Doug --
I don't have enough wine in the house to tackle your quiz.
However, waiting for the paint to dry, I took another look at Energis since NN has an impressive contract with them.
newbridge.com
The Chairman's recent address to shareholders features Newbridge:
energis.com
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29/07/98
Energis plc Annual General Meeting: Extract from the Chairman's Statement
In his address to shareholders, Energis Chairman Gordon Owen will say:
During 1997/98 Energis took a number of steps to deepen and exploit its position in the UK business telecommunications market. The National Grid contract worth œ100 million over 10 years to provide the Grid with a Teleprotection network will enable Energis to extend its UK national network by a further 1,450 km. As a result, the core Energis backbone network will exceed 6000km taking Energis into new areas for example, Swindon, Guildford, Stoke and Middlesbrough. This work will be completed in the next 12 months.
We also extended significantly our international capabilities during 1997/98. We were awarded our international licence in December 1996. Since that date we have extended our national network to submarine landing stations at Lands End, Winterton and Redcar. We have established correspondent relationships with major overseas telecoms operators to deliver our traffic abroad. These relationships now include Sprint, MCI, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Telecom Eireann, KPN in the Netherlands and Belgacom.
Today, I can announce three new correspondent relationships, Telenor, Telecom Italia and TeleDanmark. In April this year, we took our access strategy a big step forward by forging a joint venture agreement with Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom to establish MetroHoldings Limited which will invest around œ100 million over the next 5 years in an accelerated network expansion in key metropolitan areas throughout the UK. We have completed the metropolitan network ring to Docklands, the internet centre of Britain, and to Broadgate in the heart of the City of London. In the process, we have also strengthened our commercial relationships with continental Europe's two largest telecommunications operators.
We see commercial partnerships as another way Energis can strengthen its competitive advantage. During 1997/98 Energis continued to develop its relationship with key suppliers. Building on our "Partners in Telephony" agreement with Nortel we have strengthened our relationship with Newbridge Networks our principal data equipment supplier to form "Partners in Data". Like the Nortel agreement, this agreement will ensure Energis is at the leading edge of technological and service innovation, whilst minimising our own research and development spend. It strengthens our access to Newbridge's leading edge research and development, gives us improved commercial terms and just-in-time delivery of the data switches and related equipment we need and, in return, gives Newbridge longer-term contract commitments.
I am pleased to say that trading in the first quarter of the current financial year 1998/99 is in line with our expectations and is now running at an annual rate well in excess of œ200 million. This can be demonstrated through the new business wins we have acquired in the last 3 months. For example, Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada signed a three year agreement, worth an estimated œ2.25 million, for an advanced data service. The agreement represents a major success for Energis in extending its existing business with the customer, which already takes our voice services.
Today, I can announce another new business win, Northern Rock, a specialist mortgage lender with assets over œ17 billion. Northern Rock has signed a three year data contract to provide connectivity between their 135 sites, including their Head Office and main administration centre.
During the next few years we intend to continue building a great company, a company founded on loyalty to our people, loyalty to our customers and loyalty to our investors. For further information: Annie Jupp, Head of Investor Relations 0171 206 5700 END
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Impressive marketing campaign, too:
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18/06/98
Substantial New Press Campaign Launches Marketing Shift At Energis
Energis, the business telecommunications company, is launching a new multi-million pound advertising campaign in national newspapers and trade magazines, starting on 22 June.
The advertising campaign, which focuses on customers who have gained real business advantage from their telecoms networks, spearheads a change in marketing activities at Energis, from exhibitions to the website, away from the traditional technology-focused advertising often targeted at the business community.
Internal and external research has confirmed that business customers make decisions about their telecommunications supplier based upon more than technical superiority or service price. Issues of service quality, reliability and resilience are all factors in a decision to move suppliers.
With the research in mind, the new advertising will showcase Energis' customers, from small businesses to large corporations to emphasise the extent of its experience. These customer examples demonstrate Energis' customer focus and how the companies' performance levels have been enhanced by the Energis service.
"The aim is not just to attract new business. By demonstrating Energis' ability to work with companies, the campaign is designed to generate further business from existing customers," says Gregory Thorpe, head of marketing communications at Energis.
The advertising campaign opens with direct mail teasers using a catchword from an advertisement, relating directly to a customer's business, and a visual representation or `signature' of that word which will be used throughout the campaign. The teaser is then explained in advertisements with the imagery of the teaser being repeated along with a mini case study of the customer.
The first four customers to be showcased are Boots the Chemists, The BBC, The Mirror Group and Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada. These will be changed regularly so that by March next year as many as twenty will be featured.
The advertising will run in national dailies, including both the Times and Financial Times, Sunday papers including The Mail on Sunday and The Sunday Times, plus a number of telecoms and IT trade press. The campaign will also make use of inserts in trade titles, focused on particular sub-sets of those titles' readership.
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