Budiey
MAXIS LAUNCHES HOTLINK BRAND REFRESH INITIATIVE
Maxis and Hotlink reinforce leadership via a new journey in brand expression
Malaysia’s leading mobile operator, Maxis Communications Berhad (“Maxis”), today launched Hotlink Brand Refresh, a Hotlink re-branding exercise that will integrate the two leading brands within a more comprehensive corporate identity. Maxis also unveiled Hotlink’s new logo today at a media session hosted by Maxis Chief Marketing Officer, Matthew Willsher.
Matthew Willsher, said, “The Maxis brand was launched in 1995 while we introduced the Hotlink brand four years later in 1999. The Maxis brand has been traditionally associated with postpaid activities, while Hotlink has been linked to prepaid. Today’s brand refresh exercise will enable us to achieve a consistent brand image across Maxis and Hotlink. It is timely to bring both of our biggest brands closer together as they have been in the market for over a decade. This improved synergy will further elevate our brand equity, as we journey towards a new beginning in brand expression.”
The integration of these two significant brands will be achieved thorough a shared corporate identity and also through embedding elements of the Maxis logo into the Hotlink logo. In addition, both brands will be built on the same core brand values of Creative, Simple and Trustworthy, but with distinct personalities of their own. As part of the integration exercise, the Hotlink brand will be refreshed.
The new Hotlink Brand Refresh campaign is about bringing the brand values to life in a way that is youthful, refreshing and vibrant. Hotlink’s campaign revolves around the brand promise of “There’s always more with Hotlink.” It takes a 360-degree approach using a combination of media mix, new and traditional to reach out to and build affinity with customers.
Willsher added, “When Hotlink was launched in 1999, we became the number one prepaid
service provider in Malaysia within nine months. Hotlink has reinforced its leadership position by continuously exceeding customers’ expectations in the pillars of voice and SMS, music, games, rewards and mobile internet. The theme ‘There’s always more with Hotlink’ succinctly captures the essence of our customer offerings thus far.”
In voice and SMS, Hotlink has launched many value offerings including the lowest call rates of 12 sen per minute and the lowest SMS rates of ½ sen per SMS for its Hotlink Youth Club members. Members also enjoy a full suite of club benefits from being the first to try innovative services, special privileges for movies and concerts, to reward vouchers and holiday trips.
In music, Hotlink now offers the most extensive mobile music library with over one million music downloads available. Meanwhile, the Hotlink Games Unlimited Portal has the widest selection of mobile games in Malaysia with over 6500 titles. In rewards, this year alone, Hotlink has given out 1.5 billion free SMSes and to date, Hotlink Rewards has rewarded loyal users with over RM65 million worth of free calls and SMSes.
In mobile internet, Maxis is the first telco to offer BlackBerry to prepaid customers with a range of service packages that meet their varied needs ranging from email to social messaging functions. Hotlink customers can now enjoy the full range of BlackBerry services from Maxis with packages from as low as RM28 per month.
Hotlink also recently introduced mobile internet by time to make the whole mobile internet experience more customer-friendly. Customers are charged based on surfing time from as low as RM2 per hour and RM8 per day. This charging concept is totally new to prepaid mobile users. Customers may now have peace of mind while surfing, knowing that they are able to manage their spending better.
Finally, prepaid broadband packages are now available to all Hotlink customers. These packages are ideal for customers who do not want a monthly commitment. The RM8 plan entitles the customer to 24 hours or up to 500MB of usage; while the RM25 plan has a seven-day validity and is capped at 2GB of usage.
Maxis involved Malaysian talent in the whole creation of the Hotlink advertising campaign from the development of the television campaign to the composition of the soundtrack. The commercial soundtrack was specially developed by Malaysian composer Audi Mok, who recently won the Prime Minister’s award for his 1Malaysia song composition, Satu Malaysia. The creations of these Malaysian talents will enable Maxis to present a re-vitalised, fresh and dynamic Hotlink.
Willsher added, “Hotlink is a local brand that has not forgotten its roots and its links to the largest prepaid community in Malaysia. Furthermore, as the leading prepaid brand in Malaysia, Hotlink has remained true to its promise of delivery to its customers. With the Hotlink Brand Refresh exercise, we will seek to integrate and evolve to provide even more value to our customers.”
