8ta brand fizzles out

Personally think Telkom Mobile is the better name, only problem is the negative stigma attached to the Telkom name.
 
I wonder why they didn't go with it to begin with? I suspect they wanted a division between the two but now need to consolidate a bit more
 
They should have just launched 8ta as Telkom from the beginning.Because Telkom name is much stronger as brand than 8ta and because some people may not know who 8ta is but instead know Telkom.
 
They should have branded it Telkom Mobile right away from the start, now 8.ta has signed a deal with the PSL, just don't get it, ;)
 
I liked 8ta because it was separate from Telkom.
It was fresh and young and different. The entire attitude of the 8ta company was different.

Now I'm being forced to go to Telkom Mobile and 8ta is being thrown out the window.
I don't like it, I already miss 8ta. The stories about the two brands co-existing is rubbish.

Telkom have no plan to keep 8ta around for the long term. They are slowly but surely migrating everything from 8ta to TM, and eventually they'll say "Oh, but 8ta only had 1 or 2 products left and so few customers that it is not financially feasible to keep it going as a standalone entity. We are thus absorbing it into TM completely."

As evidenced already, the onnet.8ta.com url no longer works, you get directed to a Telkom Mobile page. The 8ta.com website has been rebranded as TM. Meh.
 
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It would seem that the 8ta brand is on its last legs and one can’t help but wonder whether there were ever plans for it to co-exist with Telkom Mobile.
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8ta management wanted to be a separate legal entity...

Looks like the new strategy requires Telkom to have a strong "wireless" presence!
 
I am really curious about:
Why have we taken this step?
8ta is a well-loved brand and will live on under a different guise. It will be repositioned as a product of Telkom Mobile and, later in the year, re-launched as an even more dynamic, nimble and irreverent version of itself. Recently 8ta committed itself to a five year partnership with the PSL that will extend the 8ta loving family to the football loving community. New products will be introduced under the 8ta banner that will delight in their simplicity and offer great value. But we will tell you more about those exciting developments later.
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Really sounds like a MVNO type thing - Red Bull Mobile ...
 
8tas strategy was the youth and prepaid market. Fresh Vibrant branding.
TM is more corporate "upmarket" with their convergence with fixed business.
TM makes more sense.
I they decide to keep both, but im sure it would be too expensive and difficult to maintain in the long run...
 
AnibugZA said:
I liked 8ta because it was separate from Telkom.
It was fresh and young and different. The entire attitude of the 8ta company was different.
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I don't agree with this. The staff I spoke to on occasion were just as useless as those at a Telkom call centre. Maybe the management were different, but I never got to communicate with them
 
How much cash has been blown on setting up & advertising 8ta?

Now it all gets shelved-WTF is wrong with these people??
 
AnibugZA said:
I liked 8ta because it was separate from Telkom.
It was fresh and young and different. The entire attitude of the 8ta company was different.
Click to expand...
In my experience the 8ta rep was better than the Telkom rep. The cases I lodged with 8tarep were dealt with quickly yet I've currently got a case (lodged months ago) and a data-usage query made via telkomrep that I've yet to get an answer to. They might even be the same people with more workload, I don't know, but things moved much smoother (for me) under the 8ta branding.
 
I'm torn. I absolutely hated the branding of 8ta, but they did waste in incredible amount of money on it to just throw it away... I would however like to see a "new Telkom" emerge... but... that could just be a pipe dream.
 
Telkom's strategy is go have no strategy. Keep em guessing is the motto!




Telkom cements 8ta brand

By Bonnie Tubbs, ITWeb journalist.
Johannesburg, 6 Mar 2013

The 8ta brand is here to stay, says Telkom, clearing up a bout of confusion that hit the industry last week when the MD of Telkom Mobile, Attila Vitai, sent a letter to staff members stating the pink and black mobile brand would be gradually dissolved.

Telkom cemented its subsequent statement that its mobile arm would not be phased out – but would merely see a shift in the markets it focuses on – at a media event announcing 8ta’s exclusive partnership with the Premier Soccer League (PSL) today.

Manelisa Mavuso, MD of consumer and retail services at Telkom, said 8ta’s sponsorship of the league represented “great value” (financially), and that the move was evidence of Telkom’s commitment to the 8ta brand. For the next five years, 8ta will own the mobile rights for the PSL business, and associated events.

Massive market

Mavuso said the partnership would be leveraged to drive the 8ta brand into what he says is a vast market that represents millions of soccer fans and, ultimately, potential owners of 8ta’s 081 prefix.

Latest headlines

He said plans for 8ta were part of Telkom’s ultimate mission, steeped in convergence. “8ta is part of Telkom. 8ta is Telkom.”

Going forward, said Mavuso, the company will serve some parts of the market through the Telkom Mobile brand, and some parts of the market through the 8ta brand.

“Our offerings under each brand will be based on the way customers actually use voice and data, rather than be limited by traditional marketing models.”

He says the decision to split-focus Telkom’s mobile business was taken following a great deal of investigation and deliberation. “Market dynamics formed part of the equation, as did the benefits of leveraging off the strong Telkom brand equity in the context of our convergence agenda.”

Mavuso says 8ta is exploring ways of serving PSL players and fans alike, with things like WiFi and cheaper calls from within the bounds of soccer stadiums. “We are also looking at launching a Web portal that will leverage content from fans and players.”
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