As mobile technology has become an integral part of 21st-century life, both service providers and manufacturers in the sector are feeling the pressure to market their wares in fresh ways. Engaging the media-savvy consumer in what has become a market saturated with choice is a hard task.
But it seems mobile communications companies are devising ever-more creative and unusual practices to engage a diverse and constantly evolving target market.
Nokia is one such global brand that has become synonymous with the latest in mobile technology. In August the company was ranked as the world's sixth most valuable brand as part of the Business Week/Interbrand ranking.
As the only mobile phone manufacturer and the only European brand to make the top ten, the Finnish communications firm is obviously doing something right. Not bad for a company born out of a wood pulp mill in the 19th century.
Today, Nokia's strategy continues to place prominence on live communications exemplified by its ongoing commitment to employing below-the-line marketing strategies.
"The UK market has become crowded with ads and media is expensive. It can be hard to cut through the clutter unless you use a high-impact, long-term advertising campaign. We want to target the youth market, which is particularly media-savvy. We've been doing events for a while but we're involved in more than ever now," says Simon Lloyd, Nokia UK's head of marketing.
Nokia boasts an impressive portfolio of live projects. This year alone the brand has had headline presence at the Prince's Trust Urban Music Festival at Earl's Court in April, the Isle of Wight Festival in June and for the first time will be sponsoring Haymarket Exhibitions' Clotheshow Live event at the NEC in December. Even the worldwide phenomenon of Live 8 did not escape the grasp of Nokia, with the mobile firm signing up as a global sponsor.
The marketing team is given the opportunity to flex its creative muscles when choosing which events Nokia partners, with the criteria based around the youth target market.
"Our main focus is on youth. We have a very good cut-through to the 16 to 24-year-old youth market and mobile technology has become part of daily life. We therefore have to continue to reinvent ourselves. We're still viewed as a fairly mature brand and we run the risk of becoming a ubiquitous one. So it's about specifically targeting and reaching the youth audience and repositioning ourselves as such," adds Lloyd.
But, of course, it is not just about sponsorship, Nokia remains committed to a hands-on approach that can only be fulfilled through live-marketing activity. The brand's extensive sponsorship presence is often coupled with on-site activity. "It's become less about just sticking a badge on something and more about adding value. As well as our ongoing music focus we're also branching into sport via the Rip Curl Boardmasters festival, where people could not just watch but get involved and try surfing," says Lloyd. In association with the surfing festival, a two-day event called the Nokia Unleashed Music Festival was launched. Taking place in Newquay, Cornwall, during August, the event also allowed the brand to once again geographically spread its wings.
As Nokia continues to launch new products the marketing strategy must develop in tandem. In promoting the recent N-Gage gaming series, the team learnt the value of including live marketing. "For such products you can advertise heavily but in this marketplace many of those within the target audience will not necessarily take advertising seriously. They think you're just playing at it. We moved into games purely through a traditional advertising route.
"It soon became apparent that we had to include face-to-face shows. At the smaller end of the scale we targeted shopping centres so consumers could have a go. On the macro end of the scale the developers were targeted.
We sponsored events such as Joystick Junkie club nights, which allowed us to show ourselves to the industry so they got to know our executives personally," says Mark Squires, Nokia UK head of communications.
With just two dedicated staff working internally on the events portfolio it has become essential to draw on external resources. Communications agency Haygarth has worked with the Nokia brand for 11 years and Lloyd describes it as "an extension of the marketing team".
Up to 25 staff at Haygarth work on the Nokia account, divided into three teams; Mobile Phones, Multi-media and Enterprise Solutions. With such a high retention with the client, Haygarth has developed a clear understanding of the brand and its continued aims.
"Nokia had not previously rolled out a bespoke youth marketing campaign. Nokia's research on a global level saw the need to address the youth market at the end of last year. For the UK, as a leading market, we wanted to start on a youth marketing campaign immediately.
Initially, we looked at the lifestyle interests of the core markets, in particular sport and music, hence the music festival presence," says Nilam Patel, account director at Haygarth.
Developing Nokia's strategy will increasingly focus on music, leading to the launch of additional music products in 2006. The Nokia Raw project seems to have become the epicentre of the firm's UK marketing strategy.
The campaign ethos aims to bring music closer to the consumer via a number of initiatives. At the O2 Music Wireless Festival (which was a test format for the Carling Weekend event), fans won a chance to watch the bands play from the Nokia Raw Viewing Platform.
Revellers at The Carling Weekend: Reading & Leeds were invited to 'Rock Up & Play' a tune on the Nokia Raw stage. Throughout the festival season music fans were also offered hands-on tuition via free guitar lessons or even the chance to ask their idols about the music industry in a face-to-face masterclass.
"It's all about real live music and nurturing talent; being both credible and innovative. We've completed extensive research and have had positive results from the initial anecdotal and qualitative feedback. This is particularly promising as it's a very cynical market that is anti-corporate and difficult to break into," adds Patel.
At each event consumers were able to download band ringtones, wallpapers or win prizes such as drinks, phones and Nokia gear from dedicated download walls or roaming Nokia Raw demo staff.
The momentum of this campaign has continued through the year and has culminated in the ongoing Nokia Raw Tour, which Haygarth is working on with promoter Clearchannel. Bands such as El Presidente, JJ72 and Queen Adreena have all featured on the tour, which has run from September to mid-November.
"We're fortunate to have a good position in the market and keep reinventing ourselves. We're aware of the other manufacturers snapping at our heels. It's great for a manufacturer to have the number one product in the market but we've got a great brand.
"There are a number of great products and there is a risk of the industry becoming homogenous but I feel we can be differentiated by the way we behave as a brand.
"We view ourselves as the human technology brand. It's about the consumer getting involved," he concludes.