NII Holdings Unveils New Brand Identity Across Latin America

RESTON, Va., Sept. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD), a differentiated provider of mobile communication services operating under the Nextel brand in Latin America, today announced the launch of a new brand identity across the region, which includes a new logo, tagline and graphic design. The new logo will unify the brand identity and enhance brand recognition across all five of the company's markets and is designed to appeal to NII's current customers while attracting new customers in support of the company's growth strategy.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110919/FL70458LOGO )

The new logo and brand strategy will be launched today at a series of events for customers, business partners and media in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Chile.  The new NII logo will also be unveiled in the United States when NII participates in the opening bell ceremony for the NASDAQ Stock Market on September 21, 2011.

"The Nextel brand stands for superior quality and customer service across our markets, especially among businesses," said Steve Dussek, NII's chief executive officer. "We have earned our reputation as a premium service provider and a trusted partner by delivering differentiated and innovative products and services that help our customers be more productive.  As we pursue our plans of launching 3G networks and providing new products and services to expanded customer segments, it is the right time to refresh our brand identity with a new logo and brand strategy that better reflects our focus on connecting our customers and their world, not only in the workplace but wherever they are and whenever they need it," he added.

"The new slogan, 'Your world. Now' ('Tu mundo. Ahora' in Spanish and 'Seu mundo. Agora' in Portuguese) builds on the brand's existing business focus while emphasizing the relevance for personal as well as business use," said Greg Santoro, NII's executive vice president and chief marketing and strategy officer. "Our new visual identity uses connectors derived from the 'x' in the company's new logo that are meant to join ideas and focus attention. They express the professional and personal nature of our network and provide tremendous flexibility to deliver our message to customers while maintaining a clearly recognizable visual language that expresses how the brand connects customers to what's important to them," Santoro said.

Orange was selected as the dominant color for the new logo for its freshness and appeal, while a proprietary font was chosen to lend a contemporary feel. The NII Holdings, Inc. logo will change its design and color to coordinate better with the new Nextel brand graphic identity that will be used in the company's markets.

The introduction of a unified logo, tagline and graphic design across NII's markets in Latin America is expected to improve customer recognition and loyalty.

"With the implementation of our new brand strategy consistently across our markets, we are signaling that 'Nextel' is a truly regional brand while preserving the flexibility for the teams in each of our markets to manage their marketing strategy and business in response to local market conditions," said Dussek. "But the new Nextel brand image is not a simple cosmetic change: it lays the groundwork for the next steps in the company's business evolution, better reflecting NII's focus on four key strategies: building new networks, adding new products, opening new channels and targeting a wider audience."

The new brand identity will be rolled out in a phased approach and will be supported by marketing initiatives including events, media relations and an intensive advertising campaign that includes TV, digital, out-of-home and a mix of media per market. Key retail environments in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Lima, and Santiago were transformed over the past few days.  This transformation includes not only the new brand identity but also unveils a new store layout designed to enhance and streamline customers' sales and service interactions and to position the company to showcase it's expanding set of product and service offerings.  Packaging, website and promotional materials reflecting the new brand identity will also be launched today and over the next few weeks. Other components of the company's effort to improve its customers' experience will include the introduction of self-service tools, automated payments, and other products and services to appeal to the brand's expanded target audience.  The transformation of the remaining retail outlets is expected to be implemented across the company's markets in coming months.    

"Our business continues to build momentum as we invest in developing and deploying third-generation networks in Brazil, Mexico and Chile and as we prepare to launch our Push-to-Talk (PTT) service on our new 3G network in Peru," said Dussek.  "We believe these new networks, like our iDEN® technology platform, will continue to differentiate our services from the competition while providing us with more products and services to meet the needs of our valuable customer base.  We believe that our new logo, brand identity and strategy will emphasize the value of that differentiation with our current and future customers."  

About NII Holdings, Inc.

NII Holdings, Inc., a publicly held company based in Reston, Va., is a differentiated provider of mobile communications for businesses and high value consumers in Latin America. NII Holdings has operations in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Chile, offering fully integrated wireless communications tools with digital cellular voice services, data services, wireless Internet access and Nextel Direct Connect® and International Direct Connect(SM), a digital two-way radio. NII Holdings, a Fortune 500 and Barron's 500 company, trades on the NASDAQ market under the symbol NIHD and is a member of the NASDAQ-100 Index. Visit the company's website at www.nii.com.

Nextel, the Nextel logo and Nextel Direct Connect and International Direct Connect are trademarks and/or service marks of Nextel Communications, Inc., and are used by NII's subsidiaries under license in Latin America.

Visit NII Holding's news room for breaking news and to access our markets' news centers: www.nii.com

Safe Harbor Statement

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  This news release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the securities laws. The statements in this news release regarding the business outlook, future performance and forward-looking guidance, as well as other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements.  The words "estimate," "project," "forecast," "intend," "expect," "believe," "target,"  "plan," "providing guidance" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are estimates and projections reflecting management's judgment based on currently available information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements.  With respect to these forward-looking statements, management has made assumptions regarding, among other things, network usage, customer growth and retention, pricing, operating costs, the timing of various events, and the economic and regulatory environment.  Future performance cannot be assured and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include the risks and uncertainties relating to the impact of more intense competitive conditions and changes in economic conditions in the markets we serve; the impact on our financial results, and potential reductions in the recorded value of our assets, that may result from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and, in particular, fluctuations in the relative values of the currencies of the countries in which we operate compared to the U.S. dollar; the risk that our network technologies will not perform properly or support the services our customers want or need, including the risk that technology developments to support our services will not be timely delivered; the risk that customers in the markets we serve will not find our services attractive; unexpected results of litigation;  and the additional risks and uncertainties that are described from in NII Holdings' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, as well as in other reports filed from time to time by NII Holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  This press release speaks only as of its date, and NII Holdings disclaims any duty to update the information herein.

Media Contacts:

NII Holdings, Inc.
1875 Explorer Street, Suite 1000
Reston, VA. 20190
(703) 390-5100
www.nii.com

Investor Relations: Tim Perrott
(703) 390-5113
[email protected]

Media Relations: Claudia E. Restrepo
(786) 251-7020
[email protected]

SOURCE NII Holdings, Inc.