Life on the Spot! Life and Leisure in Doha, Qatar

Is this Round 1 for the QTEL-Vodafone boxing match? Has Vodafone removed its boxing gloves and resorted to a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) tactic? It seems that Vodafone is trying to punch its way through getting through subscribers too early in the game.

After the Vodafone event held last weekend, Qtel is criticizing its competitor for indulging in what it said was negative campaigning and attack marketing. It is said that in the said event, there were statements made by Vodafone management which were inappropriate. Also, their trainees sent off their QTEL sim cards with balloons to mark the event titled "Bye Bye Qtel, Hello Vodafone".

There are 2 things that make me wince at this tactic. First, I'm not sure that this is the best way to do your marketing especially at this point in time where Vodafone has yet really shown that it is indeed better than QTEL in terms of services and products being offered. I mean, even for a "1st 1000" customer like me, I really can't say "Bye Bye Qtel, Hello Vodafone" as I doubt that Vodafone would be my choice of network in the next 3 months or until they prove me wrong. Secondly, and related to the first, I think that a better way to market yourself is with your services and products, which again, Vodafone has yet to really show. If this was done 5 months from now, where one can clearly see the advantage of using Vodafone than Qtel, I would give a nod to Vodafone.

You can always market hard and compete directly against a product. They do this in the US when they pit Coke vs. Pepsi. Eventually, it would be interesting to see QTEL and Vodafone in such fierce competition as it would only produce better service and products from both. In the end, we don't want to see QTEL or Vodafone winning their match, it should be the consumers who should be king!