Carphone Warehouse and Future PLC to team up for 'content partnership campaign'
Carphone Warehouse has continued its efforts to rebrand by pairing up with media company Future in a bid to create exclusive 'Smart Choice' content which will persuade customers to upgrade their smartphone as their contract comes to an end.
The 'Smart Choice' content will encompass in-house features on the Carphone Warehouse website, such as an interactive service which gives consumers quick answers to questions about potential handset upgrades, and video content through Carphone Warehouse's video agency, Adjust Your Set.
Future will also provide outsourced content on such sites as Tech Radar, T3 and Gizmodo.
Stuart Staves, advertising director, future technology group, said: “Carphone Warehouse chose us because of our market-leading Tech brands and credentials. TechRadar, T3 and Gizmodo each month produce more mobile content than any other publisher, capturing 1.4 million consumers searching for trustworthy advice. Once video is added, we have the journey of consideration and research fully covered.”
Future’s head of commercial strategy and insight Natalie Rea added: “Carphone Warehouse needed a strategy and media partner that would allow them to capture consumers early in the consideration phase, securing their retailer preference. Smart Choice provides the perfect solution for Carphone Warehouse to position itself to reach consumers before they’ve decided on an upgrade. It is the definition of a strong content partnership."
The deal comes as welcome news to Future after the BBC reported last month that the company was to lay off 55 people at their headquarters in Bath, in an effort to save £2.5m after recent performance was declared "below expectation".
Carphone Warehouse has also spent the summer rebuilding, with supermodel Kate Moss releasing a range of phone accessories under the brand's name as part of what new chief executive, Graham Stapelton, told the Daily Telegraph was the company's "need to reinvent and move on" from what the paper described as "anachronistic branding".
Both parties will be hoping that this partnership fares better than the Carphone Warehouse's previous joint venture with Best Buy, which ended in April with the American company making a 53 per cent loss on its £101m investment.