A Web presence appears to be as important to companies these days as other marketing activities, and mobile network operator O2 is no exception.
Fun, games and freebies — that appears to be the motto of O2’s Irish portal, O2.ie.
The decision to launch a Website was originally made back in 2001, when O2 was Esat Digifone. ‘IBM Consultants were brought on board to advise on content and strategy for the new portal and in addition, the WAP portal was also re-launched so customers could experience a seamless service between Dol.ie on their PC and on their mobile phone,’ says Emer O’Neill, online production manager, O2.
The DOL.ie site was originally created by Web design company Labyrinth. ‘Dol.ie remained with this look, feel and functionality until O2 acquired Digifone, when it was re-branded using guidelines developed for use across all O2 territories,’ explains Emer.
O2 has split the Website into several zones spanning a range of content: entertainment, fun and games, sport, news and weather, travel and business. Visit the games arcade to find out how to play games such as Cypher and Atomic Dove, or download games to your phone and play as you go, with favourites such as Breakout and Moto GP. Customers can also keep their phone fashionable and impossibly stylish with MTV graphics and ringtones. News — Irish, world and of course celebrity — can be found on the Website, allowing users to keep up to date with everything that is going on in the world.
The Business zone provides news and information on financial markets. Links to online banking services are also provided.
O2.ie isn’t all about fun, games and ringtones; there are also a number of practical services available through the site. These include the ability view bills and current account balance online. O2 customers can also avail of free Webtext messages every month.
‘We provide 500 Webtext messages free for O2 customers, which can be sent to any mobile in Ireland or any O2 roaming partner,’ says Emer. ‘We provide information and help on all O2 business and personal products and services and customers can also check their eligibility for upgrade online.’
It’s good to text
The site has proved popular with customers; according to Emer, there are about 300,000 registered users. O2.ie also attracts 90,000 unique visitors and over four million page impressions each month.
Of course, it’s good to keep in contact with friends and family, especially when it’s free of charge. Unsurprisingly, the free text service is a customer favourite.
‘Our free text service is extremely popular with our customers as it offers users the opportunity not only to send free text to other O2 customers but also to other networks in Ireland and abroad — it is the most popular free service on O2.ie today,’ Emer points out.
Judging by the feedback, O2.ie has hit on a winning formula with the site and intends to keep that in mind when adding to its Web presence. ‘To date, customer feedback on O2.ie has been very positive,’ says Emer, ‘and O2.ie continues to grow steadily in terms of services being offered to customers’.
Future plans for the site include using it as a platform to distribute O2 in the Park, the free concert O2 plans to stage in Phoenix Park next month. O2 also sponsors the UK reality TV show, Big Brother. Plans are afoot for different BB promotions on the O2.ie portal.
And that’s not all. According to Emer, current services are being further enhanced, including the e-mail service, Webtext and text alerts.
This month also sees a new feature added to the site: customers will now be able to purchase their upgrade through the Website’s online store. Non-O2 customers are also able to avail of the free e-mail service or purchase greetings and ringtones from O2.ie. So now it’s even easier to keep in touch with the outside world from the safety of your own home!
30/06/2003
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