MEXICO CITY-Since paging services started in Mexico in 1993, carriers have made large investments in advertising and marketing strategies. Biper, the country’s largest messaging company, has focused its marketing efforts on extending service to the entire Mexican population.
The company initially focused its marketing efforts on the low-end market with the slogan, “All Mexicans must have a pager.”
Biper, a subsidiary of the second-largest television company in the country, TV Azteca, has available the resources of owner Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who also owns 550 retail stores in Mexico and Central America. Biper pagers and service are sold in the Salinas Group retail outlets.
In addition, Biper in the second quarter signed new distribution agreements with Palacio de Hierro and Liverpool, the largest Mexican department stores, which will add 101 selling points for Biper’s prepaid card service and equipment. Together with Biper’s corporate sales force and its established distribution points, including 7-Eleven, the company plans to generate necessary cash flow for continued growth.
Biper has worked with TV Azteca, using an intensive advertising campaign on all television channels. Other Salinas Group companies also benefit through the campaign. For instance, the retail stores receive commissions from Biper for activities like billing and selling paging services. TV Azteca earns commissions for running Biper’s TV commercials.
Also during the second quarter, Biper signed a strategic alliance with Patagon.com, a Latin American financial information channel, which will give the carrier’s subscribers access to personal financial information provided by Patagon.
From the end of 1998, when it first began its marketing campaign, through the second quarter of 2000, Biper acquired 187,000 users in Mexico, more than any other paging operator in the country. In addition, with its partners, Biper has service in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
Two-way messaging services
In August, the carrier announced the creation of a new company, Movil@ccess, a joint venture between Biper, Motorola, Glenayre and Arch Communications. The new company will provide two-way messaging services in Mexico’s three largest metropolitan areas: Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara.
Under the agreement, Movil@access costumers will be able to roam throughout the United States, and Arch subscribers will be able to roam in major metropolitan areas in Mexico.
Manuel Camacho, Biper’s chief executive officer, said this service is focused on the corporate market. “Movil@ccess offers for the first time in Mexico an effective communication tool for corporate customers and individuals operating in a wireless environment. Executives, professionals and university students will be able to stay in contact with their own personal and business world,” Camacho said.
With the new service, Biper expects to reach more corporate customers who need communications solutions and who are more loyal than individual customers. Biper recently signed new contracts with corporate clients such as Acer Computers, Sabritas, Kraft and Restaurantes Wings for Movil@access and traditional messaging services.
Camacho noted his company is planning a new marketing campaign, using TV Azteca and Salinas Pliego Group resources. “In this new service, we have the relationship with our partner Radiocel, which is another reseller of our group, that covers the high-end Mexican market,” Camacho said.
He added expectations for Movil@ccess are high, with the company hoping to have 180,000 Movil@access users by the end of the third quarter of 2001. Biper plans to have almost 400,000 total users in the same time period.
“The marketing campaign is so strong that Mexican people associate a pager with Biper’s trade name. It is very common to hear, `I want to buy a Biper.’ It is not important if the pager is a SkyTel or Telbeep,” Camacho said.
