Airtel - Positioning (And Repositioning)
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Details
Themes : Positioning
Period : 1990-2003
Organization : Bharti Cellular Limited
Pub Date : 2003
Countries : India
Industry : Cellular
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Case Code : MKTG037
Case Length : 12 Pages
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Repositioning Airtel Contd...
Bharti also decided to introduce a tariff plan (specifically) to attract the youth. The service, called Youtopia, planned to cash in on the fact that with reduced tariffs, cellular phones would become accessible to teenagers. By targeting youth in the age-group 14-19 years, Bharti planned to expand the customer base, which was presently limited to the older age groups. Youtopia was a clear deviation from Airtel's earlier positioning as a brand for older people symbolizing dignity and power. Youtopia offered lower tariff rates (at Re 0.25 for 30 seconds) at night. Special merchandising exercises were also undertaken.
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For instance, a special portal was created, where young people could buy or bid for goods. The company also announced plans for providing customers with various other services such as music download facilities, and SMS (Short Messaging Service) rates at affordable prices. According to the analysts, the company's repositioning strategies paid back well as Bharti became the leading player in most of the circles (it operated in) across the country in early-2002. Repositioning Airtel - Once Again!Due to consistent marketing efforts, the Airtel and Touch Tomorrow campaign became very popular. Therefore, Bharti's decision to withdraw this campaign (Touch Tomorrow) in 2002 came as a surprise to many. The new campaign was accompanied by a change in the logo as well (Refer Figure II). The idea behind the new logo was to give Airtel a younger look. The logo (with new design and colour pattern) symbolized innovation, energy and friendliness. |
As part of its restructuring and repositioning exercise, Bharti unveiled a new brand architecture that replaced the three-tier architecture. The proposed two-tier architecture was categorized under two heads - wired and wireless. All the wireless products were placed under the Airtel brand, which also included Tango, Freenet and Magic. According to company sources, the objective of this new architecture was to establish Bharti as a global telecom company. The company reportedly allocated Rs 1 billion for media coverage and other brand building activities.
Commenting on the new brand identity of Airtel, a Bharti spokesperson said, "Airtel's brand identity and campaign will now have a new younger and international look and feel that builds on the earlier positioning of 'Touch Tomorrow,' injected with renewed energy and heightened optimism." According to a Cellular Operator's Association of India (COAI) report, the cellular market in India was one of the fastest growing market of the decade. As per the report, there were over 8.17 million cellular subscribers in India and the number was expected to grow to over 12 million and 120 million by 2003 and 2008 respectively.
With such high potential, almost all the players were seen focusing on their positioning, advertising and promotional efforts and on building strategic partnerships. Bharti was also making efforts to retain its position as the market leader (Refer Exhibit III for a note on Bharti's moves on the strategic level). However, it still remains to be seen whether the latest round of repositioning and the strategic partnerships would help Airtel sustain the competition and retain its leadership in the market. The shift to Live Every Moment from Touch Tomorrow had nevertheless, proved that Bharti is consistently on the lookout for best marketing strategies for Airtel.
Exhibits
Exhibit I: A Note on the Indian Cellular Telephony Industry
Exhibit II: Post-Paid & Pre-Paid Cellular Brands in India (Late 2002)
Exhibit III: Bharti - Towards the Future