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'The market is hungry for choice and alternatives'
How daunting is it to launch a new brand against such an established player in the telecoms market? What opportunities have you identified in this market? How will you differentiate your product from your established rival? How do you intend to raise awareness of your brand? What is your advertising strategy for launch? How will the introduction of a new player into your country's telecoms market change the sector? What opportunities do you see for developing your country's internet provision? Where do you hope the business will be in terms of market share and general advancement after a year of operating? It is not daunting. However, it can be a challenge at times. We have a strong team that has many years of international experience in the telecoms industry in deregulated and highly competitive markets and this has contributed substantially to our success in launching our brand and remaining consistent. The market is hungry for choice and alternatives. I am sure you can appreciate this when you consider it has been just a single monopoly provider over the past 25 years. This presents opportunities on all fronts for us towards both the residential and corporate segments. Typically in a deregulating market, you'll find opportunities are driven by price and quality. Customers expect the prices to lower and the quality of the products and services (including customer service of course) to improve. It comes down to being relevant to your target markets and ensuring you deliver on any promises you make. Differentiation for us has come in different manners, from lower costs, to introducing some disruptive services such as VoIP, to improving customer contact points and our customer focus. I also believe our brand and its consistency has been a very strong factor in our position within market. I believe building our brand, raising its awareness and maintaining consistency is a job for every single person within Kalaam. It is about everything you do and the way you do it at every single contact opportunity you have with the customer and certainly not just in communications or promotional activities. We plan on maintaining consistency of our message. Our strategy consisted of above and below-the-line activities to raise general awareness within the local Bahrain market and position Kalaam and its brand identity accordingly. Competition is great in most situations as it allows strong and customer focused organisations to further shine and prove themselves. However, the flip side to that is that not all organisations in a competitive market have the same focus on customers or quality which, in turn, could affect the reputation of the whole industry. Huge and massive opportunities. The internet penetration rates in Bahrain have been low compared to their potential, which leaves room for new operators to come into the market and take advantage of such potential to offer advanced internet services. We are certainly working extremely hard (and smart) to ensure that Kalaam is positioned at the forefront of alternative telecom providers in the Middle East. Our base is in Bahrain but we also have strong regional ambitions to expand further as opportunities open up. Anytime a second operator enters a market previously dominated by a single player, you are talking about a challenging task. However, Du has been preparing for this scenario for some time now and, as a result, we are approaching our launch with confidence and determination to make an impact early on in the market. Without going into details about our strategy, we have identified a number of opportunities that exist in the market in terms of products and services. Currently the telecom market is at a stage in which consumers are demanding more in terms of telecommunication solutions. Our ethos is to meet the demands of the market and fill the gaps by providing comprehensive integrated solutions that are multi-dimensional. The differentiating and vital factors for Du in the UAE are the following. Customers: We view our relationship with our customers as the centrepiece around which all other elements of our business must evolve. Choice: Du's services will be tailored to make life easier and to make communication experiences better. Good quality: Our passion lies in delivering a compelling value proposition, and in exceeding customer expectations. Price: We intend to attract customers by attaching value for money to our products and services. Stimulate growth: Du will take proactive steps to stimulate the growth of the market and the economy in general We want our brand to touch people's hearts and minds. We will deliver this through everything we do in our company. The customer is at the heart of all that we do at Du, and by listening to what they think, feel and want, together we can transform telecommunications as we know it and fulfill our shared vision of ushering in a new era of easier communication. People across the UAE are formally introduced to the market's new telecom operator via its brand slogan "Adding Life to Life". The slogan reflects Du's brand campaign, which revolves around the concept that communication is as essential to life, as integral and pervasive a component of everyday life, as water. The opening of the UAE telecom market will have the desired effect, creating positive benefits including more value and choice for consumers with better services and innovative technology. The situation will create and promote competition, which is healthy for any economy and its players, both consumers and businesses. The UAE has developed the region's most extensive internet service and the opportunities to introduce provisions in this area are manifold and we will reveal the details about our internet offers in due course. We have announced that we are targeting 30% of the UAE market between 2007 and 2009. Even with this number of subscribers, we have a lot to introduce to the UAE's telecom market in fixed, mobile phone, data and internet services, besides satellite radio and TV broadcasting.
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