Trevor Noah is no joke, says Cell C

Rudolph Muller

Rudolph Muller is the editor at MyBroadband and covers telecoms and broadband news. Rudolph comes from an academic background, but left the University of...

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Well known comedian Trevor Noah recently became the face of Cell C in a marketing campaign. But is there more to it than a few funny ads?

Cell C recently unveiled their new brand, sporting a fresh logo and a new focus. Cell C CEO, Lars P Reichelt said that the new corporate identity reflects the company’s vision of understanding its customers’ way of life better than anybody else and tailoring solutions around them.

“Cell C intends to gain the trust of customers by being very open about the changes that are needed. Consumers are invited into dialogue and we want to engage them in the change that is happening. Cell C wants to understand where customers are really unhappy in order to address those issues.”

Reichelt said to ensure the changes are in line with what customers want, Cell C has partnered with comedian Trevor Noah to be “the company’s eyes and ears”.

“In his new watchdog role as Customer Experience Officer (C.E.O), Noah will see to it that Cell C delivers. Noah will also feature in an extensive marketing campaign that will provide customers with a platform to raise their views, concerns and frustrations by posting comments on www.telltrevor.co.za or by sending an SMS to 32353,” the company said in a press statement.

The press statement goes on to day that Cell C expects Trevor to remain objective and critical throughout the transformation. “Trevor will work with us, not for us.”

Criticism of Cell C “Tell Trevor” campaign

Cell C’s Tell Trevor campaign was met with mixed reactions. Many consumers welcomed the cellular providers’ rebranding and increased consumer focus while others perceived their efforts as simply another marketing campaign making promises that they can’t keep.

TheDailyMaverick recently analyzed the campaign, and social media expert Dave Duarte was less than impressed. “Cell C’s thinking was fine, but the execution was contrived and transparent. It was a staged play that shows Cell C is trying to control everything.”

More analysis about the Cell C campaign here: Cell C re-invented? Brand, social media and legal specialists are not so sure

Don Edwards also raises questions about the timing of Noah’s comedy sketch and the subsequent campaign. According to Edwards the domain telltrevor.co.za was registered by the Cell C ad agency on 23 June, long before the comedy sketch was uploaded to YouTube.

Edwards further suggests that Noah is removing negative comments: “Trevor’s YouTube handle is “southafrica4you”. It seems that all critical comments on the YouTube page are being systematically removed. Pity they don’t remove the positive responses. It starts looking a bit obvious.”

Cell C says Trevor is for real

According to Cell C Trevor Noah is more than a mere character in Cell C’s new marketing campaign, and his role at Cell C has multiple facets:

Consumer Insider, he works inside and with Cell C and he will “reveal” and test Cell C
Challenger to Cell C, i.e. His mandate is to keep Cell C honest
Listener, i.e. Consumers can relate to and deliver their suggestions and/or rants to Trevor
Consumer Champion, i.e. He represents the consumer’s voice

“Through the marketing campaign Trevor provides a platform for customers to raise their views, concerns and frustrations by posting comments on www.telltrevor.co.za or by sending an SMS to 32353. He invites customers to participate and interact with Cell C on its journey to improve and transform the organization and the category,” said Cell C CEO Lars Reichelt.

Cell C points out that they have received more than 9000 comments in a single week, showing the significant customer participation encouraged through this campaign.

Cell C added that Noah is also testing their new “4GS network”, which means that he has access to their new HSPA+ 900 network layer and is trialing it by using it as a customer would.

“Trevor is the ‘eyes and ears’ of the consumer. His role is to ensure we deliver on our promises. It is Cell C that answers to all consumers, including Trevor. In addition, I am in touch with Trevor every week via phone, mail or in person,” said Reichelt.

Reichelt pointed out that Noah works with Cell C and not for Cell. “He is not part of the Cell C organization. Trevor represents the consumer at large and acts as a positive catalyst, i.e. he enables reactions that would otherwise be blocked or slowed,” said Reichelt.

Cell C promised that consumers will start to see changes in the coming months.

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