Cabbie-oke shakes up the image

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Some established brands occasionally need to shake up their image to ensure that the younger generation continue the buying habits of their parents.

This was exactly the challenge facing Telstra, one of Australia's established and leading telecoms companies. While popular with older consumers, Telstra was keen to attract a younger generation of customer, to secure its future position as Australia's leading provider of telecoms services.

Realising that there was a culture clash between the fun loving, hedonistic Australian youth market, and Telstra's perceived boring image, the company realised it need to find a way to make Telstra attractive to its future audience.

Based on the idea that nightlife and having fun were key areas of importance to this market, Telstra decided to add to the party spirit with "Cabbie-oke", essentially a mobile karaoke booth in the back of a Telstra branded taxicab that drove around the city centre allowing groups of friends to sing along to the chart hits of their choice.

Participants were captured on film, and the resulting clips were shared on the Telstra branded Cabbie-oke website. Users could share their videos through Facebook and other social media platforms.

The activity generated significant amounts of TV and press coverage, 5000 videos were shared online and 180 000 digitally engaged with the campaign, helping Telstra to achieve its aim of connecting with younger consumers and entering their world.