Going to be interesting to see how Telstra play’s out its new brand position. Telstra is a brand I’ve been hyper-critical of. Great brands don’t start with marketing – they start by architecting remarkable product and service experiences, then they overlay those experiences with great marketing. In this respect, Telstra’s marketing team have their work cut out for them.

Telstra largely peddle products they don’t make, and the bit they do make – the network and service experience – is (based on my frequent and recurring experiences) lousy. It’s a brand that has been well polished over the years but I just wonder if every dollar spent on marketing would have been better spent of a massive rearchitecting of their digital, service and network experience. 

Thrive is one of the most well used brand positions out there. Nearly every country has a major brand using the language. We even use it at times. So, not a fresh position and the work seems to tread a very well worn path. The result is pretty work that is largely uninteresting and not likely to have much carry. Liked the poetic/rap voiceover. Other than that, just wanted to scream – “please god, fix my broadband, please”.

Thoughts?