Vodafone 2007 Annual Report Download - page 20

18 Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2007
Business Overview
continued
The launch of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 team was supported with
three special edition Vodafone McLaren branded phones.
Vodafone is also leading the way into 3G broadband, with six HSDPA handsets
launched. 3G Broadband PC connectivity was supported by a full range of
data card products and by 3G modules that embed 3G connectivity in the
laptops of several leading Original Equipment Manufacturers.
In October 2006, the VF 710, the first own branded 3G consumer phone, was
launched in all European markets and since then over half a million units
have been sold.
Vodafone has also announced several collaboration and partnership
agreements with the objective to consolidate the software platforms for
mobile devices around three major platforms – Nokia S60, Microsoft Windows
Mobile and a new Linux platform that is anticipated to be developed through
the LiMo Foundation with NTT DoCoMo, Motorola, NEC, Panasonic, Samsung
and Vodafone as founding members. This strategic programme is expected to
deliver long term cost savings and improve the time to market for new
service innovations to be integrated on a mobile device.
Marketing and brand
Brand and customer communications
Vodafone has continued to focus on delivering a superior, consistent and
differentiated customer experience through its brand and communications
activities. The Vodafone operating companies in Romania and Turkey
migrated to a single Vodafone brand during the year, and Iceland was the first
franchise partner market to move to a single Vodafone brand.
Vodafone’s brand purpose of 'helping our customers make the most of their
time' has been embedded in the organisation via the ongoing brand
engagement programme which brings the brand to life for Vodafone
employees, ensuring that they can do the same for customers. Externally,
the brand idea has been introduced to customers through the launch of the
‘Make the Most of Now’ communications campaign in all 18 of Vodafone’s
branded markets.
Sponsorships
Vodafone’s global sponsorship strategy has evolved in the past year to better
support the changing needs of consumers and the competitive business
environment. The majority of global sponsorship investment continues to
focus on Formula 1 and football because these sports are best positioned to
meet Vodafone’s specific business needs.
In July 2006, Vodafone's three year sponsorship of the UEFA Champions
League commenced. This sponsorship enables Vodafone to build a credible
association with the world's most popular sport in a manner which is relevant
to the business and brand objectives.
In January 2007, Vodafone became the title partner of the Vodafone McLaren
Mercedes Formula 1 team. Vodafone will be able to use the partnership to
deliver opportunities which will engage customers and project a consistent
brand positioning to a global audience.
Globally, Vodafone’s sponsorships build brand awareness, differentiate
Vodafone from the competition and deliver revenue, driving opportunities
through both business and consumer channels. The Group’s individual
operating countries benefit from a variety of marketing propositions which
are delivered through all aspects of their marketing mix.
Music continues to play an important role in our business. Many of the local
Vodafone operating companies already deliver highly successful music
sponsorships.
Customer strategy and management
Vodafone continues to use a customer management system called
‘customer delight’ to measure customer satisfaction in the Group’s controlled
markets at a local and global level. This is a proprietary diagnostic system
which tracks customer satisfaction across all the points of interaction with
Vodafone and identifies the drivers of customer delight and their relative
impact. This information is used to identify any areas for improvement and
highlight which areas to focus on.
Social products
Vodafone has continued making mobile services more accessible to people
with special communication needs and has undertaken significant research
to better understand the levels of exclusion relating to use of mobile
technology, which is helping to inform relevant areas of the business.
One of the initiatives that has benefited from the social investment fund is M-
PESA, an innovative mobile micro-finance service now on trial in Kenya. This
service, run in conjunction with a local bank and Vodafone’s Kenyan joint
venture, Safaricom, enables customers to move money in and out of
accounts, between other customers and to withdraw cash, all using secure
mobile messaging. For further information on this see the “Governance –
Corporate Responsibility and Environmental Issues” section on pages 75
to 77.
Content standards
Vodafone has continued the rollout of the off-net content filter. The access
control programme demonstrates Vodafone's commitment to deliver
content responsibly and provides the capability for parents to restrict access
to content that may be inappropriate for younger users. Ensuring that the
mobile needs of parents and their children are satisfied will remain a priority
during the 2008 financial year.
As new media channels evolve, a number of Vodafone initiatives are designed
to ensure protection for our customers from inappropriate content, contact
and commercialism. These include providing supporting guidelines around
the marketing of content to customers, social networking/Web 2.0 services,
mobile advertising and the continued development of parental controls
requirements to meet new technological requirements.