Show the fashion. Talk the price.

The “new” Fido now lives in a yellow doghouse.

Yellow is the colour of no-name products.

And yellow is the colour of the Best Buy logo used for its new Best Buy Mobile retail format.

It wasn’t clear when Rogers acquired Fido how the two brands would coexist. It is now.

“Giving low prices a good home” can’t be clearer. The brochure says it all: “Times change. Needs change. That’s why Fido is changing. We now offer lower priced plans.”

The old “faithful” idea is still in there somewhere. The line “Toujours fidele” is still up on the wall of the Ste-Catherine store with its sleek, elegant fixtures. Except the signage makes you think of Wal-Mart’s Rolling Back Prices.

Couldn’t price have been emphasized without the Dollarama feel?

This reminds me of something a very smart merchant used to tell me when we discussed his brand. David Margolis founded the off-price retailer Winners. His approach to branding was quite simple: “Show the fashion. Talk the Price.”

Couldn’t Fido have kept its sleek, urban and boutique-feel while still emphasizing value? I’m sure budget brands like Koodo are nipping away but why throw the baby with the bath water?

As John Ryan writes in his post on The Canadian Design Resource blog:

“Perhaps budget is the new boutique.”

When it comes to wireless devices, “fashion” matters – particularly in Quebec.

A survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid in October 2008 for Windows Mobile asked an interesting question.

When choosing a mobile device, what do you look for first, FORM (The look and feel of the phone) or FUNCTION (The features and technology)?

While FUNCTION matters more to all Canadians including Quebeckers, it’s worth noting that Quebeckers are significantly more likely than other Canadians to say that FORM matters (42% of Quebeckers compared to 34% nationally).

So Fido, couldn’t you have kept showing the fashion while talking the price?