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What Telecoms Can Learn from the Oasis Reunion PR Fallout

20.09.24

By Piers Grassmann, Technology

The Oasis reunion has highlighted critical lessons for the tech and telecoms sector. From ensuring resilient infrastructure to delivering consistent messaging and leading industry discussions, companies can draw valuable insights from this high-profile event.

Unless you’ve been on a silent, off-grid retreat for the last month or so, you’ll be well aware of the much-publicised Oasis reunion scheduled to hit the UK next summer. The story has captured front pages and headlines across the nation, but you may be surprised to find it’s more relevant to companies’ wider PR & comms strategy than meets the eye. Indeed, the importance of resilience, proactivity and consistent messaging for telecoms companies has always been crucial to success, but this front-page story brings this truth to light in stark clarity.

It’s a story that showed no real signs of slowing down either, with the band swiftly announcing two further dates amid the fallout of the initial sale, and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority launching an investigation into Ticketmaster for how it ran the process.

The news ties into how to be successful in the tech and telecoms industries (and, by extension, how to communicate well within it) in a few key ways.

Heed these three lessons so you won’t be ‘looking back in anger at your PR & comms strategy in a year, two years, or five years’ time:

1) The importance of being resilient

Some of the outages reported on ticket-selling websites demonstrate the importance of resilient internet infrastructure to cope with customer demand. It’s vital that companies instils confidence among their customer base so there are no concerns they will face issues during crucial or highly-sensitive periods for the business.

While a big part of this will be fostered through gradual, careful and long-term relationship-building, so it’s important to communicate the message to your target audience at all times and not just when the going gets tough.

By focusing on campaigns and content that convincingly and effectively drive home these messages to existing and future customers, you can put your business in the driving seat towards creating (and maintaining) the strong reputation it deserves.

2) What’s the story? Consistent messaging

The backlash around dynamic pricing demonstrates why it’s crucial that brands remain in touch with market sentiment and are conscious of the context in which they do business. If your actions (inflating prices without warning) are in conflict to your stated aims (wanting as many people as possible to see the band perform together again), you risk reputational damage.

If you haven’t already, consider working with a dedicated agency skilled in Brand, Insight & Strategy work to help you carve out areas of differentiation and spot any potential inconsistencies before they become a problem.

3) Some might say…be proactive in discussing industry trends

Investigations into consumer protection following the public ticket outcry can be linked to Ofcom recently calling for greater clarity on mid-contract mobile phone price rises. Namely, your comms strategy should help you lead conversations about industry change and where it may or may not be needed, to prevent your brand finding itself in a position where your missteps are the cause of a wider inquiry.

For example, ensuring you have a strong PR team and press office geared towards securing top-quality newsjacking coverage is one excellent tactic you can implement to check this box and keep your business at the forefront of the most relevant and timely topics in your sector or sub-sector.

Whether or not you were able to secure tickets yourself and are planning to attend any of the now-infamous gigs, the Oasis hype stands as testament to the importance of resilience, consistent messaging and proactive communications for firms in the tech and telecoms space.

Our technology team has an experienced group of telecoms experts who would love to support you with all of the above and more. If you’re interested in a conversation with the team, do get in touch with us at tech@aspectusgroup.com.

Key Takeaway Section

Q1: How does the Oasis reunion relate to the telecoms industry?

The reunion sheds light on the importance of resilient infrastructure, consistent communication, and staying proactive in industry conversations.

Q2: Why is resilient infrastructure crucial for tech and telecoms companies?

The ticket sale website outages demonstrate how vital it is to instil confidence through infrastructure that can handle high demand during peak times.

Q3: How does proactive communication benefit companies?

Proactively addressing industry trends helps avoid potential scrutiny and positions companies as leaders in their field, preventing PR issues like those seen with dynamic pricing.

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