A1 Bulgaria Rebranding Communication: concept, plan, implementation

Iliana Zaharieva, A1 Bulgaria

*Extract of the original presentation

The Idea

A Project was Born

The rebranding project was launched in the summer of 2017

The first step was to gather a team and organize a workshop to discuss ideas for our rebranding strategy and how to make the A1 brand successful in Bulgaria

• Introduce A1 Group to

Bulgarian customers

• Position the Group as an

innovations leader on the

worldwide telco market

• Show that our company is a

part of something bigger

and better

• Introduce our new brand A1

• Saturate the Bulgarian

communication sphere with

our key messages

• Present the benefits from

the rebranding for our

clients in a clear and

effective way

• Announce A1’s new

innovative products

• Position our new brand

according to our brand

pillars

• Create brand awareness and

position A1 as a thought

leader

And Every Rebranding Needs…

Phase 2 Phase 3Phase 1

...a good communication strategy

Involve the employees from the beginning & Engage them all the way

Start

The Execution

Involving the Employees

Soon the News Spread

Telekom Austria Group announced that it will rebrand all of its operations into A1 starting with the group itself

Soon after that the news that Mtel will become A1 in Bulgaria was announced internally to the key people of the company

Everyone was On-boarded

Rebranding Group was created in Workplace with regular

updates on the process

Competitions and inquiries were launched

Positive changes in work processes, environment,

conditions and benefits were announced gradually

Phase 1

Part of Something Bigger

4th largest telco corporation in

the world

25 countries in America and Europe

362 mln. access lines:

• 279 mln. mobile clients

• 83,1 mln. fixed lines

América

Móvil

51%ÖBIB

28%

Others

21%

Shareholders

Part of A1 Group

5 months before the actual rebranding we started educating the people about A1 Group and that we are a part of it.

5G Demonstration

In February 2018 we organized the first 5G demonstration in Bulgaria with a high-speed 5G test, a VR demonstration and a robotics show.

IoT Event

In cooperation with Montana Municipality we presented the advantages of the Smart City concept through the use of our Narrowband IoT technology. We demonstrated solutions for air control, waste management, intelligent lighting and smart parking.

Phase 2

Jumping Into The Unknown

Rebranding Event & Activities for the Employees

One day before the official launch we presented the new brand at internal event with 500 key people attending

Rebranding Event for Media

The launch of the A1 brand was the biggest corporate media event in Bulgaria for 2018.

The Promises We Made

We also promised our clients a slew of gifts and new products and services:

• New fin-tech offering A1 Wallet and A1 Credit Card

• Our first own smartphone A1 Smart N9

• Own streaming platform A1 Xplore Music

• 10 GB of mobile data as free gift to all our clients

• One month free access to all channels of our TV service

• Option to give feedback for our network quality and receive 500 MB mobile data bonus

Media Presence

Covers in leading Bulgarian print media

Interviews with CEO and other A1 representatives

Special articles dedicated on the rebranding

A1 was Everywhere

Phase 3

The Art of Keeping

Promises

A1 Smart N9

The first A1 branded smartphone A1 Smart N9

Communicated with a live event, press release, video review on our blog and social media posts

A1 Wallet & A1 Credit Card

First fin-tech services A1 branded credit card and A1 digital wallet for mobile payments.

Communicated with press releases, pitching articles to targeted media, interviews and social media communication.

A1 Xplore Music

Own music streaming platform featuring over 30 million songs and the greatest variety of Bulgarian music of any similar service

Communicated with press releases, a strong social media campaign, a brand new FB account for the new service and collaboration with the MTV Varna Beach

A1 Gaming League

First true gaming league in Bulgaria with a prize fund of BGN 50,000

The communication included partnership with Aniventure Comic Con, press releases, new Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch accounts dedicated to the service and a social media campaign

MAX Sport

The sports channels were rebranded to MAX Sport and enriched with 3 new great football tournaments – the Spanish La Liga, the Italian Serie A and the Champions League

Communicated with an event for sports journalists, press releases and social media campaign

Phase 3

Keeping the Promises to the Team

Secret Garden Party

Biggest internal event for the year gathering 1,500 employees in the Botanic Garden in Sofia

Other Events

Recognizing the Top Performers of A1

Awarding the Sales Champions

Celebrating the first A1 Talents Class

More Benefits & Learning Opportunities

Additional benefits like flexible working time, birthday gift card, newborn gift, etc.

Enriched online and offline training and development portfolio

Digital on-boarding for new employees

Hard Work Always

Pays Off

External Communication ResultsRebranding

236

Articles, interviews

and reportages

based on our

rebranding

communication in

the 2 weeks after

the event

2200+

Social media posts

generated by our

rebranding

communication 1

month following the

rebranding

4,02%

Reach of SM

communication

about the rebranding

1 month following

the rebranding

2,5 mln.

Engagement rate of

SM communication

about the rebranding

1 month following

the rebranding

550+

Articles about our

new products by

the end of 2018

6

New social media

accounts launched

for out new products

3,5%+

Reach of SM

communication

about our new

products by the end

of 2018

4 mln.

Average engagement

rate of SM

communication

about our new

products

External Communication ResultsNew Products & Services

Yes

94%

No

3%

Not sure

3%

Do you know that Mtel is now A1?

The data is from nationally representative survey

carried out in July 2018

Rebranding Survey Results

Internal Brand Integration Survey Results

97

94

95

97

93

91

90

87

80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100

I like the A1 brand

The A1 brand brings benefits to our company

I understand what A1 Bulgaria promises tothe customers

Overall, I'm well informed about therebranding process

April 2018 November 2018

Public Recognition

Several awards for the rebranding

Three awards for the CEO

Prizes for PR, Marketing, HR, IT, Products & Services

Thank You!