Smart gains market leadership in Mindanao, Talk ‘N Text becomes the fastest growing prepaid brand in the industry

The prepaid brands of wireless leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) are now the preferred mobile services of subscribers in Mindanao, according to MillwardBrown’s Q2 Brand Monitor research. Led by its mass market brand Talk ‘N Text, Smart provides mobile services to 56% of the predominantly prepaid Mindanao market, as of end-June 2012. Talk ‘N Text has over five million subscribers in Mindanao, or a commanding 33% market share, according to the same report.

Smart considers the Mindanao market key to its strategy of maintaining market leadership.

“Serving subscribers in Mindanao and enabling them to benefit from all the services enjoyed by the rest of the country have always been a priority for us in Smart,” said Noel C. Lorenzana, head of Smart’s Wireless Consumer Division.

“We have designed our services, Talk ‘N Text, in particular, to be relevant to the needs of our subscribers in Mindanao, and calibrated our network so that connectivity is present where it matters most, particularly to the most remote barangays and municipalities of Mindanao,” added Lorenzana.

Additionally, Talk ‘N Text is on track to maintain, if not exceed, this level of growth and profitability for the rest of the year, according to Lorenzana.

“The brand achieved this stellar performance primarily because of its clear positioning as a value brand for the mass market and community segments, and the healthy take-up of services precisely designed to address the unique preferences of subscribers on a per-region basis,” added Lorenzana.

In Mindanao, among these best-selling, ‘sachet load’ services are the UnliText and Text2All usage buckets, and its denominations at various price points.

Usage of these offers has driven the overall first-half revenues and wallet-share of Talk ‘N Text to increase year-over-year and quarter-on-quarter.

Also contributing to its performance are new approaches to market, including youth marketing, with programs such as TV Juan, a series of acting, directing, photography, and singing workshops provided for free to students. The brand has also started tapping in the digital and social networking space via its Talk ‘N Text YouTube channel and Facebook page.

With the right programs in place, Talk ‘N Text is expected to become the fastest growing prepaid brand in the industry. The brand is also set to expand its footprint as Smart’s network continues to expand and cover over 99% of the country’s population.

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