partner in control of the majority of Vodafone's e-commerce and eCRM (electronic customer relationship management).
Using innovative techniques in digital creativity, marketing and technology, The Hub redeveloped the UK website, designing and implementing the content to suit user needs - including global guidelines and the online store - along with the technical capabilities to monitor and interpret the invaluable customer data it produced.
By understanding the needs of the customer when in a Vodafone store, a state-of-the-art touchscreen kiosk was designed and produced. This enabled a fast and accurate self-service medium for the customer and also contained the technology to analyse the way in which they were used. By providing Vodafone with this data, they were able to employ marketing strategies specific to individual trends in each region.
Using a content distribution software developed by the Hub, rich media advertising was distributed and used on in-store plasma screens, allowing Vodafone's campaigns to cater for each store, region or even time. This repeatedly demonstrated to the customer Vodafone's status as a market leader in digital technology; an essential aspect of their corporate image.
A series of innovative direct marketing campaigns were undertaken in the form of the latest Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). The Hub developed the NOMAD system, a mobile campaign software, to distribute the messages, which also provided a detailed analysis of the effectiveness of the campaign.
Website enhancements were successfully implemented, causing the online store to grow to one of Vodafone's largest UK retail channels. Based on staff and user praise by Vodafone's store managers and marketing teams, the touch screen kiosks were rolled out worldwide. On the mobile front, the MMS direct marketing was a notable success. As a result, The Hub is now Vodafone UK's major digital partner, providing expert digital solutions for over three years, and continuing to manage and develop these major digital 'channels' in the firm's e-business activity.
