News / Business
Webtel.mobi’s Intercontinental Challenge establishes world records in broadcasting, TV viewers, marketing and brand recognition
Specialized Mobile Provider Webtel.mobi’s recent Intercontinental Challenge – the first attempted Intercontinental Crossing by jet-wing – both broke and established multiple world records in worldwide broadcasting, TV viewers, marketing and brand recognition in just one day.
With estimates of the worldwide viewership on live and recorded TV ranging from 2 Billion+ people to half the world’s population, it is the most viewed one-off event in history, and one of the most viewed – if not the most viewed – event in history.
It also established global brand recognition for the company in just 24 hours – a marketing first that had previously been considered impossible to achieve.
An Associated Press release on the Challenge stated that “The global television broadcast of the Webtel.mobi Intercontinental Challenge by AP Corporate Services, on behalf of Webtel.mobi, was the most successful in the service’s history.”
It went on to state that “AP Corporate Services’ post-event assessment is that the potential viewership of the Webtel.mobi Intercontinental Challenge could well have included up to half of the world's population on the day of broadcast”.
Uniquely, Webtel.mobi conceptualised, planned and implemented the entire event itself, and also broadcast it free on television worldwide.
Webtel.mobi’s core strategies for the Challenge – all world-first’s and implemented simultaneously – were the following:-
1. To attempt the world’s first Intercontinental Crossing by jet-wing.
2. To become a worldwide live television broadcaster for the day of the Challenge.
3. To provide the worldwide television coverage of the Challenge to all television channels worldwide who wanted to rebroadcast it, free & unrestricted, and without any conditions.
4. To integrate its branding into the event so that it became a natural part of the event, and did not overshadow it or become the sole driver – a strategy that Webtel.mobi refers to as Principled Marketing.
Webtel.mobi staged the attempt to connect the Continents in a new and innovative way to highlight how its mobile phone service connects the world in a new and innovative way.
The Challenge was structured to be an inspirational event that would appeal to people of all nationalities, cultures, ages and socio-economic backgrounds; which would at the same time promote Webtel.mobi’s views that hard work and determination bring success, and that great things can be achieved by ordinary people who do the extraordinary.
To put the potential viewer figures of the Webtel.mobi Intercontinental Challenge into perspective, the following comparisons provide an illuminating picture:
· 100+ times more viewers than the 2009 final of the X Factor TV show in the UK (20 Million).
· 20+ times more viewers than the 2009 Super Bowl final in the USA (98 Million).
· 4+ times more viewers than English Premier League football matches (500 million).
· 3+ times more viewers than watched the space missions of Apollo 11 or 13 (600 Million)
· 3+ times more viewers than the 2006 Football World Cup Final (715 Million).
· More worldwide viewers than opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics (up to 2 Billion)
The person who attempted the Challenge on behalf of Webtel.mobi - professional pilot Yves Rossy – was appointed due to Webtel.mobi’s view that his personal philosophy towards his profession of Free Flight by jet-wing mirrored their corporate culture hard work, determination and personal excellence.
The dramatic Webtel.mobi Challenge flight over the North Atlantic was covered by all of the world’s global news stations, and hundreds of other television stations worldwide, as a massive thunderstorm destabilised his jet wing and hurled him into the Ocean, forcing a live search and rescue watched by a spellbound global audience.
Stuart Sterzel, Webtel.mobi’s CEO, would not be drawn on the spectacular success of the event coverage. Responding to queries about the record-breaking numbers, he issued the following statement:
“We are aware that it is the most successful one-off event in history, and that it achieved global brand recognition of Webtel.mobi through our Principled Marketing strategy. As to whether or not it is the most viewed event in world history, or whether the potential viewer figures were 2 Billion people or more, we cannot comment factually. What is more important to us is that we provided an inspirational example to people to be all that they can, and thereby tried to positively influence peoples’ lives, at the same time as globally branding Webtel.mobi”.
A documentary on the Webtel.mobi Intercontinental Challenge is at
http://challenge.webtel.mobi/english/Mini_Documentary.html
The website of the Webtel.mobi Intercontinental challenge is at
http://www.challenge.webtel.mobi/
The corporate website of Webtel.mobi is at
