Just because you’re one of South Africa’s “big three” cellular providers; just because you are in bed with one of the country’s top stand-up comedians; just because you think your marketing campaign is very slick – don’t mean everyone has to find you funny. Cell C feels the burn.
By now you already know the set-up to this joke. On Wednesday 28 July a mysterious Internet user going by the moniker of SABobbyT posted a video clip on YouTube of popular local comedian Trevor Noah going ape about mobile networks in general and Cell C in particular. In just four days Cell C found the offending link, watched it, decided to respond publicly, briefed its big agency (Ogilvy) to swiftly book media space in the Sunday Times and Rapport and to develop an advert apologising to Noah. The ad was created, approved and placed in record time before the advertising print deadlines for the two weeklies closed.
Two “mea culpa”’ full-page adverts signed by Cell C’s CEO Lars P. Reichelt later, and the Twitterverse was abuzz with chat about social media hero Trevor Noah, how he had stood up for the small guy and what swell people Cell C were for coming clean. The story was getting airtime and was reported on by no less than Bloomberg while other media pundits were calling the effort a marketing “master-stroke”.
Watch: Trevor Noah’s rant about cellphone providers
But there was something funny-peculiar about the story, which was confirmed to The Daily Maverick when, on Monday 2 August, we received an insider tip-off that it was an elaborate marketing scam. We phoned Cell C to speak to Reichelt and were told he was out of the country. The call to his office, however, was conveniently routed to a highly responsive customer care representative. Calls and emails to Cell C’s marketing department requesting response on the matter went unanswered and, despite the fact that Noah’s agent said the comic would respond even though being on set preparing for his new MNet show, there was no word. Late on Tuesday 3 August, TDM was invited to a media junket by Cell C’s spin doctor where, it was announced, “all would be revealed”.
Would Trevor Noah be present? Was Noah’s gag an elaborate marketing ruse? Was Cell C’s apology ad a set up? Our repeated line of questioning was met with a firm and frequent “no comment” from Cell C’s spin doctor who kept stuffing the press conference invitation further down TDM’s throat.
At the junket, a beaming Reichelt did his corporate tap dance and rolled out news of infrastructure upgrades to Cell C’s network. He also unveiled the new Cell C brand which he said reflected the company’s values of “fairness and transparency”.
Needless to say it came as little surprise when Trevor Noah walked into the media junket and was positioned as the mobile network’s new Ralph Nader. Unlike Nader, who committed his life to independent activism and consumer protectionism, the media was meant to understand that Noah was “working with Cell C and not for Cell C”, that he was getting “paid, but not selling out”, and (here comes the punch line) that the posting of his amusing rant supporting consumers against Cell C filmed at one of his gigs and posted online was coincidental and not inspired by cash. Noah said his comedy was pure, unsullied and that he’d never sell his funny-haha to make an extra buck.
However at the press conference, he disclosed that he had a long-standing commercial relationship with Cell C just before the mobile network revealed that Noah is the company’s new CEO (“Chief Experience Officer”) and would be fielding customer complaints in his new role as South Africa’s cellular consumer champion (kindly sponsored by Cell C). Amusing ads featuring Noah with clever copy were unveiled alongside Cell C’s new logo and an Avis-inspired “We’ll try harder” positioning. As the media viewed Noah’s ads and screen grabs for the new consumer champion site www.telltrevor.co.za (also sponsored by Cell C), Noah tweeted: “I'm tweeting in a cell c press conference. Getting grilled by journos. I feel like Zuma right now...but with a matric.”
As this went down Reichelt was at great pains to confirm Noah’s apparent independence. “It is important to understand that Trevor has had a relationship with Cell C for quite some time. As you can see there’s a lot of work that has gone into the rebranding. We looked for someone who comes across as natural and we found Trevor,” said Reichelt, who relayed that while doing training videos with Noah for Cell C the mobile company was amazed by the comedian’s capacity to put in long hours for commercial remuneration. “There’s no way you can steer this man. Trevor works with us. He does not work for us. He is going to be the guy that is going to be very annoying. I already know that,” said Reichelt, vouching for Noah’s neutrality.
Noah joined the “look how at arm’s length we are” floor show by saying: “Lars has never said to me ‘Don’t do this’. There was no briefing. They are paying me to do ads and stuff, and the message that we are getting across is ‘yes, we are changing’. If you ask me a question, my job is not to give a PC answer.”
Of course, the whole blithe song-and-dance act was all in the name of the consumer who will benefit - according to Reichelt and Noah - from Cell C’s reinvention of the cellular category which may ultimately force all local mobile service providers to up their game. Unfortunately for Cell C, the blogosphere and local Twitter users were less impressed. Twitter users slammed Noah as a “corporate sellout” and said consumers felt “conned” by Cell C’s confessional, while influential bloggers opined “Trevor Noah was a Cell C drone all along” and “Cell C the joke is on you”.
They’re right, of course. A Google search of the mysterious SABobbyT shows that someone went to great lengths to get Noah’s comedic cellphone tirade noticed by South Africa’s digerati before Cell C’s apology ad hit the press. Now that Cell C and Trevor Noah have virtual egg on their faces, it may do them well to learn from the experience. Consumer activism lies not in the promise of change, but in its aftermath - it lives all in the doing and not the saying. And, if you seek to manipulate social media users for your own commercial self-interest while declaring yourself to be a consumer activist, don’t be surprised if they get more than a little pissed.
By Mandy de Waal
Read more: “Cell C’s new clothes” on TechCentral and “Cell C continues R5bn network roll out to improve service” at Engineering News.
Good on ya CC,.... the bland centre page pseudo-response immediately got my attention,.. and the entire thing was top shelf stuff!
Astroturfing (pretending stuff is what it isn't) is a social media blunder. The currency of social is Trust and Transparency.
It may be cute - but it was not trustworthy - and now Cell C customers have to decide whether their entire commitment to being customer centric is a joke. Although placing a comedian as the customer experience officer maybe explains it all.
My assessment - This was a strategic blunder - but great material for my talks and also classes on digital strategy.
Before I read this story I did a bit of my own research, and discovered that the "telltrevor.co.za" domain name was registered in JUNE (Wednesday 23/06/2010 18:27:09 SAST), and this whole thing is a set-up. So it may have been "cunning" but it wasn't HONEST, and that really p*sses me off. See "Cell-C PR Lies Exposed" at
http://donnedwards.openaccess.co.za/2010/08/cell-c-pr-lies-exposed.html
Also, since when is it legal for a company to trademark the copyright (c) symbol? Are they insane, or just incompetent?
The understanding of how to operate in an always on, always connected world is something that still alludes many.
The thing that I think many are missing is that with incredible rate of connections growth (World Wide Worx - adjusted their estimate of growth for 2010 by another 500K and its only midyear)and with a projected 13 million in 2 or 3 years as well as the already near saturation of access to mobile data and growth of usage (Vodacom growth more that 50% in a quarter)
So these are lessons that need to be learned.
I say this not to be alarmist - but because its the simple truth - you need to learn these lessons in the next 2 years or the pain may be too great to handle.
Thanks for the article
I also think Trevor Noah's claims that he wouldn't sell out, is independent ...blah...blah is a crock of crap. The fact is,'he who pays the piper calls the tune' and I do not believe Trevor honestly can think we are stupid enough to believe otherwise.
Time will tell if this blunder adversely affects his career -- which needs all the help it can get if the first edition of his new Mnet show is anything to go by!
Hilton Hamann
www.thewhiteou.com
Fine,.. there have to be media watchdogs lurking in the shadows to keep a steady course,.. but come on, this is a fun thing and if,.. a very big if,... the buyer needs to beware,.. is it necessary to use such a big, cynical axe?.
South African consumers pay amongst the highest cellphone call rates in the world. Despite the fact that consumers (both the man on the street and business who consume mobile services and products) have built the cellular service industry and mobile networks at a massive premium, the cellular operators haven’t shown good faith by reinvesting in networks, preferring instead to harvest massive (and this is no understatement) profits.
Service in the mobile sector remains a serious, ongoing and very difficult problem for consumers. Mobile networks operators have been called before parliament to explain, have been rapped over the knuckles by lobbyists and activists, yet profits over people is their focus. The industry has been built to the exclusion of consumer interest.
Within this context Cell C has sought to position itself as a consumer champion, a maverick that is reinventing the industry and putting power back in the hands of the consumer. Cell C are trying to court consumer trust in an industry that has been extraordinarily cavalier about consumer rights, yet it chose to do so by being disingenuous. By engineering a publicity stunt that was staged, manipulative and disingenuous.
Then Cell C has declared that its values to be those of fairness and transparency. The company’s brand reinvention wrested on opening up to the consumer, being accessible to customers and inviting criticism. The Trevor Noah initiative was about making the company accessible to scrutiny and criticism. It launched this massive and obviously costly exercise to the media and to its public using social media. You can view this at the company’s Twitter stream at http://twitter.com/cellc and its new ‘consumer champion’ site which is www.asktrevor.co.za.
One of the biggest rules regarding social media is that it is a conversation, not a broadcast medium. What Cell C has done is tantamount to installing a customer care line and then just watching it ring off the hook day and night. Twitter has been besieged by people venting and pouring out their frustrations, including those who felt hoodwinked by the scam. Cell C have merely chosen to ignore this consumer outpouring.
If you go to Twitter Search http://search.twitter.com/ and search the following phrases:
Cell C + Trevor Noah
Cellc + trevornoah
(but be sure to go back the full week to see the controversy as it bled out onto Twitter) you will get a fuller picture of just how angry people are at the network. That’s news. Well in Cell C’s case it is really bad news!
How can the brand be trusted to be a consumer friend if they ignore what consumers are saying to them? If they switch off to customer sentiment in a medium that they themselves have engaged? They say they want to put power in consumer hands, they say that they want customers to speak out to them – but when customers and social media users do just that they are ignored. Flat out ignored.
Trevor Noah’s response to the situation (as Cell C’s new CEO – Chief Experience Officer) is to tweet:
“Some people have tried calling me to complain about me working with Cell C- I couldn't hear them though, the call kept cutting.”
How dumb is that? You’re positioned as the ‘eyes and ears’ of the company and refuse to hear your detractors and make a really offensive and tasteless joke that touches the nerve that hurts people most.
However this stance has epitomised the entire mobile network industry that just couldn’t care a fig about the people that use their products and services, and pay dearly for doing so.
The fact that pay as you go callers pay exorbitant rates appears to be a joke to them. The sad fact is that if call rates were more reasonable – if people in townships and rural areas had better, cheaper connections – South Africa would actually be a better country. We may even have better unemployment figures given that connectivity is crucial to the growth of an entrepreneurial sector.
Cell C’s attitude is shameful. Trevor Noah’s response laughably naive.
Sure – with all the corruption in the country we could say there are bigger fish to fry – more important stories and issues to focus on. But rot should never go unchallenged and at The Daily Maverick it is our job to pursue the truth. That’s why we’re here. That’s what we do.
And that’s why Cell C is being called to task.
Virtual, viral egg.
Cell C were quick to respond to Noah's relatively innocuous insults (which were most likely pre-approved or possibly even scripted by them). But now that they're facing real criticism, they've gone completely silent.
When done well, social media can do wonders for a brand's reputation. But the antithesis applies equally. Lie to your audience at your own peril, Cell C.
They made some pretty liberal claims about their new "4G" data services, but didn't backpedal out very elegantly...
mybroadband.co.za/news/cellular/14264-Cell-network-CEO-explains.html
Hopefully they learn from this - trust is a hard thing to earn. Sometimes boring and honest is better than flashy and disingenuous...
I suspect my attitude in this instance is just trying to support the underdog for the clear impact of their ad efforts.
For all we know, their latest tactic could prove nothing more than a death knell given your perceptions that customers feel hoodwinked by the scam.
Bottom line: if you want my business don't try to hoodwink me!
I also have to wonder what companies like Cell C would have to do to impress you? Telecoms operators are lambasted for their lack of customer regard and opaqueness. When Cell C tries to change this perception they get lambasted for that too - which leads me to think that all the vitriol is coming from a group of whiners who would complain if it started raining champagne.
I was in the same press conference and did not hear Cell C claim that this was not intentional. They didn't try to cover it up at all. And there are some of us who get immediate responses to questions - try calling the CEO directly next time.
This really is nothing more than whinging. Cell C has launched a smart campaign, and if anyone should have egg on their face it's people who honestly believed that the apology was spontaneous.
against the background of your opinion that the Cell C campaign is smart, would you care expounding on that.. the "smart" part?
The other day a popular South Africna tech/biz portal ran a post on media paywalls, and soon after the comments from influentials and free thinkers started streaming in, the article was removed. One could only wonder why, but I have a theory. A large South African media group - whose Sunday paper I used to read religiously - is currently toying with the idea of introducing paywall functionality into their online news offering. It is my opinion that the owner of the portal in some way or the other enjoys privilege and favour with the powers that be in that media company and therefore did not want to cheese off anybody in the corridors of power over there. That's just my opinion.
Being a journo.. I trust you know what I'm saying..
Of course, I can only guess what you're referring to since you aren't making yourself clear.
From what I know Cell C are doing, right now, they are trying their best to do right by consumers. And while the Trevor Noah thing may or may not be to your taste, I'm convinced that soon their technology will speak louder than any advertising.
From the point of view of the person that actually has an 084 number and is experiencing dropped calls, signal challenges, data cuts etc. this is VERY serious. To the 70-year old gentleman in the Eastern Cape outback whose only line of contact to his children living and working in Cape Town is the mobile phone they sent him with a Cell C simcard hoping he can "cell for free on weekends" this is very serious. What he needs is a stable network. What he needs is to be able to talk to his children whenever he wants.. for one reason and one reason only.. HE'S PAYING FOR IT. Now when you pay for something you expect it to work - don't you?
Guess what.. at not so at Cell C. In 2004 a medical doctor from Pietermaritzburg struggled to cancel his contract for 3 months, and his calls to speak to Dino Naicker at the Umhlanga Rocks office feel on deaf ears - continuously. That's just one anecdote.
Now ask yourself this, does the man in the Eastern Cape and the doctor in PMB need a new logo or ad campaign. Does the new logo in any way help these people or improve the company's service offering to them? Does the clever use of Trevor Noah up the brand equity in the mind of the consumer in any way? How does the new look & feel change the perception created by k*k service received over a lengthy period? Wait...
Oh schnap.. I'm taking myself too seriously again. Forgive me.
As for fancy logos etc, it's part of a brand's job to update their look and put their message out there. So you can't really knock them for that.
To respond to your main point, you are absolutely right. In real terms, for people like the man in the Eastern Cape, ad campaigns don't mean much at all. We all want to see real proof. We're tired of false promises. As South African consumers who are so used to getting crap service - it's about time we got something that actually WORKS.
And just like with the World Cup, we will bitch and moan about Cell C. Because it's so damn easy. But just maybe, like with the World Cup, we will be proven wrong. Maybe the skeptics and doubters among us will have to eat our words. Here's hoping so.
- We are using SDR, ie. software defined radio which is future proof
- We are rolling HSPA+ out on the 900 Mhz band (to cover 3-5 x larger areas than possible with 2100 Mhz)
- Using HSPA+ on the 900 Mhz band gives 10 - 20 dB gain, ie. in-building penetration and performance is improved
- We are using HSPA+ on the 2100 Mhz band to increase capacity if and when needed, ie. on the whole we have more frequency band available then other players, which allows for more capacity
- The entire network is IP based, with DFA, Neotel and others providing access and backhaul
- All transmitters will provide HSPA+ at 21.6 Mbps (at air interface) and speed will not vary from 7.2 to 14.4 to 21.6
If you compare those specs with existing networks you will find that the Cell C network is the most advanced. It is designed 4 Great speed and 4 Great service. And that is why we call it 4Gs.
Happy to have you beta test.
Does your press release deal with issues like not being able to get hold of Cell(c) subscribers on weekends? My brother had to move from Cell(c) because of this problem, because he was a medical technician on standby and doctors could never get hold of him because your network was overloaded.
Are you telling us that Cell(c) has its own network now and isn't piggy-backing any more, like Trevor said?
Is your new network capable of dropping calls to make it iPhone-4 compatible? LOL. And what's all this nonsense about trademarking the Copyright(c) sypographical symbol? Are you insane? Or is this another lie?
Nevertheless, I still think that naming the service 4Gs is misleading. Just do a search on twitter for Cell C 4G and you'll see that there are many people who assume that 4Gs = 4G. I think the experts have said plenty about honesty and transparency this week, so I'm not going to reiterate how important it is.
Glad to know you're listening and I'd love to take you up on your offer to beta test. DM me - @peerie on twitter.
like others here, have enjoyed exemplary customer service from cellc and i'm in for good. now all i need is a new sim card to match the branding. and please cellc, flight the tokfofreeonweeeeeeeeeeekends ad again!
people like to waste energy in the stupidist places.
get involved with your community, join a cpf, blockwatch, ward committee, whatever, get involved before wasting breath on 'oh i feel so let down now by my cell company." prioritise people, there's a helluva lot more important things in life.