'Thumbs' take on 'Rules'

By IRENE CHAPPLE

The battle for the mobile phone market is gathering momentum as Telecom and Vodafone bombard consumers with high-profile marketing campaigns.

Telecom's "Thumbing" campaign, started this month, follows closely Vodafone's "Changing the Rules" marketing push.

Changing the Rules, a campaign which ran television ads to the catchy tune of "We're not gonna take it," is not comparable to Telecom's campaign, says Vodafone marketing manager Alison Sykora.

"It's a different product. The campaign shows a change in business model."

Telecom intends to move in on Vodafone's professed youth market client base, though neither will say they are after the youth market.

But Mark Rushworth, of Telecom Mobile, agrees the Thumbing campaign is oriented towards the "young - or young at heart".

With 60 per cent penetration of mobile phones in New Zealand, it is not such a growth market any more, says Mr Rushworth.

"If we want to expand, we need to look at each other's markets," he says.

This summer, Telecom will use "Thumbing teams" to tempt Vodafone customers, with products such as chapsticks, tattoos and T-shirts.

"We want to create a whole culture," he says. It will be led by the Judge, whose fingers were damaged in a snowboard accident and can now use only her thumbs.