.TuentiCopied

Tuenti began as a Spanish social network and ended up a mobile operator. Telecompaper reported that the MVNO had been wholly owned by Telefónica since the end of 2013, and by 2015, according to MarketingNews, it had 400,000 customers across five markets. On 10 June 2015 it dropped Tuenti Móvil for a new name, .Tuenti, with an identity designed by Saffron and a campaign by La Despensa built around the line .Tuenti, the mobile company that questions everything.

Global brand and product marketing director Kiko Gámez was frank about the problem. Since the company stopped investing in the social network, he said, it had invested to become the most innovative operator in the market, yet many people still thought of it as something else. Its positioning had evolved radically, leaving its social network past behind to mature as a mobile company, and the visual identity was adapted in the same spirit; he invited people to leave their prejudices behind. The added dot in front of the name, Gámez said, marks the rebirth of the brand and a way of reintroducing itself to the market. The palette moved to black and white.

The launch came with products to back it. Chief executive Sebastián Muriel announced a try before you buy system, which he described as bringing the freemium model common in other sectors to telecoms; Telecompaper reported that from 23 June new users would get up to 50 minutes of trial calls on the VoIP based Voz Digital service from any operator. Tariffs were simplified into three offers available online and in shops. MarketingNews said the rollout would start in Spain and then reach Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Ecuador.

The diagnosis is right: a telco carrying the name of a social network has a perception problem. The treatment is thin. A dot and a black and white palette are the visual equivalent of clearing your throat, and they make the name harder to type and search, not easier. The campaign's message about prejudice is honest but slightly defensive, telling people what not to think instead of giving them something new to feel. The trial offer is the strongest brand idea here, and it has nothing to do with the logo.