Qtel hits out at negative campaigning

you know what , qtel may have huge market share here and may have loads of bank balance too but that doesn't mean that they are the best its just cuz they are the only single network in doha previously. which will for sure make them that big..guys trust me i have used many other networks around the world and qtel..falls nowhere near to them

even their website look horrible to me

Fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom

(if it is all true) as Vodophone are in competition with Qtel xxxxxx

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God does not believe in Athiests.

If someone can say for sure that Vodaphone was not respecting Qatari culture at an event and using traditional dress and practices to make cheap jokes....

then they can stuff their sim cards as far as I am concerned....

Qataris love it if you wear their clothes with respect -

but as some sort of fancy dress - that is rudeeeeeeee

Well we all know what Q-Tel is Q-Hell and what's with the Vodafone? as I know they use the same backbone EKKKK only customer services are different :) (ahhhhhhhhhhh)

Q-Tel Speaks Arabic

Vodafone Speaks Urdu/Malayalam/Kerala

I saw that. Do they mean men dressed as ladies? That would certainly be an original marketing stunt in Qatar...

From the same story in the Peninsula;

"The participants, including some senior Vodafone officials, were dressed in casuals and some even wore ‘funny-looking’ dresses. "

What outrageous behaviour! No wonder Qtel have gone crying to the newspapers.

And I thought they were sharing networks?

Doesn't make sense to be negative...

And are they gonna leave those ugly towers forever?

Or are they just temp?

You can't teach experience...

I think that most consumers will wait untill V/F is up and running then buy V/f sims and ditch Qtel.

you know I think 80% of Qatar Population are fustraed of Qtel sercice rates domination and Iam one of them.

I mean waiting on the line for 30minutes for the call center to answer my call is really not tolarable.

even if iam speaking about internet landine.

requesting a new company line that takes more than 6 month to be installaed is also something you can necer forget .

I think Qtel has been sleeping and now the alaram is ringing over there heads.

V/F will get at least most of the EXp, a small portion of locals.

How about this search trend:

In Qatar

Blue is QTel/Q-Tel, In Arabic and English

Red is Vodafone/Vodaphone, In Arabic and English (I included the misspelling)

It only shows new interest in searching for vodafone, especially after the IPO.

The interest only started in Oct'08.

In any case qatar is a fruitful they must recover quickly

MLK...

I wish all the best to the consumers...

As a war between QTEL and Vodafone will only victimize consumers.

I guess that Vodafone has much more power to satisfy expats in terms of services, so potentially a great part of the cake. They will use the strength of their network all over the world to provide benefits in terms of roaming. Triple play offers have been developed years ago by Vodafone abroad as well, where they face tough competition, so they have a good experience in this area.

I think QTEL had all the time in the past and should have implemented a full speed broadband network (fiber) from the early days, to have a real advantage on competitors in terms of service, quality and offers. The strategy should have emphasized on quality of service as well, and not trying to rush at last minute because of the presence of a competitor, this will affect their image. I wish all the best to both of them.

Ow...

and for all you mobile lovers ...

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER

buy the Vodafone Blackberry (slam)

What an amazing piece of crap

If you do not believe me... browse the net...

Especially the signal problem is extremely annoying.

The major issue on this competition is;

HOW QTEL WILL RATE THE CHARGE FOR OUTGOING LOCAL CALLS TO VODAFONE NUMBERS??? AND VICE VERSA????

In Philippines, there is a higher rate for outgoing calls from SMART to GLOBE, than from SMART to SMART (of course!)

Thus, if most of our friends are using SMART, we OPT to use SMART sim.

Then QTEL will KILL the competition by doing the same, charging HIGHER RATE for outgoing calls of QTEL card to VODAFONE card.

Am i right???

Euhmm...

QTEL will never be overruled in the market by Vodafone. Np way, no how.

In the UAE I decided not to go with DU, and a wise decision it was. Something tells me I'd better not switch to Vodafone here. Instead, just wait for feedback from others first.

Injin, of that approximate 250,000 you have to factor out at least 40% as they are children, elderly etc. Also, Qatari households have on averrage 8 people per family househould not including any domestic help, which cuts down dramatically on internet subscription rates.

Add this in with most of the international calling being made is by expats and the mere Qatari/expat ratio I cant imagine how Q-Tel would be making most of its money off locals. Even if locals use their phones more, how to you count in that a local would have to talk on his phone 24 hours a day just to make up the expat/Qatari variance?

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock - Will Rogers"

Problem is that so many people got pissed off with QTEL from past infamous experiences. So I guess most of those unhappy customer are just waiting to move to Vodafone, simply to slam QTEL over bad client service and relationship management.

The feeling over this marketing game looks like an immature reaction of an "over gifted" and "pourri gaté" ego centric child to his newly born brother. And Vodafone is probably a great chess game player, so a tough near future competitor.

I'd stake a lot on Qtel making most of their money from expats.

Yes, I do.

250 thousand local phone calls and 1.25 million expat phone calls. I'd still say, Qtel would make 50% from 20% of the population.

Qtel is an international brand run by competent Qatari's and Expats alike, do you think it was a spur of the moment and someone went to the press to "Crib". ofcourse not. It's called product positioning. If Qtel meets vodafone on pricing, there is no price differentiation, then to the core segment Qtel would tout the heritage value card and would prevent attrition of the core segments.

Remember the 80/20 rule of business ;-)

Rgds,

J.J

Injin, Q-tel was (and officially still is) qatars only provider, with locals making up roughly 250,000 of the population.

Still think the bulk of business is from locals?

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock - Will Rogers"

I do not think Qtel erred. On the contrary I think they took expoited a good marketing opportunity.

I am going on a limb here and guessing but i presume the bulk of Qtel revenue is from locals. If Qtel touts itself as the local national brand with local heritage, it would prevent attrition of their core customer base. This is product differentiation at its best. Qtel P.R and marketing team, hats off to you.

Rgds,

J.J

it was mentioned in AL WATAN ( the arabic newspaper) of last Friday that the slogan of vodafone is GOOD BYE QTEL

may be this is the Negative way loool

I have heard that there will be additional charges for voda customers wanting to call Q-tel customers (or vice versa, I dont recall). Anyone else heard this?

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock - Will Rogers"

Businesses always mention their competitors names, you have to look at the adverts for news agencies to see this. MSNBC did one in the emirates a while back depicting a bar chart of their competitors ratings (including Al Jazeera) which got a lot of tongues wagging.

As a consumer I cant really say I mind any form of commercial wagering and hope it means better rates and packages for all of us poor communication junkies.

Q-Tel has to come back one above; wittier, sharper and more competitive. All's also fair in economics.

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock - Will Rogers"

hey Qtel u didn't hear what they said behind your back lol

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Don't get angry with me! I'm only typing what you are thinking!

qtel .. hahah a.. they don't give router password for mozaic .... & even unlimited mobile internet is not unlimited ... its 15GB only .. why they write Unlimited ... u cant trust them they can change any term when ever they want

i wish vodafone offer there services sincerely ... i want 2 b 1st one 2 switch ...

programer ... visual effects ... web dev .. 3d animator .. compositer ... tech suport...graphic designer ...3d Game Developer (Done) +++ something else???

and that'sthe problem...

And I would guess you have the same prob with Voda...

So who care??? same prob diff compnany....

I'm happy with Qtel...And they lowering rates...

And increase BW...No complaint here...

except the 4 hours I spent on phone to try to tell the guy where I lived....

You can't teach experience...

when Vodafone came to India they bought an existing company called Hutch. They did not start from zero. So that's completely irrelevant.

And no they are not the leading telecom provider in India, most of the people I know have disconnected their Vodafone services in India and switched to Qtel. That's the general opinion over there.

I don't think Vodafone will completely trash Qtel.

Qtel has a lot of money (believe it or not probably comparable to how much Vodafone international has). If you can't believe that, they have very rich shareholders.

Unless Vodafone gives away free phones or something, or introduces rates which are half of Qtel's, they won't be too successful at first. And its unlikely Vodafone will do that, Vodafone is here for a return on investment, not to beat Qtel, snatch their customers even if they have to make a loss in Qatar.

What is QTel doing if not 'attacking' Vodafone? And yes, they do sound a bit childish in their response.

Jazz - the sharing issue has been raging for months, with Vodafone accussing QTel of not honouring agreements. In March they said they had agreement, which I guess that means that they didn't have an agreement previously?

http://middleeast.tmcnet.com/topics/othercountries/articles/52612-qtel-vodafone-qatar-share-cell-towers.htm

In any case, the two were still bickering in April:

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=local_news&month=april2009&file=local_news200904145531.xml

Let's just hope the gloves are off and that this gets more entertaining as time goes on.

And who told you that Qtel is not sharing with Vodafone? This is news to me...

I think practises like Qtel were meant to be sharing towers with Vodafone then suddenly changing there mind shows who the negative party maybe.

I agree tallg. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

I think Qtel could have gone about their response in a better way. It was a good opportunity for them to harm Vodafone's reputation while bolstering their own, but I think they went a bit too far and come across as cry babies.

Exactly Gypsy. Companies only differentiate themselves from competitors as a way of saying that their competitor's business model is flawed.

But I agree with Tallg's observation that today's article has only served to further raise the profile of Vodafone, albeit with negative implications.

To go back to the original question, I think the 'negative campaigning' that QTel engaged in that 'ran counter to the traditional business culture of Qatar' is simply one company saying overtly that they are better than their competitor, and then naming them.

This might be an effective strategy in markets where competition is welcomed and a bit of rough housing is par for the course, but I don't really know that it's going to wash terribly well in Qatar.

I see. I misunderstood then. I thought it was an internal memo.

Yes, but if you put in on a leaflet and give it out at the career fair, or leave signs up in the Ritz, you're pretty much saying it to the public anyway, even though you're not taking out an advert.

I picked up the leaflet at Villagio, so it's not like it's very discrete.

Personally I wouldn't have said that tallg. While Q-tel has its faults, it is seen as a local business achievement and is closely tied to the community, when you say THEY are local, conservative and reactionary, you are

A) implying there's something wrong with being a local

B) implying there's something wrong with being conservative.

Frankly I think they just shot themselves in the foot in regards to the locals.

I'm not surprised though, I've had quite a few run-in's with Vodafone and they have NO local marketing people to clue them in on what is and what is not appropriate in this market.

I don't see a problem with giving that info to shareholders and employees. That's very different from using it in marketing campaign.

dont underestimate vodafone the same thing happened when they came to india....today they are the leading service provider in india.

Aana free, jaana free,

Pakde gaye tho khana free.

It's not in the article, but it's on the leaflets about Vodafone's brand that they give to shareholders and new employees.

Thanks for calling me Big Brain, but my name's Brian, sadly.

BigBrain it wasn't in the article, did they really have signs saying "We are international, passionate and creative - They are local, conservative and reactive"

Vodafone wont "trash" qtel. I think it will take them years to even get 50% of the market, if they ever do.

Qtel obviously saw this as a good way to tout themselves as the traditional arabic company, while dissing vodafone as the brash outsiders who have no respect. Vodafone will see it all as good PR.

i think Vodafone is gonna trash Q-Tel in a year or within more then a year...coz Vodafone is the best telecom provider in the world Q-Tel seems no where...and the way Vodafone is growing in Qatar seems to be a big bash...

Gud luck Voda....im change my service to voda by the year end.

According to some people in the know, I think it was the event itself that got people riled up.

Things like the the Vodafone boss riding around on a camel, Westerners wearing Qatar national costume and a couple of executives (apparently) in "funny looking" dresses were seen by people at Q-Tel as a bit of an insult, particularly with their brand all over the room.

Add that, booze, and signs saying "We are international, passionate and creative - They are local, conservative and reactive" and you can see why people might get upset.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local%5FNews&subsection=Qatar+News&month=May2009&file=Local_News200905242511.xml

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/freitasm/6481

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NO COMMENTS!

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tallg, nothing woth translating, but I agree with qatarisun that, the goodbye may have started this whole thing.

But we must all not be taken by this, did not the rumor say that 40% of Qatar-Vodafone is owned by Qtel owners?

I have to agree with QS. It's bad form to mention your competitors name.

Ok i could understand "welcome Vodafone", but why is that "Goodbye Q-Tel"??

Q-Tel is still pretty much alive and healthy, a bit too early to bury it...no?

My personal opinion, in general in ANY competition, and campaign, etc., it is NOT ethical to mention your competitor's name in a bad way.. you can emphasize on your advantages but it doesn't mean you have to tarnish your competitor.. Good tone is to show how YOU are good , not to show how your competitor is bad… see the difference?

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“You become responsible forever for what you have tamed”. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

it will still be a publicity. Yes, tallg, maybe Qtel is over-reacting but I think it's normal. A rival or competitor comes in, definitely it will affect their company. Now to transform that to constructive competition will be healthy and good for majority. What annoys me are the complaints aainst Qtel that seem to make the company very bad and had not done anything good. Have you found a "perfect" company here in terms of service and customer satisfaction. The saying "you can not please everybod" holds true. Whatever Qtel do, one or two even hundred will complain! Let's just wait for those Vodaphone customer when the first complaint comes out!

........tsk! tsk! tsk!

"Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship"

"dgoodrebel is not plastic"

So far we have "Goodbye Qtel, hello Vodafone", and the distribution of blank sim cards.

Hardly worthy of Qtel's reaction so far!

About bloody time they extended the validity limit, too. Q-tels stupid expiry dates and incompetence in transferring numbers cost me about QR300 when they cancelled my sim card while I was out of the country. No refund of the 100+ riyals on the phone, and I had to buy another as I couldn't reactivate it because when I checked it was in my name (in line with their campaign a few years ago) their man assured me it was, but when it expired it turned out to still be in the name of a woman who had left a decade earlier.

Incompetence and inconvenience. Not "the best customer service". In other countries just recharging the phone with anything keeps it in service for a year.

Vodaphones sim-card jibe seems childish to me.

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about Qtel accusing Vodafone:

"No smoke without fire!"

:)

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lol - I remember that drac. I don't think they went that far this time though. Streaking in Qatar probably wouldn't go down too well!

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A good example of guerrilla marketing happened in August 2002 where the leading mobile phone company - Vodafone - endorsed two men to 'streak' at an International Rugby game with the corporate logo painted on their backs. As you can imagine, not only did the couple find themselves in big trouble, but Vodafone also landed themselves in the frame for legal action.

Our Assessment: Illegal stunts do work because they will (or more than often do) get the attention of the public through the media, but for a small business, it is fair to say this is not the most effective (and legal!) approach for marketing your business!

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http://www.bizhelp24.com/marketing/guerrilla-marketing-examples-how-not-to-do-it-3.html#aug2002

Thanks Translator. Any chance you could translate the important bits of the article for us (i.e. what did Vodafone say that upset Qtel)?

Qtel must learn how to use marketing "weapons",

Yesterday, Vodafone made a big event at the Ritz, under the new marketing line: "goodbye Qtel, welcome Vodafone"

See page 5 of this file http://raya.com/mritems/streams/2009/5/23/2_445022_1_212.pdf

Now if that is too much for Qtel, then they just need to live with the new reality

i don't kow what did they sa or what did they do.. but for some reason, i am not a big fan of vodafon... although no explanation for it.. it's kind of my "sixth sense" is whisperring...

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“You become responsible forever for what you have tamed”. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

i dont care whether it was appropriate.... i just that, eventually the rate would come down... and consumers would be benefitted...

I was simply saying that if they are they should know better.

Gypsy - so it's a bit hard to say that Vodafone 'should know better', don't you think? That's why I'd like to know exactly what was said, so we can discuss if Vodafone overstepped the mark, or if Qtel are over-reacting.

Yes verisimilitude, I agree all those contribute to marketing, but since I posted about a specific element - negative campaigning - I find it a bit annoying when people just use the thread to slag off Qtel's pricing plans, which has been done to death on other threads.

No clue Tallg, I haven't seen it....

Marketing is comprised of

People... i.e. target audience

Positioning

Place

AND... wait for it...

PRICE

So tallg... call rates IS a relevant discussion when we discuss marketing tactics

don't be so draconian in moderating your thread

anyone among you received a "survey" call from QTEL

regarding costumer satisfactions on their landline, mobile and internet services...

i had one, last Thursday :)

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" fear always spring from ignorance.... "

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So you know what the 'negative campaigning' and 'inappropriate statements and slogans' were Gypsy? Can you enlighten me?

It's hard to comment on whether Qtel are over-reacting without knowing what Vodafone have said. The newspaper article neglects to include this vital bit of information!

Vodafone should know better. Trashing the compeition never works.

Well this isn't really about their call rates, it's about the marketing tactics used by Vodafone and Qtel's reaction to them.

I'm still very much uncomfortable with their int'l calling rates.

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Asians{Pakistani,Indian,Srilankan,Bangladesh} are the major portion of EXPATRIATE population living in Qatar and they all have high calling rates.

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Well, really looking forward to VODAFONE to reduce int'l calling rates and if they do then BYE BYE TO QTEL for good.

Ok so basically what "negative" vodafone said about qtel? Qtel has been a bully since day one, extremely high international calling rates, expensive mobile calls, and raping internet rates. I still hate qtel for charging 10QR/hour for a freaking 56k connection. Now having a competition is making them a sore loser already(not predicting anything). So now they wanna make fights with vodafone & bring down its name. I dont know how its gonna end up coz vodafone will be using existing qtel lines to work with.

hmm, can't wait for the main match...

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"From Qtel

Your credit is now QR4,29

Please top-up your account.

Top-up with QR 100 or QR 200 now & get up to 360 days validity"

...the fight started,indeed!!!

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vodafone distributed blank sim cards to the people who attended the party with the following note which said...the owner of sim card has abandoned it and joined vodafone. now you can join also by calling 800**** now that you have read it please thow me in the dustbin.

i dont know how negetive this was.

Aana free, jaana free,

Pakde gaye tho khana free.

hm.. so the fight started !!

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tEaCh Me RuLeS, i'Ll TeAcH hOw To BrEaK iT ..

rMs..!!