Egypt is a country where the telecom category is highly competitive and driven by price via promotions targeting prepaid users (90% of the population). Vodafone’s challenge was to compete on value, not just price.

Vodafone wanted to introduce Micro Recharge Cards (priced between 6-38 cents.) Had we looked at such cards as cheaper versions of pre-pay cards, then inevitably we would be inviting more price-led marketing and communication.

Our discovery: it is common practice for shopkeepers of various types to substitute small change for low value items such as chewing gum, candy, etc.

We decided to shift our frame of reference and positioned the Micro Recharge card as relative to small things given as change (plaster, biscuit, candy etc.).

A new name Fakka (Egyptian slang for change) came to mind quite naturally.

The distribution was extended to all such neighborhood stores.

TV commercials established the frame of reference and built the high value of the Micro Recharge, in a didactic yet light-hearted way. A new currency was created, not just a series of TV commercials.

More importantly, the insight was so true and relevant to Egyptians that consumers started asking for Fakka cards instead of change; that’s when the perception of valuable change was created and the price war buried. As result, our competitors scrambled and quickly followed suit, but Vodafone Egypt had already created a timeless currency that is it still proven to be effective today.