Viatel goes regional with "No Bull" approach

London - July 12, 2004 - Viatel goes regional with 'No Bull' approach

Thames Valley businesses urged to give the 'pink card' to bull

Viatel, the pan-European provider of business communications services, today launched an extension of its successful campaign to banish the bull from UK boardrooms with a concerted blitz on technobabble in the Thames Valley.

Viatel is launching a tightly-focused marketing campaign based on advertising and concepts conceived by Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy (MCBD).

The campaign is deliberately fresh and bold, with a trademark sense of humour that articulates Viatel's difference in the overcrowded and badly served European business marketplace.

Specific elements of the campaign, which will be integrated across the marketing mix, include:

    * A direct mail-out of football-referee style pink cards, which business staff will be encouraged to brandish to their bosses every time they hear excessive use of management or technical jargon, or 'bull'. The card is a homage to then Director General Greg Dyke's famous initiative to banish bull from the BBC, and plays on Viatel's distinctive pink branding.

    * The 'pink card' mail-out will be launched by model Emma Noble re-branding herself Emma 'No-Bull' for the day

    * The campaign will be supported by regional radio competitions running on stations such as 2TenFM, encouraging listeners to nominate the worst use of jargon, and win prizes including a holiday to Pamplona, the home of the 'running of the bulls'

    * Mobile 'hit squads' descending on business parks in the region to urge office staff to 'ban the bull'

    * Advertising in regional radio, print, and ambient media

    * A week-long series of talks throughout the region by successful entrepreneur and inventor of the clockwork radio, Trevor Baylis, entitled 'Cut the bull for business success'

 

Andrew Noble, Marketing Director of Viatel, commented, "There's little doubt that integrated regional campaigning is a cost-effective and highly targeted approach."

And Lucy Woods, CEO at Viatel, commented, 'Countless faceless technology providers have consistently neglected the needs of businesses. This campaign reflects Viatel's intention to address the issues facing Europe's mid-sized companies and deliver them the services they deserve.'

Viatel was re-branded at the start of this year, and in April the company banked $52m of funding from six investors including Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated.

The market for Viatel's services among large mid-sized businesses* is set to grow by 21% to Ã?Å?23.5bn by 2005/6. The new campaign is designed to demonstrate Viatel's resolve to seize the opportunity and serve the untapped potential of the European business market whilst continuing to deliver carrier services, while bringing a distinctly localised approach to campaigning.

The latest campaign revives MCBD's successful execution of earlier this year, showing a picture of a bull with the headline copy "no/jargon@viatel" revealing Viatel's unique 'No Bull' approach to its customers. Indeed, Viatel's aim is simple: to provide communications services that help businesses across Europe to work faster and smarter- today and tomorrow.

*Companies with between 100 and 1,000 employees

About Viatel

Viatel is a pan-European business communications company operating across 6 European markets, including the UK, France and Germany. It has more than 10,000 business customers, providing them a range of business communication services that help companies of all sizes to access the internet, connect their people and places, manage their web applications and increase the security of their data. Headed by Lucy Woods, formerly CEO of WorldCom EMEA and BT, the company employs 200 people throughout Western Europe.

For further information on Viatel, please www.viatel.com

For further information please call:

James Ralph or Nick Keegan on +44 (0)20 7340 0430

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