Italk's trade fair promotion stands out

Italk, Malta's latest arrival on the market in voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP), drew the crowds at the Trade Fair. The company singled itself out not only for its innovative approach to stand design, but also for its promotional offer of free international calls to stand visitors.

Over a thousand people used the free talk time offer during the two-week fair period. Italk, which launched officially just two months ago, also registered a significant number of new sign ups for dial plans through its Website www.Italk.com. mt.

The concept behind the Italk stand was to create a futuristic-style 'phone booth' in which callers could immerse themselves in their overseas' conversations. The stand, designed by Mark Pace, was executed in materials atypical for the trade fair, such as zinc, and made all the more eye-catching with a fluorescent interior.

The stand also harmonised with the company's brand image by depicting the retro, yet avant-garde, illustrative design used in Italk's recent media campaigns.

"Our brand seems to have captured the moment. The original MTV generation has now grown up," commented company director John Dougall. "So our decision to use Sixties-style comic strip illustration in tune with modern cult media has caught the attention of a wide group of potential customers, of all ages, and from both home and business markets."

Italk's distinctive brand image was created in-house by sister company Futuredesign, also part of the Telemail group of companies. Telemail is Malta's longest-established Internet service provider (ISP).

"Our aim is to associate international calls with something fun, cheap to do, and easy to do cheaply - there are no hidden costs or barriers linked to using a new technology to make calls," Mr Dougall stressed.

"International dialing with Italk VoIP is as simple as regular telephony. This ease of use and quality assurance of Italk VoIP is something the company feels it has a right to point out.

"To ensure that Italk provides the ultimate in quality of calls and service, the company has invested in its own state-of-the-art routing, billing and authentication equipment. This commitment to providing a technology point of presence in Malta is a unique feature of Italk's service offer."

Italk's trade fair promotion is set to continue even though the trade fair stand has been dismantled. The provider has extended the opportunity to benefit from free talk time with a special post-trade fair offer. The first 250 new customers to sign up from this weekend for an italk@home account on a Caller-ID dial plan will receive Lm2 free talk time credit.

The offer is on a first-come-first-served basis to new account holders only, but Italk stresses that there is no charge to register for an Italk account even if new customers miss out on this offer.

The Caller-ID dial plan offers convenience and flexibility, which remove the need for customers to input a PIN before making a call. Customers without Internet access available can benefit too: just contact Italk to set up an @home Caller-ID account free of charge.

To find out more about Italk, the dial plans or the free talk time offer, visit www.italk.com.mt or phone 2138-0180.