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Creative Advertising

Creative Advertising: Sunday Communications Limited

Business Situation of Sunday
When Sunday was launched, the market was not favorable to it at all. Hong Kong was a very mature market. There were already six mobile phone operators who competed very fiercely in the small market. They provided different tariffs and services to customers. When the mobile number portability was introduced in March 1999, competition for subscribers became open to every player. Under this circumstance, Sunday entered the market successfully with an innovative approach to branding and promotion. It was positioned as a lifestyle brand and focused on brand building rather than pursuing to increase market share. Sunday became a standout brand with a high level of brand awareness, which led to its high ARPU and the high portion of locked-up subscribers.
With regards to customers, 86% of the population owns one or more mobile phone in Hong Kong. They were willing to spend money on their next mobile phone and pioneers or early adopters of the latest hi-tech gadgets. They are very open to new brands and technology. Also, they place more emphasis on handset appearance than customers in other Asian countries. In addition, more and more young people have become mobile phone owners. More than one fourth (29%) children between six to fifteen have a cellular phone, which is higher than the regional average of 12%. Consumers in Hong Kong are very informed decision makers, so brand and image become very important to them.

Sunday’s Communication Objectives
Despite its success, Sunday claimed a mere 9.8% of the market in 2000 and 8.3% in 2005. Although total number of subscribers continued to increase year to year, average revenue per user had been declining since 2001. Their aggressive branding strategies including eye-catching advertisements, alliance marketing and joint promotions were very effective in the first place, but they became stale and trite as many copycats followed....