red mobile takes the long road to something

a new mobile service was launched last year, red mobile. we're not sure if the philippine market can take one more. the top 3, smart, globe and sun cellular is just about to reach saturation levels. smart is the dominant leader followed by globe and a far third is sun cellular.

red mobile is going after sun cellular. what? why go after sun, the smallest of the three? we will answer that question later.

sun's core strategy is excellent value. they launched on the basis of unlimited calls and unlimited texting. that has caught on as there is a growing segment of the market, most specially among teen-agers and young adults who have switched to sun and an even larger segment who have added a second cell phone to their globe or smart cellphone service.

the mobile phone market is quite mature in the country and many have actually more than one handset. users tend to replace their handsets often and buying a second hand or used handset is quite easy and cheap. so, adding a second mobile service is quite easy. the habit is to use the sun cellular handset when you want to indulge yourself with numerous text sending or make long calls.

sun cellular, however, has not grown its market share to anywhere close to being a real threat to smart or globe for a simple and really idiotic reason - not enough cell sites. everyone knows texting and calling a sun cellphone is a very painful process. the network is always busy or over loaded that you can't get a line or the person you are calling is often out of coverage. texting is equally painful - success at sending texts takes a long time and receiving one takes longer.

and now to the question - red mobile is going after sun as most likely red mobile was launcheed as a flunker brand, a brand owned by smart or globe meant to blunt further growth of sun. our guess is it is owned by smart.

will red mobile succeed? we don't know yet. it might, but we need to wait for sometime.

red mobile's lowest costs are only applicable for texts and calls to other red mobile cell phones. and since this is a new mobile service provider, there are very few people who have it. everyone will simply be on a wait and see mode.

the other turn off factor here is that, they are not offering superior or even the same rates as sun cellular. sun is offering unlimited text and unlimited calls, red is not offering unlimited texts/calls, just lower rates versus globe and smart. they are actually selling quality and reliable service - calls will be clear, you can text/call anywhere in the country and you will not experience network problems. those are all sun cellular issues or problems.

now there is a lot of problems with that strategy. here's why - red is going against sun cellular not with superior rates but better quality and reliable service. quality and reliable service is something sun users are used to and obviously something they don't mind suffering from. the fundamental reason why sun users have stayed on is the unlimited text and calls or best price/value point.

we think there is no way red mobile will be able to get sun users to switch on the basis of better quality and reliability. price/value point is THE motivator and poor quality and reliability is just an inconvenince to live with.

that kind of attitude is true for many other services and products the filipino consumer buy - they will not mind a less than superior or less than perfect service or product as long as it gives the best or lowest price point.

red mobile's marketing strategy is a WAWAM!