Exactly ten years ago, mobile network brand Chatr launched in an effort to democratize wireless services in Canada, says Shailendra Gujarati, VP at the company.

But the landscape has changed since 2010 and competition has deepened – Telus’ Public Mobile also launched that year, and Bell’s Lucky Mobile later debuted in 2017. Similar to the Rogers-owned network, Public and Lucky are also low-cost carriers that target entry-level consumers and don’t ask for credit checks or require long-term commitments.

“We felt that, as the brand grew and as competition intensified, we wanted to mine deeper into customer insights and say, ‘What is going to be a relevant positioning for the next 10 years?’” says Gujarati.

That led the company to debut a new brand positioning – “Now You Make The Call” – focusing on how it offers customers flexibility by giving them control.

“We found out that one reason why customers choose Chatr and the prepaid space is [for the] control, in the sense that it offers them wireless [services] on their own terms,” he says of research done prior to developing the new platform.

“That was relatively new for us – to know that customers choose prepaid also for control, not just because of cost-certainty.”

An example of how Chatr allows its customers to have control is by enabling them to pause, change or cancel their plans at any point in time. “[We thought], ‘There is something big here. Let’s actually elevate that insight [control] into our core positioning,'” says Gujarati.

The themes of control and choice led Chatr to the new brand tagline, “Now You Make The Call,” which is not only a pun on the brand being a communications’ service, but also “due to the fact that customers actually make the decision and they are given the reins of the relationship,” Gujarati says.

“Positioning can’t just be an empty promise or a claim you make – it has to be backed up by substantive reasons to believe,” he adds. “Our goal is not just to talk about us as different [or] have a more contemporary and modern-looking feel, but also to reinforce that with additional supporting points that reinforce the notion of control.”

In addition, Gujarati points to the recent launch of the Chatr Secured Mastercard and the Chatr Mastercard as products that also give customers control. The products were created during an economic crisis, when people are looking to take control and achieve their financial goals, as each card carries a low ($5) or no monthly fee, and offers a 0.5% to 3% cashback on Chatr or Rogers product and service purchases.

The brand refresh campaign was developed by Taxi. The media buy was handled by Red Magnet. The campaign is live on social and digital channels as well as OOH across Canada.