Back in April, we interviewed Mari Stevens, Chief Marketing Officer of Spectrum Internet, to find out more about how this pioneering Broadband and IT Services company was bringing ‘real fibre’ benefits to the digitally underserved communities of Wales.

The Spectrum team were about to launch their services in Abergavenny, Haverfordwest and Llantwit Major – and Mari finished our conversation on an intriguing note, revealing plans for a radical re-brand of the service. Well, we’ve kept a close eye on progress and we like what we have seen, with the launch of the company’s new ‘Ogi’ name prompting us to catch up with Mari to discover the thinking behind the new brand.

Ogi is a brand that connects people together in the moment

“Defining and creating a new brand is always a challenge” observed Mari, “particularly with a service brand because that has to start from ‘within’, so we were fortunate to have an internal team and external partners who were totally committed to the communities of South Wales, and full of passion for the project. We undertook peer reviews, internal research and external focus groups, with the brief to create a brand that was inclusive, warm, and trustworthy and, above all, a brand that resonated deeply, and meant something to Welsh audience. ‘Ogi’ is a brand that does all that, pulling people together in the moment, inspiring us to support something much bigger than ourselves.”

We’re a brand that provokes a response and it’s usually with a smile!

In Wales, when someone shouts ‘Ogi!’ it’s impossible not to smile – or respond” said Mari. “That’s why we chose Ogi as our name: it’s about connecting people to one another, which is exactly what we do, digitally. To be able to convey that emotion and promise in one simple, short, bi-lingual word has been great- and the response from our internal stakeholders and external communities has been fantastic, both in terms of feedback and the snapping up of merchandise!

“It’s already clear that people see Ogi as a real community brand – part of that movement away from corporate messaging, where the service speaks for itself. It’s also one of the very few brands dedicated to Wales; and we’re proud to be expanding our own team to include two locally based, dedicated customer services teams for home and business customers, as well as a Welsh-language line. It will make a real difference to our customers giving them the most powerful broadband service available, helping them take advantage of this fourth industrial age and enjoy the benefits of Wales’ commitment to a digital future Our home packages range from 150 Mbps to 900 Mbps – that can be up to around 20 times the average broadband speed in many parts of south Wales, at a special launch price installation.”

Watch the Ogi brand grow, community by community.

Mari closed our conversation with an invitation to enjoy the Ogi roll-out:

“Watch the new brand grow as we grow, community by community, throughout  South Wales, bringing fibre power to the people – empowering our customers through faster, better, greener broadband that feels like your very own digital superhighway.”

We’ll be doing just that – and look forward to reporting on Ogi’s progress in our next update on this Welsh broadband service that’s delivering a valuable service to communities across our region.