Telecom to Spark

Telecom have announced they are changing their name to Spark. This is a bold but risky move.

Telecom is a very well known brand in New Zealand. For quite long periods of time, the brand was fairly negative, but in recent times has been quite positive. Ditching such an established brand is risky.

However they are now a competitive retailer, not a utility company. The new brand can be a good way to move on from their historic role, and be seen as an exciting new company. Vodafone’s brand has slipped in recent years, so the opportunity is there to do well.

Also of interest is this, as reported by the Herald:

Telecom also announced this morning it was moving into the internet TV market, with what it describes as “a standalone and high-quality internet TV brand, ShowmeTV,” which will launch later this year.

“The upcoming launch of ShowmeTV offers all New Zealanders an exciting new choice about how to get their home entertainment, which we think represents the future of how people will access content. It’s a great example of how this company is changing by delivering the sorts of new services our customers want,” said Moutter.

A great initiative. I hope it works.