It’s always interesting to look at different companies within the same sector, because they can oftentimes take on very different marketing strategies. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than among Canada’s three major cell phone service providers. They’ve each taken a different approach in trying to increase their user base, but in my opinion, the best campaign is held by the company that is losing market share the fastest.

Let’s start with Telus Mobility. After buying Clearnet, Telus Mobility also adopted the marketing campaign of its new acquisition. Most Telus ads these days feature a plain white background and a variety of anthropomorphic animals, ranging from monkeys to ducks. This is largely a minimalist approach, similar to that deployed by Apple. Here is a sample TV commercial to illustrate this point. At this time, Telus has the most profitable wireless service on a per user basis and holds about 29.4% of the market share (as of 2003), making them the largest cellular provider in Canada.

Coming in second place with 28.2% (as of 2003) is Rogers Wireless. Unlike Telus with their animals and feel-good vibe, Rogers Wireless has gone with a more “real” advertising campaign, typically featuring college-aged young people in everyday situations. For example, this commercial describes a road trip wherein the students are equipped with multi-gigabyte music phones. Rogers has really been pushing the music phone segment and while their ads aren’t exactly innovative, they’re very direct in what they are trying to sell.

In third place is Bell Mobility, raking in 27.2% of the market (as of 2003), not including affiliates like Aliant Mobility (4.1%), SaskTel Mobility (2.1%), and MTS Mobility (2.0%). Bell makes use of animals, like Telus, but in a totally different way. Ever since the 2006 Olympic Games, Bell has used two new mascots: a pair of talking beavers named Frank and Gordon. I personally think that this is the most appealing marketing campaign out of the three providers, because the ad spots are incredibly memorable and they make you laugh. Humor goes a long way. Take this ad, for example, which parodies the Nintendo 64 kid.

Despite having what I think is the best campaign, Bell Mobility is the one that is most quickly losing market share and profitability. By contrast, Rogers Wireless is experiencing the fastest market growth out of the three (I think they have the least creative campaign). This goes to show you that great marketing can help you sell your products and services, but sometimes it still isn’t enough. I’d imagine that part of Rogers growth has to do with an increased interest in unlocked GSM phones. Rogers (which owns Fido/Microcell) is only major GSM provider in Canada.