Boost Mobile Qualitative Positioning Development Research DRAFT - Advance preview copy.

Boost MobileQualitative Positioning Development Research

DRAFT - Advance preview copy

Contents

Background Research Objectives Approach & Methodology

Overview/Executive SummaryCellular Phone Category

Overview of Key Themes Competitive Landscape and Perceptual Map Category Fundamentals & Expectations A Model for the Ideal Cellular Phone

Boost Mobile Brand Associations based on the Boost Mobile name/logo Reactions to presentation of Boost Mobile brand Reactions to Products and Core Features

Boost Mobile Brand Position and Personality

Summary and Next Steps

Research Objectives

In preparation for the launch of Boost Mobile in the U.S. market, qualitative research was conducted to guide the positioning of the Boost Mobile brand.

Specific objectives included: Understand the competitive landscape

General beliefs and attitudes about cellular phones Competitive perceptions [strengths & weaknesses of key brands]

Explore the primary motivators within the category Aspirational imagery associated with the category Unique and appealing benefits of the Boost Mobile offering

Uncover relevant positioning opportunities for Boost Mobile Based on presentation of the brand using packaging, posters, and product samples Includes feedback on the actual style and features of the product

Approach & Methodology

Given the nature of the objectives, a qualitative research approach was utilized at this stage of development. This approach allowed for a in-depth exploration of the thoughts, feelings and attitudes of respondents as they relate to the category and to the Boost Mobile brand.

Methodology included a combination of: In-Home friendship groups – High School Teens

Conducted with high school teens age 15-18, engaging them on their turf and among their friends. This methodology provides a comfortable, open environment that allows them to freely share their thoughts and feelings.

On-Campus friendship groups – College Students Conducted with college students age 18-22, engaging them on their turf and

among their friends. This methodology provides a comfortable, open environment that allows them to freely share their thoughts and feelings.

In-Facility discussion groups – Young Adults Conducted with young adults age 21-24] in an environment that encourages

collaboration and an open exchange of ideas.

Approach & Methodology

A series of 10 qualitative discussion groups were held between April 10th and April 19 in two California markets:

Southern California: LA/Venice/Santa Monica 2 Teen In-home sessions [1 male and 1 female] 2 College On-campus sessions [mix of male and female] 1 Young Adult Focus Group [mix of male and female]

Northern California: Berkeley/SF 2 Teen In-home sessions [1 male and 1 female] 2 College On-campus sessions [mix of male and female] 1 Young Adult Focus Group [mix of male and female]

Respondents were pre-screened to match the following profile: Demographically fit within one of the three core youth segments Currently have a cell phone, or be interested in acquiring one Interested in action sports [surf, skateboard, snowboard, bmx, etc.] Culturally plugged-in: technology, fashion, music, entertainment

Executive Summary

Exec Summary

Fill in exec summary here…

Cellular Phone Category

Cellular Phone Category

Cellular phones are an accepted and desirable part of their lives Friends, classmates, parents -- phones are everywhere

Respondents had a great deal of knowledge of the category – even among those who have never owned a cell phone

Familiar with the terminology Sim cards, SMS, GSM, etc.

Aware of all the major players Service providers: AT&T, Verizon, Cingular, Sprint, Nextel Phone makers: Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson, Audiovox, Panasonic, Samsung Note: VoiceStream, Virgin Mobile were not mentioned in any session

Familiar with most of the advertising, especially for Cingular, Sprint, Verizon, and m-Life

No brands were currently making a connection with their lives Opportunity for a relevant youth-oriented brand in this category

Cellular Category: Perceptual Map

New/ Emerging

Old/ Established

For Business For Everyone For Youth

Youth Opportunity

Key Competitors

Nokia Vast street presence makes Nokia appear to be the most

common (and popular) phone Easy to customize accessories (with changeable

faceplates) made Nokia a favorite with many females Perceived as “trendy” and the “youngest” brand

Driven by their small “cute” phones, colors, games Nokia was too young and too small for some, “kiddie” phones

Cingular Known for offering inexpensive plans and free phones

Made Cingular a popular choice among respondent

Brand persona was more “friendly” and “fun” Often criticized for having poor service quality

Boost Mobile Partners

Motorola A reputation for making high quality, expensive phones that are primarily

for business professionals Recognized as the “original” – but no longer the “cutting edge” leader

Many remembered the Star-Tac phones, flip phones Heritage with Walkie-Talkies (sporty, rugged) and pagers was viewed as a

positive, especially among teens Emerging youth appeal and street credibility from Hip-Hop associations

[Jay Z, “I just wanna love you (Give it to me)”]

Nextel Viewed as being exclusively for businesses, corporations, including blue

collar jobs Nextel was perceived as having quality service, state-of-the art Strong association with 2-way radio feature [Direct Connect] Many associated Nextel with Motorola

Dynamics of Service Plans

Two primary factors dominated perceptions and satisfaction with service providers:Service quality

Poor service, weak signal strength caused issues

Expensive pricing – often due to confusing and misleading plans:

Hidden extra charges Not enough usable minutes Gouging for going over the minutes

included in the plan Anytime vs. night/weekend minutes When does “night” begin Billing for full minutes Problems with plans

The perfect plan would include: Free incoming calls Free first minute Free Mobile-to-Mobile Unlimited nights/weekends Flat fee pricing for unlimited use Accurate status of minutes used Less concerned with Free Long

Distance / No roaming Especially teens, who have a

smaller zone of life

More simple & more honest plans

Pre-Paid Opportunity

Idea of Pre-Paid – the simplicity of “pay-as-you-go” – was intriguing The concept of “buying minutes” was a refreshing alternative to

conventional plans Teens found Pre-Paid especially appealing – as a way to get a phone

without credit – but more importantly, without permission

However, Pre-Paid was far from a perfect solution… Pre-paid minutes are perceived as overly expensive [like calling cards]

What is the actual cost per minute? What is in the fine print?

Connection to disposable phones [cheap, crappy phones] Many expressed concern over running out of minutes

Expected to find additional minutes at any store, 7-11, gas stations, etc.

In the end, Pre-Paid was NOT truly a viable solution Utilizing Pre-Paid to avoid financial pain meant using the phone less -- which

actually defeats the purpose of having a phone

Cell Phone Imagery & Associations

Respondents clearly recognized the pragmatic benefits associated with having a cell phone

Staying in Contact

Going PlacesEmergencies


Several negative aspects were immediately associated with cell phones

Frustrations

Too Expensive!

Doesn’t Work Everywhere


The strongest associations showed why cell phones are a desirable and important part of their social life

Chillin’ with FriendsHooking Up with Parties

Not Missing Out on the Action


A Security Blanket

[Confident, Free, Relaxed]

A Safety Net

[Do More, Take Chances, Get Crazy]


Fashion Statement

More Than A Phone

Getting Noticed

The Ideal Cell Phone

The ideal cell phone for this target includes the optimal combination of:

Function: Works flawlessly as a phone

Features: Expected basic features

Form / Fashion: The style, look and feel

Fun: Bonus extras

Future: Ideal features to come

FUNCTION

FEATURES

FORM / FASHION

FUN

FUTURE


FUNCTION The top priority was having a phone that always worked This meant getting good service no matter where you are – indoors or

outdoors Perceptions of Nextel having superior service will provide a strong benefit

for Boost Mobile

FEATURES Phone was expected to have a core set of standard features

Voicemail Text Messaging Customizable Ring Tones Clock / Alarm Calendar / Datebook Phone Book Vibrate mode Caller ID


FORM / FASHION Size, Style, Accessories (especially for girls)

Sleek, modern looking Especially for young adults, who did not want a phone that looked like a toy

Metallic – silver, chrome, platinum – or black Clear, see-thru (like the popular iMac designs) Colored lights Compact Flip-style - small (pocket size), but so small that it is fragile Preferred styles also had an internal antennae Customizable faceplates: colors, patterns, images

Especially appealing with females, who were more interested in “accessorizing” their phones


FUNBonus extras features used primarily for killing time

Games! Captured everyone’s imagination (even if they claimed to not play) Snake is a universal favorite, Tetris would be great

Color screens… enhanced the game playing experience Web services, information Voice commands [a novelty feature] Horoscopes, Bio-rhythms, “Magic 8 Ball”

FUTUREIdeal features to come [can be evidence of the brand attitude]

Music via the phone was clearly the leading idea [MP3 & radio] Real music for ring tones Cameras, video – sending pictures GPS – built-in navigation system

Boost Mobile Brand

Boost Mobile: Brand Associations

Based only on the presentation of the name and logo, Boost Mobile was very well received and elicited many positive associations

An appealing company, unlike other phone companies Unaided associations with surf, skate, and shoe brands

Active Sporty

Youthful Young

Energy Amplifier

Speed

NewRefreshing

Hip

Associations with Action Sports

Presenting Boost Mobile in the context of these sports confirmed that the brand is for a younger crowd

Further distanced Boost Mobile from others in the category

Association with established brands [Billabong, Quicksilver] provided an element of credibility and belonging in this environment

Respondents could see potential in co-branded accessories from these brands, and others

Volcom, Oakley, Baby Phat

Though disconnected from sports in that people don’t use cell phones while doing those activities, these associations created expectations of the product

Rugged, durable phones Water-proof (or water-resistant) Relevant features and content (such as surfline.com)

Associations with Action Sports

However, acceptance was not universal: Action sports and Team Riders were especially

appealing in southern California Lifestyle is part of the overall culture A greater sense of personal identification

Respondents in northern California were less captivated by this expression of the brand

Recognized the intention and associations, but less willing to embrace the imagery

More likely to see this approach as cliché, or worse,

trying too hard to be appealing to young people

Action sports imagery for the brand was seen as being very narrow in appeal

Relevant to a small group or sub-culture Also perceived to be lacking diversity

Boost Mobile Product: Features

The product features nailed it! Fully loaded phones had everything they expected and more.

Unbelievable games Set the standard for games on phones Immediately hooked people in Open to downloading, buy paying was a question mark Led to concerns about battery life and memory

2-Way Radios “Buck a day” concept for unlimited use made sense Should be free (like walkie-talkies), why pay to use a

feature

Speaker phone Web services

Most compelling with relevant, credible content Stigma of being slow caused skepticism

Text messaging was valued by students (who use it in class)

i55

Overall reactions to the i55:A perfectly acceptable basic phone

With all the features, most expected to pay around $100 Some saw the i55 as being comparable to “free” phones

Style, while not exactly a good fit with their ideal, did fit well with the brand concept

Young, fun, durable looking phones

Silver was the standout favorite of the i55 models Blue backlight was especially well liked

Other colors received a mix reaction Pink: Dismissed as too “teeny girl” and two-tone shade Green: To some, the green felt “dated” [like the 80’s neon.

Body Glove]

Boost Mobile: Product Issues

Concerns and criticism of the i55 phone:Size of i55: too thick and bulky, a bit too big as well Antennae felt cheap and unnecessaryButton color: red button stood out, but not aesthetically pleasing Navigation button on i55 - difficult to useLayout of buttons caused some difficulty in navigating

Specifically the buttons for “select” and “exit”

Unclear terminology Java apps J2ME iDEN PPT Buss Button

i60

Overall reactions to the i60:Flip phone style was well liked

More compact design was an improvement over the i55

No caller ID info on outsideAvailable only in black, the lack of “flashy” style and extra features (compared to the i90) made the additional cost hard to justify

Note: Of all the demo phones, the i60 was the least developed in terms of feeling like an actual finished product.

i90

Features feedbackFlip phone design, along with the silver and clear colors, made the i90 the clear style leaderColor screen was seen as an outstanding features -- especially for playing games -- putting the i90 in a class of its own

“LCD Color Display” text was unnecessary

Called ID screen on the outside was praisedExtra lights on clear version were a favorite of many younger males Screen saver images, animation of numbers when dialing was very captivatingOverall, hard to justify additional cost -- Is it worth it? Can I afford it?

Boost Mobile: Brand Position

Extreme, Action Sports positioning creates challenges for the brandClearly a brand that is not for everyone

Not be like everyone else is positive Not being universal by nature will exclude certain people, potentially limiting

the appeal of the brand

Must be genuine, authentic -- or you risk losing even the hardcore Using these sports in mass advertising is most susceptible to being sees as

exploitation – action sports are known as being non-commercial Tell the Boost story (supporting the sports) can help by revealing the depth

of Boost Mobile’s involvement Opportunity on packaging to tell more of the story

Boost Mobile: Brand Position

Position against the underlying spirit and attitude of the sports The attitude is more compelling than the activity Attitude is consistent with the action sports, letting the association live in on

in promotions, sponsorships, niche marketing efforts

Freedom No limits, no rules, no restrictions No permission required

Individuality Your way, Do your own thing, Not mainstream

Australian Different, Break the rules, hardcore, outdoors, free spirits

Boost Mobile: Personality/Attitude

Several distinct personality profiles emerged from the current presentation of the brand

Adopting the right tone and attitude can help provide a link being mainstream marketing efforts and niche (action sports) marketing

Laid back, casual A relaxed, carefree attitude that captures the life attitude of the youth target,

while also connecting with the easy going “beach” spirit

Aggressive, Defiant The stereotype of most X-sports Can reflect the spirit of not being like every other brand in the category

Energized, Spirited, Adrenaline Reflects a universal life spirit common to many in this target group An experiemental, take on the world attitude

Summary

Conclusions

Next Steps

For additional information, please contact:

Alternate Routes, Inc. • 531 Main Street #100 • El Segundo, CA 90245

Mike Zarneke, PartnerAlternate Routes, [email protected] cell310.333.0800 main310.333.0880 fax

Boost Mobile Qualitative Positioning Development Research DRAFT - Advance preview copy.

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