This story was updated @ 10:26 on Nov. 22, 2013
Rogers launches a new marketing campaign this week to trumpet its Long Term Evolution (LTE) network as the fastest in Canada. To prove its case, the company wants consumers to see it with their own eyes.
Taking place at select Rogers stores and Cineplex theatres nationwide until the end of December, the “Rogers Blown Away LTE Speed Challenge” will invite people to test how two smartphones—one on Rogers’ network and the other on a rival’s—compare in a head-to-head speed test while downloading a large app.
“The ‘Blown Away’ challenge is a first-of-its-kind speed challenge in Canada that creates a tangible, hands-on network experience, where customers can trial the benefits of our LTE speeds for themselves,” said Drew Stevenson, director, strategic marketing and planning at Rogers.
LTE is the super-swift technology being adopted by telecom companies worldwide in the competition for impatient, data-hungry users. And Rogers says both internal and external testing backs up its marketing claim: “Canada’s Fastest LTE Network–Up to 2x Faster.”
The wording is similar—though not identical—to language that got Rogers into hot water in late 2009, when Telus launched a lawsuit in the B.C. Supreme Court accusing Rogers of “false and misleading” advertising. At that time, Rogers positioned itself as “Canada’s Fastest Network: 2x Faster than Any Other” and “Canada’s Most Reliable Network.” Telus argued that its upgraded system was just as good—and the court sided with Telus.
In 2011, Rogers became the first carrier in Canada to introduce LTE, giving it a new marketing edge. For this year’s campaign, “our Rogers network team travelled across Canada to test [LTE] download speeds in more than 30 cities,” said Stevenson. Rogers LTE can—in theory—hit speeds of up to 150 Mbps, depending on the device used.
But competitors are putting their own spin on the numbers: Bell, which advertises “Canada’s largest LTE network,” says it “currently provides speeds of 75 Mbps in some areas and 150 Mbps in others.”
By bringing the testing directly to consumers, Rogers is betting that a firsthand experience will prove more persuasive and easier to understand than just tossing around numbers.
To plug the challenge, a video will be rolled out across web, retail and social media channels. New creative was also made for stores and online, featuring another quintessential Canadian speedster—the intrepid skier.
Marketing is owned by Rogers Media, a division of Rogers Communication.
Note: This story was changed to remove a line that had mentioned typical consumer download speeds on the Rogers network because inaccurate information was provided to Marketing.
