Managing director of 3 Ireland is spearheading a drive to make the group a major player in the Irish mobile multimedia market, writes Robin O'Brien Lynch
Popular mythology has it that any new form of media - cinema, video, the internet - will initially be driven by "adult" content, before the mainstream providers come in to clean up the act. But, as Rupert Murdoch will tell you, if you want to really grab your audience, there is a much more family-friendly option: football.
Murdoch's satellite TV revolution would never have had the same impact if Sky had not secured the rights to live English Premiership games back in the early 1990s. For the next decade Sky dominated the satellite and digital TV markets, as well as the football coverage.
This summer 3 Ireland has made the latest serious attempt by an Irish mobile provider to become the major player in the mobile multimedia market, and football is at the heart of it. Not only did 3 offer up-to-date highlights from all the World Cup matches, but they were free of charge and free of the grainy footage that had plagued similar offers in the past.
The company ran an extensive advertising campaign coinciding with RTÉ's World Cup coverage, and when the Premiership campaign starts up in August, there will be a goals package on offer.
For the new managing director of 3 Ireland, Robert Finnegan, the campaign is one part of the mix as he follows his goal of establishing 3 Ireland in a crowded market. Since his appointment in December 2005, 3 Ireland has concentrated on boosting its talk and text packages, launched its World Cup campaign and will soon be opening its own stores.
"We soft-launched into the market last year into the contract side, which is 10 per cent of the overall market, and we did that through a series of independent distributors: Carphone Warehouse, 3G stores and now Xtra-Vision. But clearly, to get people to know 3 better we need to have our own high street presence and we very much intend to do that," says Finnegan.
"We would expect to have up to 10 stores by the end of this year. That depends on finding the right location. We're not going to compromise in terms of being in the best places. And obviously those 10 stores are only a start - we intend to build on that again.
"There will be a broad mixture of high traffic locations. We want to make sure that the message 3 of what is about gets out into the marketplace. Are we a mobile company? Yes we are. And are we a media company? Yes we are as well, so really we're a mobile media company.
"It's about recognition and creating a level of awareness which continues to build month-on-month. We've had initial brand tracking and our awareness levels are up in the 90s, which is where I'd want them to be."
The latest campaign highlights 3's multimedia content offerings: as well as World Cup and Premiership highlights, there is the Hive, a free music show presented by Today FM DJ Tom Dunne, and the usual mix of videos, games and ringtones. One offering that has proved particularly popular is comedy clips, including an animated feature from Oscar-winning studio Aardman.
As regards revenues, multimedia content is the future. Voice and text costs are continuing to drop, due to increased competition and pressure from the EU - although the threats from Brussels have slackened slightly after strong opposition from the major telecom players. Handheld sales reached saturation point a long time ago in Ireland, and roaming costs are not seen as a big long-term earner due to proposed EU legislation, even if it is to be watered down.
The beauty of multimedia content for the providers is that the possibilities for new ideas and new offerings are endless, unlike talk and text, which will always be just talk and text. But since the launch of the 3G protocol, which enables all these big ideas on your little phone, there has been a lot of scepticism both on the street and in the boardroom as to whether consumers are really going to buy into it. The main stumbling block is the small screen, and companies such as Sony are already trying to lure consumers away to handheld games consoles instead.
Another worry is the added expense of these services: the Irish public have long felt that they pay far more than their European counterparts and are unlikely to be willing to shell out even more. Finnegan says 3 is more than pleased with the uptake of the content, and he believes that the company, the newest player on the Irish market and the one most dedicated to 3G services from its launch, is perfectly placed to leave the competition behind, and denies that good content means high bills.
"It's a bit like black and white versus colour: we're the colour version of mobile media, the 2G operators are black and white. And it's not a case of premium versus value. You won't get cheaper voice and text tariffs from anybody else, and that's not just us saying that - ComReg is saying that also on their callcosts.ie website.
"In addition you've got this fantastic content that you want to watch as well. It's not at a premium: the Hive is available for free, Premiership goals are included in your bundle and World Cup goals are available for free. We see a great uptake in that and people like it. Usage levels are very satisfactory.
"About 70 per cent of our customer base are using the content very, very frequently, and the usage is spread reasonably consistently between football and music. Sport has been very successful, music has as well. Comedy was a surprise one and very soon we'll be adding to that substantially. The uptake on comedy has been really phenomenal."
The late entry into Ireland of 3 has left it more reliant on 3G services than the other providers, who long ago carved up the market between them. If the multimedia uptake figures given by Finnegan continue to grow or stay steady, it will represent not only a major boost in 3 Ireland's plans, but also for 3's parent company Hutchison Whampoa.
In 2003 and 2004 the Hong Kong-based conglomerate was being widely derided for sticking with its 3G plans in the face of substantial losses. While other operators were scaling back their operations in the face of public apathy, Hutchison took losses of $500 million (€392.5 million) in the first half of 2003 on the chin.
It continued with its plans to invest $17 billion on network construction, handsets and marketing in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Scandinavia, Britain, Italy and Ireland. At the time 3G was beginning to look like a failed idea, but prospects are much brighter now, and the gamble looks like paying off.
Finnegan has been a Hutchison man for most of his career, starting in 1992 when he began as a financial controller, based mainly in Hong Kong.
Born in Dunmore East, he qualified as an accountant in Waterford RTC. He then held senior finance positions with Procter & Gamble and Lyons Tetley, before moving to the Far East with Hutchison.
"I spent 10 years living in Asia, mainly in Hong Kong. I had a great time building the business and a great time socially, in terms of understanding the Asian culture. I went out with two boys and came back with four, and they loved it as well," he says.
"I was originally finance director and then chief executive of Hutchison's beverages division from about 1998. The business is based in Hong Kong and China predominantly. We had been producing soft drinks and ice-cream, and we then sold our ice-cream business and reinvested in water in Europe.
"At that point I was moving back to London anyway to run the acquisition programme and build the water business, and we decided to bring the kids back to Dunmore East, so they would gain the benefits of growing up in Ireland, and in 2003 I decided to take some time out and reintroduce myself to my family after traipsing around Europe and Asia for so many years."
Hutchison called on Finnegan last year to run 3 Ireland and he is back here for the long haul.
Despite working for over a decade in the rarefied atmosphere of Hong Kong, he found thetransition back to Europe went smoothly.
"Although Hutchinson is an Asian company, it's run along very Western lines, so there was no massive culture shock and it was a similar situation for me going over to Asia in the first place," he says.
"One thing you do learn in Asia is that in big companies in the West, decisions are often made on a group basis with a number of people involved, whereas very much with Hutchinson and in Asia, you're responsible, you deliver and that's great. It's about empowerment: you're given the tools and you get on and you deliver."
Factfile
Name: Robert Finnegan
Age: 44
Position: Managing director of 3 Ireland
Family: Married with four children
Hobbies: Rugby, soccer, hurling and sailing. One of his favourite pastimes is sailing around the Mediterranean with his family and friends when time permits.
Why he is in the news: 3 Ireland have just announced plans to open their first high-street outlets in Ireland.
