Mobile operators launch new Weve venture

The new business-to-business service is primarily aimed at advertisers looking to engage in mobile commerce.

A Weve statement says, ‘Weve has been formed to solve a critical problem for every business wanting to get involved in mobile commerce.’

Someone partner Gary Holt says, ‘There are three challenges in the mobile world, convergence is one, the second is that from an advertising point of view if you want to advertise services via mobile, you have to talk to individual mobile networks, different media and different digital organisations. Then there’s the whole concept of mobile wallets.’

‘Mobile wallets’ use near field communication technology – similar to radio frequency identification – enabling mobiles to communicate with objects they come into proximity with,  which will allow people to make transactions and data exchanges on their phones. 

SomeOne was approached by the consortium of network providers with what was then known as Project Oscar and asked to create a name and identity which supported ‘the agreed strategy and proposition,’ says Holt.

The name Weve reflects the fact that the initiative is a joint venture and should be considered as ‘we’ve…’ meaning ‘we have’ and also phonetically ‘weave,’ ‘as though you’re mentally inserting an ‘a’ in there,’ says Holt.

It was important that the branding was neutral to represent the service rather then one of the network providers involved, according to Holt who says, ‘It couldn’t be biased with say an orange square or a red speech mark.’

The Weve colourway is based around purple, which Holt says is ‘acceptable to all the parent brands’.

Although it is unlikely to appear above the line, the brand is live on temporary site www.weve.com which will be updated with design by Someone’s digital offshoot Someone Else.

The brand will be put before ‘media companies and large multinationals. As a digital brand, Weve will need to work for online and mobile,’ says Holt.