Are you in or are you out?

Random thoughts on a Friday night: when young people form groups in school, it’s as important who is in the group as who is kept out of the group.

I wonder if digital device ownership will or already has become a criteria for social interactions: John owns a Nokia and therefore hangs out with this group of people whereas Nancy owns a second-hand Blackberry given by her parents and hangs out with a completely different group of people.

Could this also possibly extend to network providers? Could Blyk become a brand that people associate with a particular mindset and serve as a social glue?

Mobile providers already have brand images that yong people recognise. Vodafone can perhaps be thought of as the “safe and grownup” network, whereas O2 and 3 are the younger-feeling brands. Could these brand “personas” become mirrors for their users not only on a personal level but also affect perception from others. Hard to tell as we don’t tend to wear our network on our sleeve, but the Blyk offering could certainly push things in that direction.

” Didn’t have to pay for tickets: You must be using Blyk ” to take a simple example. “Saw yesterday’s message of the day? Wasn’t that highlarious?” When a network starts to become a social agent, the game isn’t about how many minutes or texts you get for free, but what actual connections you create between users.

Entry Filed under: Brand, Marketing, Network Structure