- WORK OVERVIEW
- Rebranding
- sales, marketing and communication
- Cyberia Racing Team
We hold Cyberia in special regard. Not only does the work for the internet service provider rank quite high in our portfolio as an example of a successfully applied methodology that we truly believe in, but it’s also testimony to the importance of an agency-client dialogue. Simply put, without the collaborative spirit that exists between Cyberia and Mind the gap, the outcome of the work cannot attain the degree of radicalness it deserves: complete integration between “image” and “message” where the brand is notably strengthened by becoming the unique central driver. Positioning is key here, and the way Cyberia acquired a larger than life consumer-brand status is not by chance but, literally, by design. The work began with a rebranding exercise that enabled identity and communication, advertising and marketing, to emanate from and remain in service of a single core conceptual framework – one that is still going strong to this day.
When we were approached by Cyberia in 1996, it was for the design of a one-off printable in sync with a pre-existing identity. But the conversation quickly turned to more fundamental matters. Our recommendation was to completely reposition and rebrand, based on an insight into the Lebanese market. At the time, internet service providers were still relatively new and the public perceived the online world as unfamiliar territory: technical, obscure, complicated. The idea was to transform the Cyberia brand into a household commodity: simple, reliable, affordable. Technology-driven visual codes were stripped away and a mass consumption aesthetic took over, one that in fact could belong to any other consumer product. In order to be effective, this strategy needed to go beyond the identity scheme and into an inventive sales operation supported by innovative methods, brand-focused communication, and an aggressive yet economical public presence. Internet became for everyone.
Following the consumer product repositioning and brand-centered communication methodology adopted for Cyberia, a number of sales and marketing tools were introduced to drive the brand home, so to speak. These include the CyberCredits system and the Cyberia Internet Starter Kit, facilitating recharge and installation respectively; country-wide neighborhood shops that functioned as branded re-seller outlets (with the internet re-seller lightbox not far behind as the subsequent model); the Cyberia fully-branded bus (a communication first in Lebanon) with CyberCredits purchasable on board; thematically fitting sponsorship activities; and selective cases of classic advertising. Cyberia quickly enjoyed an unmistakable level of brand awareness and was able to easily expand to new products such as pay-as-you-go internet, wireless internet and ADSL. Essentially, the strategy made it possible for a market late-comer to become the leading Lebanese internet provider in less than a year, a position still occupied today by this now household name.
Many sponsorship activities can be forgettable, irrelevant, or even all out inappropriate. Think of a junk food brand sponsoring a major athletic event. It’s not unheard of, and it probably achieves the financial goals for both sponsor and sponsored, but the irony never really escapes the audience. For Cyberia, we wanted an endorsement scenario with popular appeal that links clearly to the service, and what’s better than “internet” and “speed”. For two consecutive years, Cyberia Racing Team was assembled behind Lebanese rally champion Jean-Pierre Nasrallah, adorning everything from uniforms to a truck to, of course, the race car itself. It was fun. It was ferocious. It was fast. Perhaps too fast for the dial-up speed of the time. But hey, it was the late 90s after all.
- WORK OVERVIEW
- Rebranding
- sales, marketing and communication
- Cyberia Racing Team
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