Abstract

The case examines the advertising strategies of Idea Cellular, a leading telecom service provider in India. It explains how Idea promoted its services through several innovative ads via variety of media like TV, print, out-of-home, and radio. Idea had not hired any celebrity to promote its services till late 2007, in contrast to its competitors. However, when Idea expanded its geographical presence to cover several telecom circles in India, it hired film star Abhishek Bachchan to endorse its brand in October 2007. Idea’s focus in its ads also changed from highlighting its tariff plans and network coverage to using mobile telephony to solve social issues. Idea also developed several websites to support its ads based on social issues. Idea also tied up with Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket team, Mumbai Indians, and popular players like Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan were used to promote the brand. Idea chose to promote its brand where as its competitors focused on promoting their value added services and tariff plans.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Appreciate the importance of brand development for achieving longer term growth
• Study the usage of different media for advertising a brand
• Understand how contemporary social issues are highlighted to promote a brand
• and Analyze the benefits of viral marketing for brand promotion.

Keywords

Idea Cellular, Brand Management, Advertising Campaign, Mobile Telephony, Brand Recall, Value-added Services, Celebrity Endorsements, Outdoor Campaigning, Viral Marketing, What an !dea campaign, Brand Communication, 'Walk when you Talk' campaign, Out-of-home Media, Online Media, Social Networking, Facebook, Indian Premier League, Indian Mobile Telecom Industry, Brand Promotion