Abstract

The case examines the advertising strategy of Vodafone Essar Limited (Vodafone Essar), the India-based subsidiary of the global mobile network operator, Vodafone. It focuses on the ‘Zoozoos’ advertising campaign that highlighted the different value added services (VAS) offered by the company. The campaign introduced new characters called Zoozoos. To convey a specific VAS offered by the company, each ad used a story which was enacted by the Zoozoos. The campaign created the buzz both in the traditional media as well as in social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and video sharing website, YouTube. While advertising experts appreciated the creativity of the ad campaign, they were apprehensive whether the popularity of the campaign would actually help the company increase its revenues. The case details the making of the advertising campaign and the efforts by the company to popularize the ad campaign by launching a microsite and creating fan page on the Facebook. The case ends with a discussion on whether the popularity of Zoozoos would overshadow the Vodafone brand itself or not.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Study the making of Zoozoos advertising campaign
• Examine the factors that make an ad campaign successful. Discuss the importance of using a brand endorser to convey the message of an ad
• and Analyze the impact of a successful advertising campaign on the revenue growth of a company.

Keywords

Vodafone Essar Limited, Vodafone Group Plc, Advertising Strategy, Zoozoos Campaign, Indian Premier League, Ogilvy and Mather India, Brand Recall, Hutchison Essar Ltd, Rebranding Exercise, Value Added Services, 'Happy to Help' Campaign, 'Tell the World' Campaign, Television Commercials, Friends Circle, Creative Advertising, Zoozoos on Facebook