A widespread marketing campaign is underway for Australia’s biggest telco, which it says showcases the company’s growing range of products and services.

Joe Pollard, group executive of media and marketing, said the “brand refresh” will show how the company has evolved from a telco to a tech company.

The ads feature various uses of Telstra’s network, including a mobile service that will help the company create a communications channel for emergency services in times of disaster, plus eHealth products and its recently launched smart home offering.

“We hope that this sets us on the journey of being one of Australia’s most-loved brands because of the role we play in people’s lives of being the infrastructure that connects people, and some of the experiences we’re beginning to deliver for people, that they see us a brand that they truly love,” Pollard told AAP.

Telstra also wants its customers to develop an “emotional connection” with the company.

Pollard said the campaign was not a direct response to the recent outages, noting work started some nine months ago.

Still, she hopes it will help repair the company’s reputation among the public.

“We’re using this work as a way to reset after some of the recent outages that we’ve had, to be able to talk about who we are as brand,” she said.

Pollard declined to say how much the company spent on the campaign, which kicked-off last night with television commercials.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zGytq7ckS8

Telstra’s last brand relaunch was in 2011.

Staunch rival Optus is currently pursuing a content strategy in a bid to differentiate itself from its peers, highlighted by its purchase of the broadcast rights for the English Premier League.

Vodafone Hutchinson Australia is promoting its improved network following extensive “Vodafail” network problems at the end of 2010.

Telstra recently pledged to spend $250 million on network improvements in response to the string of outages affecting its customers.

As compensation, Telstra has offered some a discount on their bill as well as two free data days.

The telco recently came under fire over its mobile and internet prices, with consumer advocacy group Choice saying customers were paying too much.

Choice looked at 53 Telstra contracts and found consumers were paying hefty premiums to access the telco’s network.

Telstra rejected Choice’s analysis, saying it was flawed and considered just a handful of plans and ignored the rest.

-AAP