Telkom to ditch 8ta brand

A letter from Telkom Mobile MD Attila Vitai says the shift away from the 8ta brand will happen “progressively”.

Added by Duncan McLeod on 1 March 2013.
Saved under News
Tags: , , ,
Two of the 8ta-branded taxis

8ta-branded taxis

Telkom plans to to ditch the name “8ta” for its consumer mobile business after pouring millions of rand into building the brand following its launch in 2010.

According to a letter sent to Telkom employees by Telkom Mobile MD Attila Vitai, the company plans a gradual phasing out of the brand. The letter, first published by technology website Gadget, reads:

As you know, the Telkom brand is well established in South Africa. You are also aware that convergence is a critical focus area of the Telkom strategy. As we continue to execute our strategy and pursue the convergence agenda, it is important to leverage off the strong Telkom brand equity and our unsurpassed network infrastructure, which includes the mobile network.

Over the past weeks, the 8ta leadership team has engaged with [the executive committee] and the Telkom board to consider the benefits of creating stronger alignment between the 8ta and Telkom brands.

I am excited to announce that a decision has been taken that the 8ta brand will progressively be changed to Telkom Mobile.

By creating Telkom Mobile, we will support the group-wide convergence strategy and drive greater alignment.

It should be understood that a rebranding initiative is a process and not an event. As the process unfolds, we will continue to provide you with information.

I want to assure you that this rebranding exercise will support a stronger and more impactful mobile business.

The company has strong prospects. Today we launched the most competitive prepaid rate in the market. This launch sets the tone for announcements planned over the next few weeks. We remain confident in the business and committed to creating value in the future.

In the business market, Telkom has always used the Telkom Mobile rather than 8ta branding.

Telkom says it will hold a media briefing soon to explain the decision to rebrand its mobile business.  — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media

Share this article

  • Walter Spatula

    Most people, when uttering the word “Telkom”, look like they’ve been sucking on a lemon. That’s probably why they originally branded under a different name. I strongly suspect nothing has changed in the interim, and so-called “convergence” isn’t going to make this pig pretty.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Nathi-Malume-Tshabalala/1015283654 Nathi Malume Tshabalala

    Telkom & British Telecoms sleeping cosily together and wasting money in the process.

  • http://www.facebook.com/darryn.rogers Darryn Rogers

    i wonder who makes millions out of naming and now renaming

  • dun

    could be a good idea to realize some synergies..different brands and branding budgets, sponsorships..The common brand Telkom could cut the cost…Also if its under one brand umbrella, consumers will understand convergence offering better. Better late than never.

  • http://www.facebook.com/todd.schoeman Todd Arthur Schoeman

    Nathi. Your info on BT and Telkom is unfounded and totally incorrect. I am a BT employee and we have no interest or stake holding in 8ta. If you would rather contact us to get an accurate view call us.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527737873 Vusi Sibiya

    I would agree that there are a number of people who aren’t ready to sing Telkom praise songs, however I’ve seen plenty singing Telkom Knockout praises and if they are able to build a brand up like they did with 8ta then there’s no reason not to be able to do that with Telkom Mobile. I would say that there’s wasted energy and effort building two brands when in reality it’s just one company, Telkom.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527737873 Vusi Sibiya

    Nathi works on the same thumb suck and fabricate a story principle that most of the media in this country work on. I’m always astonished at how “so called” media authorities can get things totally wrong when journalism involves extensive research work and the ability to report things with a reliable degree of truth.

  • Mu

    The target market is youth right? I therefore beg to differ, I foresee a great difficulty in the Telkom Mobile resonating well with the the youth market. 8ta is young, hip, funky and resides in our rural village and township. Telkom is old, slow, boring and preparing for pension. Leave 8ta alone please, she is growing nicely.

Why TechCentral?

We know that as a prospective advertiser, you are spoilt for choice. Our job is to demonstrate why TechCentral delivers the best return for your advertising spend.

TechCentral is South Africa’s online technology news leader. We don’t say that lightly. We believe we produce the country’s best and most insightful online tech news aimed at industry professionals and those interested in the fast-changing world of technology.

We provide news, reviews and comment, without fear or favour, that is of direct relevance to our fast-expanding audience. Proportionately, we provide the largest local audience of all technology-focused online publishers.

We do not constantly regurgitate press releases to draw in search engine traffic — we believe websites that do so are doing their readers and advertisers a disservice. Nor do we sell “editorial features”, offer advertising “press offices” or rely on online bulletin-board forums of questionable value to advertisers to bolster our traffic.

TechCentral, which is edited and written by award-winning South African journalists, cares about delivering top-quality content to draw in the business and consumer readers that are of most interest to technology advertisers.

We’d like the opportunity to demonstrate the value of directing a portion of your advertising budget to TechCentral, whether your company is in the technology field or not. Numerous opportunities exist for companies interested in reaching our audience of key decision-makers in South Africa’s dynamic information and communications technology sector. We offer packages that will deliver among the best returns on investment available in the online technology news space.

For more information about advertising opportunities, and how your organisation can benefit by publicising itself on TechCentral, please call us on 011-792-0449 during office hours. Or send us an e-mail and ask for our latest rate card and brochure.