Swisscom's new clothes

 
Internet Jung von Matt/Limmat developed several measures for Swisscom to communicate the new brand world.  
The Beck-&-Bondi fan community was probably shocked when Swisscom announced that the award-winning advertising soap opera would be discontinued with the introduction of a new brand world. The telecoms provider no longer has any use for the cult families because Swisscom merged the Fixnet, Mobile, Solution and Bluewin Group companies at the beginning of the year. In future, the company intends to operate under the Swisscom umbrella brand. In addition to Beck & Bondi, the Bluewin logo is also being laid to rest, which has met with incomprehension among many brand professionals. Swisscom counters that the uniform appearance is a must. It hopes that this will lead to greater communication efficiency.
New logo as centerpieceWhat Swisscom announced last year is now being implemented throughout Switzerland. The communications company has been sporting a new look for a few days now. The centerpiece of the new look is the blue, white and red logo, which was developed by Bruno Maag, a London-based graphic designer with Swiss roots. In addition to the bold design, the logo rotates on its own axis on the screen. Media spokesman Sepp Huber: "We believe that such moving logos will be used more and more in the future and want to play a pioneering role here as a telecoms company." The logo has received both praise and criticism from the public. Comedian Victor Giaccobo joked in his show on Sunday about the telecom provider's new figurehead: "The new Swisscom logo looks like a turtle sitting on its butt."
Swisscom is making a big splash to publicize its new image. The Zurich advertising agency Jung von Matt/Limmat has developed a large package of measures for the telecom giant. At the heart of the campaign is a television commercial called "Omega Man", presumably a reference to the science fiction film from 1971, in which a young man is lost in thought as he taps away on his cell phone. When he turns to his colleague for technical advice, the world around him is suddenly empty. After a few steps, however, he finds help in the Swisscom store. The commercial is accompanied by a national poster and advertising campaign that is particularly striking for its simplicity.
As can be read on forum pages and weblogs these days, the poster subjects appear completely alien and emotionless. At first glance, it is also unclear who is behind the messages such as "Hello every-minute email checker. We're here for you." or "Dear romantic. Yes, that still exists today: someone is here for you." as the sender. "The campaign is indeed polarizing. But I find it very human and approachable," says Alexander Jaggy, Creative Director at Jung von Matt/Limmat.
Delivering on the brand promise The online campaign that Jung von Matt has launched for the communications giant has met with more enthusiasm. On the Swisscom-Mosaik.ch microsite, visitors are invited to send in their photos. These are incorporated into the Swisscom logo according to the mosaic principle. The images are assigned based on the colors. "In this way, we want to fulfill the brand promise of being close to our customers," says Matthias Adolf, Head of Online at Jung von Matt/Limmat. Photos can be uploaded via the Internet or MMS. However, the mosaic idea is not new. Two years ago, the environmental organization WWF also sought dialogue with users with a similar campaign.
Christian Lüscher