Swisscom, Beyeler Foundation Partner for Picasso Painting Competition

Swiss operator Swisscom is the main partner for the art exhibition at the Beyeler Foundation, “The Young Picasso – Blue and Rose Periods.” Together with the Beyeler Foundation, Swisscom is now launching #myprivatepicasso, a special project bringing a valuable painting from the museum’s collection into an ordinary Swiss home for one day.

Within the #myprivatepicasso project, on 16 April, Pablo Picasso’s 1939 masterpiece Buste de femme au chapeau (Dora), which belongs to the Beyeler Collection, will be loaned to a private home in Switzerland for a period of 24 hours.

It could be a family home, the home of someone living on their own or even shared student housing. In fact, according to the operator, anyone living in Switzerland can apply for this opportunity between 19 March and 1 April. The winner will be whoever comes up with the most original idea as to what they will do with the Picasso within their home, as voted on by the public and a judging panel made up of the Beyeler Foundation and Swisscom representatives.

Moving the valuable painting outside the museum environment and into an ordinary Swiss home is being made possible by the networking and secure transmission of sensitive data offered by the Swisscom network. Security experts from Swisscom and the Beyeler Foundation will be able to monitor the painting continuously via the frame in which it is mounted; the networked frame will provide a constant stream of important environmental data about the painting. This smart frame, developed by Swisscom and the Beyeler Foundation, will measure the ambient temperature and air humidity, provide the GPS position of the painting and sound an alarm if there is any unauthorized movement.

The exhibition “The Young Picasso – Blue and Rose Periods” is organized by the Beyeler Foundation with the support of Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, and the Musée National Picasso-Paris.

We find this promotional competition interesting because it is so unusual to see a partnership involving the worlds of mobile telecom and fine art. Not only that, but it is based on the highly unconventional idea of removing a famous and priceless painting from the sanctuary of a museum and placing it in a private residence.

For the Beyeler Foundation, a Swiss museum, to have agreed to such a proposal, Swisscom’s assurances of security must have been quite persuasive. Therefore, in addition to the publicity that is bound to accompany any extraordinary access to a Picasso painting, the operator can expect that the monitoring capabilities of its “smart-frame” technology will get a lot of attention.

Since the smart frame uses proprietary technology developed by Swisscom and runs on its network, the Picasso competition will function as an advertisement for this innovative application of the IoT. That could get the operator more museum clients, and the technology could also be marketed to private art collectors, and it could have applications outside the confines of the art world, as well, in terms of preventing theft or loss of various kinds of objects. As we have written previously, it is a savvy approach in general for operators to get involved in developing innovative IoT devices and applications, and then activating them using their own networks. Doing so extends an operator’s business beyond the mobile traditional services and thereby keeps it relevant in an era of profound change in the industry.

As for the participants in the competition, since they need not be existing subscribers of Swisscom, we imagine that at least some of them will be intrigued, impressed and gratified enough to switch over to the operator. Whoever the winner may be, #myprivatepicasso will likely prove to be both a showcase and an opportunity to boost customer acquisition and retention. 

 Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance.  If you have any questions about this article, feel free to contact our Editor-in-chief John Dorfman at jdorfman@tarifica.com

To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com 

Swisscom, Digitec Enter Distribution Partnership

Swiss mobile operator Swisscom has strengthened its partnership with Digitec, the country’s leading online marketer of  IT, consumer electronics and telecommunications products. The collaboration will provide significant benefits to customers of both companies through simpler ordering procedures, a wider choice of devices and joint offers. Customers who access Digitec’s site will find a microsite where they can order their device online and extend their Swisscom subscriptions. On Swisscom’s site subscribers can purchase Digitec devices that Swisscom offers in its own Online Shop, or they can follow a link to Digitec’s site. According to a press release, the partners plan to advertise selected models together as special offers to their customers.

We have written numerous times about device sales being a source of revenue for mobile operators as well as for device manufacturers. As Switzerland’s largest mobile operator, Swisscom’s strategic partnership with Digitec could very well result in more mobile subscriptions for the operator in addition to revenue from device sales. Current and new customers are being approached from two different portals with this partnership, and both approaches stress the ease and convenience of the consumer’s purchasing experience. We believe Swisscom will increase revenue with this creative selling approach. Mobile penetration in Switzerland is on par with the European average, and although ARPU is declining because of decreases in voice and SMS use, we believe that data use, which has increased, will continue to drive sales for mobile operators in terms of data plans and devices. And although Digitec may receive fees from extensions of Swisscom mobile subscriptions on its website, the double exposure that Swisscom will experience with this partnership would still bring in additional revenue for the MNO.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. Tarifica is the leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing, covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe. Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance. Click here to contact a Tarifica Analyst.

Swisscom Integrates iO App with Vivo Packages

Swiss telecommunications provider Swisscom launched two new offerings for fixed line customers on 19 May 2014. These customers can receive calls anywhere in the world on their tablets via their existing fixed line number, at no extra charge. This is enabled by the new iO@home feature in the operator’s iO communications app. Furthermore, customers subscribing to a Vivo package can make unlimited calls to any Swiss network using their fixed line number and an internet connection whether they are calling from within Switzerland or abroad. These new services are currently available for iPad users only. Customers subscribing to a Vivo M, L or XL package can also choose a TV offering with fewer channels and without the time-delayed viewing feature for a CHF 15.00 (US $16.75) reduction in the monthly tariff.

The EU directive that will eliminate roaming charges from 15 December 2015 does not apply to Switzerland, as it is a non-EU state. However, a sizable segment of its population frequently travels or lives abroad, making both international calling and roaming key features for this market. Swisscom launched its free iO app in June 2013 as its answer to the competition from OTT services which would affect both the international calling and roaming segments. A key feature used to promote this app is that all data is encrypted and stored on secure Swiss servers. As of February 2014, more than 600,000 users had signed up for the app, including a significant number of customers from rival Swiss networks. Since its launch, Swisscom has used the app as another medium by which to extend the benefits of its packages to its subscribers. For example, subscribers to the Natel Infinity XL mobile plan, which offers unlimited calls to numbers in Switzerland, the EU, the U.S. and Canada, can also use the app to make similar calls free of charge, whereas for other customers, the international calling feature using the app is a flat-rate add-on.

Now Swisscom is integrating this app with its Vivo packages, which bundle fixed telephony with Swisscom TV 2.0 and high-speed broadband at monthly fees ranging from CHF 69.00 (US $77.05) to CHF 169.00 (US $188.71). By combining any Vivo package (except Vivo Casa) with any Natel Infinity mobile subscription, users can get a discount ranging from CHF 5.00 (US $5.58) to CHF 25.00 (US $27.92).  Thus through bundling of services and the app offering, Swisscom is not only addressing the competition from OTT services but it is also protecting its fixed line revenues. Furthermore, the promotion of the app for roaming calls in conjunction with competitive data travel packs for its Natel subscribers may increase data revenues, as well.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues:  http://www.tarifica.com/TarificaAlert.aspx