Acknowledgement

I am thankful to God Almighty who has enabled me to finish this report, praise to
Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) who is forever torch of guidance for mankind. It was
very interesting as well as tough task for me. I completed it with the help of some nice
people.
Secondly, Id like to thank my Mother, my family member and friends for always being
there in rough times, supporting me and helping me in every way possible throughout
the duration of this project. My institution, Allama Iqbal Open University, has done a
superb job in training me throughout the course of my degree for this project. Special
thanks go out to Mobilinks Management Mr. Abdul Hadi Dar (Regional Manager
Corporate Sales Faisalabad) & Mr. Muhammad Masoom Saif (Corporate Manager
Sales) Mr. Syed Iqtidar (Marketing Manager) and all the other colleagues of Mobilink
who provided me with their valuable input during my project.

ALMAN RASHID

DEDICATION

TO

MY FAMILY, TEACHERS, AND

FRIENDS

Table of Contents

Serial No.
0

Subjects
TITLE PAGE

Page
No.
I

01

COPY OF INTERNSHIP LETTER

02

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

01

03

DEDICATION

02

04

LIST OF CONTENTS

03

05

INTRODUCTION OF MOBILINK

04

06

OBJECTIVES OF STUDYING THE

ORGANIZATION

II

05

07

OVERVIEW OF MOBILINK

06

08

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

19

09

STRUCTURE OF MARKETING DEPARTMENT

25

10

FUNCTIONS OF MARKETING DEPARTMENT

28

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE THEORATICAL

11

12

CONCEPT RELATING TO PRACTICAL

EXPERIENCE
SHORTFALLS/WEAKNESS OF THE
MARKETING DEPARTMENT

38

46

13

CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS

48

14

REFERENCES AND SOURCES USED

50

15

ANNEXES

51

5. Introduction of Mobilink

Over the course of the last few years, Pakistans telecom sector has flourished
appreciably with more competitors coming in to the market, thus bringing in much
needed foreign investment for the country. This has also led to an incredibly
competitive environment in the telecom sector which calls for the firms being more proactive, identifying trends quickly and taking appropriate actions to increase their market
share and profitability.
The project is a detailed overview of the telecom environment, especially with respect
to Mobilink. The project would give a detailed analysis of the internal environment of
the firm itself and the external factors that affect it. During the course of the analysis
quite a few models would be applied to judge the competitive environment, for example
to judge the external environment and competitiveness with in the industry, Porters
Five Forces Model would be applied.
The reason for choosing the telecom sector was mainly because of the fact that the
telecom sector has become very dynamic with new marketing campaigns and
advertisements being shown heavily on the media. Being a marketing major, this
industry has always fascinated me and I have been following its progress in Pakistan for
quite some time.

6. Objective of Studying Mobilink

As an employee of Mobilink I selected my own organization for the final project on

marketing as till now by entering many other competitors in the market Mobilink is the
market leader, in terms of subscribers pace, coverage, sale, revenue profits and in
corporate social responsibilities.
Following are important objectives of studying the organization:
Studying the organizational structure of the organization and its marketing
department.
Understanding the functions of marketing department.
Analyzing the marketing activities.
Analyzing the marketing structure of the marketing department.
Evaluating the working style of the marketing employees.
Analyzing the weaknesses and strengths of the marketing department.
Considering the communication flow of the marketing department.
To have a hands on experience in marketing department.
To get the exposure of working in excellent environment of marketing
department.
To seek employees increment continuous improvement and enhance
performance goals.

7. Overview of Mobilink
5

7.1 Brief History

Mobilink is the subsidiary of Orascom Telecom so before going for Mobilink history I
would like to introduce first OT (Orascom Telecom). Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E
("Orascom Telecom") or ("OTH") was established in 1998 and has grown to become a
major player in the telecommunication market.
OTH is considered among the largest and most diversified network operators i the
Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, and has acquired in early 2008 a license to operate
mobile services in North Korea. Orascom Telecom is a leading mobile
telecommunications company operating in six emerging markets having a population
under license of 430 million with an average penetration of mobile telephony across all
markets of approximately 40%. OTH operates GSM networks in Algeria (Djezzy),
Pakistan (Mobilink), Egypt (Mobinil), Tunisia (Tunisiana), Bangladesh (Banglalink)
and Zimbabwe (Telecel Zimbabwe). OTH had exceeded 74 million subscribers as of
March 2008.

Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E.

("Orascom Telecom") or ("OTH") was established in 1998 and has grown to become a
major player in the telecommunication market. OTH is considered among the largest
and most diversified network operators in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, and
has acquired in early 2008 a license to operate mobile services in North Korea.
Orascom Telecom is a leading mobile telecommunications company operating in six
emerging markets having a population under license of 430 million with an average
penetration of mobile telephony across all markets of approximately 40%. OTH
operates GSM networks in Algeria (Djezzy), Pakistan (Mobilink), Egypt (Mobinil),
Tunisia (Tunisiana), Bangladesh (Banglalink) and Zimbabwe (Telecel Zimbabwe).
OTH had exceeded 74 million subscribers as of March 2008.

Mobinil
6

OTH's first operation was the Egyptian Company for Mobile Services commonly
known as ("Mobinil"). Mobinil is a market leader serving over 16 million subscribers
representing a market share of 48.8% (as of March 2008). Mobinil is one of Egypt's five
largest companies on Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) in terms of market
capitalization.

Orascom Telecom Algerie

OTH witnessed success as Orascom Telecom Algeria SPA (Djezzy) was launched in
February 2002. It grew to become the market leader in terms of both subscriber
numbers as well as the quality of telecommunications services provided. Djezzy serves
over 13.5 million subscribers on its network and has a 62.7% market share (as of March
2008).

Orascom Telecom Tunisie

Orascom Telecom Tunisie (Tunisiana) launched its services in December 2002, and
serves approximately 3.8 million subscribers on its network with a growing market
share of 48.5% (as of March 2008).

Mobilink
In Pakistan, the Pakistan Mobile communications Ltd (Mobilink) started its
operations in 1994 and, until early 2001, had a market share of 40%. In April 2001,
OTH took over management control of the company. As the market leader, Mobilink
serves more than 31.5 million subscribers, representing a market share of 38.5% (as of
March 2008).

Banglalink
7

In September 2004, OTH purchased 100% of Sheba Telecom (Pvt.) Limited in

Bangladesh. OTH re-branded and launched its services as "Banglalink" in February
2005. Immediately after the launch, OTH started its aggressive plans to develop
Banglalink into a leader in the mobile sector by rapidly expanding its GSM network to
provide high quality communications services at affordable prices. Banglalink serves
over 8.3 million subscribers with 21.3% market share (as of March 2010).
OTH has positioned itself as a leader in the region for its diverse GSM operations
with various GSM support and Internet operations. One of OTH's main strategies is to
create its own non- GSM subsidiaries to act as a backbone of support for its regional
GSM operations. OTH has achieved this by dedicating financial, technical and
management resources for supporting its subsidiaries. This includes network support
and installation of GSM operations, equipment procurement, handset procurement and
distribution companies, Value Added Services, and Internet operations. OTH is
dedicated to providing the best quality services to its customers, value to shareholders
and a dynamic working environment for its nearly 20,000 employees.
OTH established a strong presence in the GSM Association (the world's leading
wireless industry representative body) only five years after its inception. OTH's
Chairman and CEO, Mr. Naguib Sawiris, was selected to join the GSM Association's
CEO Board in 2002. OTH's stocks are traded on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock
Exchange (CASE), (under the symbol ORTE.CA, ORAT EY) and on the London Stock
Exchange (where its GDR is traded under the symbol ORTEq.L, OTLD LI).

Brief History of Mobilink

8

Mobilink GSM (PMCL), a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom, started its operations

in 1994, and has become the market leader both in terms of growth as well as having
the largest customer subscriber base in Pakistan - a base of over 30 million and
growing. We pride ourselves on being the first cellular service provider to operate on a
100% digital GSM technology in Pakistan that also provides state-of-the-art
communication solutions to its customers.
Mobilink is Pakistans leading cellular and Blackberry service provider. With
more than 31.6 million subscribers, Mobilink maintains market leadership through
cutting-edge, integrated technology, the strongest brands and the largest portfolio of
value added services in the industry, a broadband carrier division providing next
generation internet technology as well as the countrys largest voice and data network
with over 8,000 cell sites.
Mobilink offers exclusively designed tariff plans that cater to the communication
needs of a diverse group of people, from individuals to businessmen to corporate and
multinationals. To achieve this objective, we offer both postpaid (Indigo) and prepaid
(JAZZ) solutions to our customers. Compared to our competitors, both the postpaid
(Indigo) and prepaid (JAZZ) brands are the largest brands of their kind in the Pakistan
cellular industry.
In addition to providing advanced voice communication services that makes the lives
of millions that much easy, we also offer a host of value-added-services to our prized
customers. At the same time, Mobilink places high importance to its coverage, which is
why we cover you in 10,000+ cities and towns nationwide as well as over 150+
countries on international roaming service. In other words, we speak your language,
everywhere.

Mobilink's Vision
9

"To be the leading Telecommunication Services Provider in Pakistan by offering

innovative Communication solutions for our Customers while exceeding Shareholder
value & Employee Expectations".

Mobilink's Mission
To promote Customer Services as a Mobilink Brand
Every customer interaction to be a pleasant experience
To promote Mobilink as a truly customer oriented organization

Mobilink's Values
Total Customer Satisfaction:
Customers are at the heart of our success. They have placed their trust and
confidence in us. In return, we strive to anticipate their needs and deliver service,
quality and value beyond their expectations.

Business Excellence:
Mobilink strive for excellence in all that we do. We aspire to the highest standards and
raise the bar for ourselves everyday. This commitment to delivering world-class quality
translates into unmatched service and value for our customers and all stakeholders.

Trust & Integrity:

10

At Mobilink, we take pride in practicing the highest ethical standards in an open and
honest environment, and by honoring our commitments. We take personal responsibility
for our actions, and treat everyone fairly, and with trust and respect.
Respect for People:
Our relationships drive our business. We respect and esteem our employees and all
stakeholders. We believe in teamwork, empowerment and honor.

Corporate Social Responsibility:

As the market leader, we recognize and fulfill our responsibility towards our country
and the environment we operate in. We contribute to worthy causes and are dedicated to
the development and progress of the society.

7.2 Nature of the Organization

11

Mobilink is a largest cellular industry of Pakistan and providing services of

telecommunication through voice and data, and also providing the advance voice
communication services that makes the lives of million that much easy ,Mobilink offer
a host of value added services to their valued customers.
Mobilink is also providing the facilities of PCO for people to run an independent
business and also providing business solutions to many corporate firms in the shape of
blackberry; connect card, broad band and wi-max. Mobilink along with their business
also helping Pakistan for a better tomorrow, Mobilink is a longstanding believer in
giving the portion of its revenues for charitable causes and is making efforts for
bringing about a positive social change for the underprivileged.

7.3. Business Volume

12

Mobilink is private limited company and not registered in stock exchange and as per the
company policy only the below mentioned information can be share for education
purpose ,the below mentioned some information are taken from the PTA annual reports
2006 to 2010 and some are taken from the company internal record ,and all these
information are only estimations.
Financial highlights of last five years are as under:

Years

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Revenue
Market share by

65%

65%

68.9%

60%

48.60%

subscriber
Total Revenue

65%

61%

55%

50%

41%

Market share by

US $ million
Net profit US $
million
Total

300M

400M

600M

900M

1Billion

12

20

30

70

150

200

300

335.9

591

(by subscribers)
Total Coverage

1M

2M

5M

11M

13 Million

cities/towns/

1000

2500

4000

6000+

10000+

Investment
US $ million
Gross sales

villages
Total
Subscribers
11M
12M
14M
19M
base
Source: www.pta.gov.com; & internal records of Mobilink

30M

In the above mentioned table the figures shows that in year 2006 and 2007Mobilink
market share both in revenue and subscribers base was maximum but in year 2008 and
2009 it has been decreased as previous in year 2004 there was few competitors (Ufone
and Zong/Paktel) of Mobilink but after year 2005 two more competitors (Warid,

13

Telenor) added in the market and market share divide in between. In sales Mobilink did
a good job as from year 2005 -2009 Mobilink sales are continuously increasing by the
good marketing strategies, promotional activities, excellence services and customer
care.
In Mobilink investment also increase for the improvement of network to give the
unmatched services to its valued customers Mobilinks profits are also increasing as
compare of 2004 to 2008 as Mobilink is truly working well for the retention and
satisfaction of the customers.

7.4. Profile of employees

Mobilink hired fully motivated, educated and devoted employees, because
employees are the backbone and strength of any company. Mobilink hired Engineers for
14

Technical department, MBAs for Management, HR and for Marketing, M.COM for
Finance department mostly employees from higher management are foreigner qualified
with great exposure of foreigner work style.
All employees of Mobilink are satisfied with the pay structure and other non cash
benefits as Mobilink exceeding their employees expectation. Majority of employees
have experience in his particular area but Mobilink also encourage fresh graduates and
masters selection criteria in Mobilink is purelybased on merit base. In technical and IT
and in contact centre the selection criteria is based on test system if person qualified the
test then go further chain of interview with the manager ,director of the department
where he/she implied and at the end final interview with the Vice President of the
department.
Mobilink is always exceed the employees expectation and also provide the
opportunities for career growth through required training and workshops, and Mobilink
is also providing education assistance to their employees for the enhancement of
knowledge and latest studies.
Number of employees working in Mobilink = 4,700 hundreds
Source: Employees of Mobilink

7.5. Product Lines

Mobilinks major products in prepaid are Jazz and in postpaid are Indigo and
there are many more others value added services and business solutions for

15

corporate clients.

Post-Paid (Indigo)
Indigo is the only post paid brand in the Pakistan General philosophy: payment
after the service derived Real Post paid Brand: Indigo-launched in February 2004 elite
market image Freedom plans: The best choice for everyone flexible call rates

Pre-Paid (Jazz)
Jazz is synonymous with cellular in the country
General Philosophy: payment before the service derived
Jazz Offerings
Jazz CDs
Scratch cards
OTAR
Electronic Voucher Recharge
Balance Share

Mobilink World
Value added services (VAS) of Mobilink falls under the brand name Mobilink
World Broad service categories of Mobilink World are business solutions, payment
solution, info solution & fun, some of the popular services are;
Bolo SMS ,Talking books, Car Crazy ,Love Calculator
SMS to TV Messaging services, Ring tones, Gup Shup Corner
Ring tone Club ,Cricket Updates,Mobitunes ,Horoscope,
Yahoo Messenger ,Conference calling, Voice Mail
SMS Trivia ,SMS Buddy, International MMS, Web SMS Chat
Lounge 144 ,Mobi Greetings, Kids Corner ,Sports Portal
Mobile Banking ,Info-Line services, Kisan service ,Job Alerts ,
Blackberry,Mobisafe,SMS Marketing, Corporate Misconnect cards
Fax Mail, Stock Watch,PIA Reservation, SO Card, MCA
Call Forward, Flash Mobile,Mobilink Tourist Guide Mobile,
Power tools ,Religious Services SMS based Banking Services,
16

 SMS to Radio Services, Octane Tools Cricket Chat, Ownership Services

and many more.

Getting Connected
Mobilinks competitive advantage has been its aggressive retail presence.
Mobilinks prepaid product sold under the brand name Jazz is widely available in more
than1000+cities,towns and villages with service code (0300,0301,0302,0303,0304
0305,0306,0307 and 0308) Jazz is the most successful and popular Pakistani brand and
was coined by a team led by Aamir Ibrahim in 1998. Junaid Khan, then the President of
Mobilink, preferred it over the runner up choice 'Buzz'.

Product Category Chart

Telecom

17
Calling
Cards
Pre-paid

Wireless
Post Paid
Mobile
JAZZ Mobile PCOs
Phones
EXECUTIV
Connectionn
Land LineConnections
Indigo

ISPs
PCOs

ISPs

Source: Employees of mobilink

8. Organizational Structure

President
and CEO
18
Director
Chief
Information
legal
Director
Manager
officer
s affairs

Director
Chief
technical
legal
Director
Manager
officer
s affairs

VP HR/
Chief
Director
Director
VP Director
VP
ThreeAdmin/
Financial
legal
legal
legal
Commercial
Marketing
Customer
SALES
Manager
Manager DirectorManager
Security Director
Officer
Directors
Services
s affairs
s affairs
saffairs

Director
legal
Manager
affairs
s

Source: Employees of Mobilink

Definition:
Definitions of these rules are given below:
Company means Pakistan Mobile Communications (Pvt) Ltd (PMCL), with its head
office at Kulsum Plaza incorporated under the Companies Ordinance 1984 at
Islamabad, Pakistan.

19

Head Office means the place where the main off ice of PMCL is
established.
Management means, The President, Officers, Directors & Manager and Coordinators
of the company to whom the relevant powers have been delegated by the President.
President means the president of the Company.
Chief Officers means the Vice Presidents / CEO, CCO, CTO, CIO, CFO & VP
HR/Admin at the Head off ice.
Directors The in charge of departments directly reporting to the Chief Officer.
Manager means the in-charge of a section under a department at by the President /
Head of Department from time to time.
Specialist means the employee who is assisting the Manager in obtaining the
objectives of the department.
Associate means the employee who is assisting his/her supervisor in the day-to-day
activities.

Main Offices:
Mobilink has extensive network of main offices and sales point along that Mobilink is
also giving that task to many franchise and its head office is in Islamabad.

8. Head Office Mobilink

Pakistan Mobile Company Limited (PMCL/Mobilink) 42-Kulsum Plaza, Blue Area,
Islamabad.
Tel: 051-2273984-9, Fax: 051-2270966
E-mail; customercare@mobilink.net
20

Offices:
Mobilink divide the Pakistan in three different and major regions.
1. Central (Punjab)
2. North (NWFP)
3. South (Sindh)
Mobilink divide further central in central1,central 2,central 3,central 4 and north in
north1 ,north 2 as well as south in south 1,south 2and south 3.Mobilink has its 18 main
offices including head office in different regions and 475 franchises which providing
the services to the whole Pakistan.
Further number of office in different regions;

Central
In central there are 8 offices, including 3 offices in Lahore, one in Gujrawala, one in
Rahim Yar Khan, one in Faisalabad and one in Sargodha.

North
In north there are 3 offices, in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar.

South
In south there are 10 offices, including 4 offices in Karachi, one in Hyderabad, one in
Quetta, one in Nazimabad, one in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, one in Shahrah-e-Faisal and one in
Clifton.

Management Hierarchy

21

President and CEO

Rashid Khan

Chief Strategy
Officer
Tariq Rashid

Vice President
Marketing
Bilal Munir
Sheikh

Vice President
Customer Care
Irfan Akram

Vice President
Corporate Affairs
Agha Qasim

Chief Technical
Officer
Ramy Reyad
Kamel

Vice President
Sales
Jahanzeb Taj

Chief Information
Officer
Irfan Farooq

Head of Human
Resources &
Administration
Sadia Ahmad

Chief Financial
Officer
Andis Locmelis

Head of Business
Analysis and
Planning
Farid Ahmed

Strategy and Management

Mobilink is led by Rashid Khan who is the President and the CEO. Mr Zouhair
took over Mobilink in June 2003. Since then Mobilink has embarked on an aggressive
growth strategy. Mobilink closed 2003 with 2 million customers. In comparison
Mobilink closed 2005 with more than 11 million subscribers, which makes then the
largest telecommunication service in Pakistan. Mobilink was awarded the license to

22

operate in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on 27 June-2006. The concession was
awarded for a payment of US$ 10 million.

Achievements:
Today Mobilink a company at the forefront of technology stands tall with the
world's strongest brands. Pakistan 's favorite cellular service is the first ever
cellular network to have been awarded with the ' SuperBrands' accolade.
Reliability, innovation, growth and performance above and beyond others is
what sets us apart. We thank all our family members for making Mobilink
indigo and Mobilink Jazz achieve the superbrand status.
ISO 9002 Quality Management System Certification for Billing, Engineering
Departments and CS Contact Center
Implementation of a full Intelligent Network (IN) platform from Siemens for the
Prepaid platform
Largest Call Center in Pakistan, which is there to assist the customers 24 hours
Only cellular service in Pakistan to provide coverage on the M2 motorway
Bilateral roaming in over 120 countries around the world with true international
roaming with over 300 operators across the globe
First mobile operator in Pakistan to offer extensive GPRS Roaming and
Blackberry Roaming services
MOBILINK Gems Short Message Service Center allows Vehicle Tracking and
Fleet Management services that are being provided by Trakker (Pvt.) Ltd., under
the brand name of C-Track, a company licensed by Pakistan Telecom Authority
(PTA). Trakker currently operates from Karachi but can provide these facilities
at all those locations where GSM coverage is available.

Network
During the last 15 years, Mobilink has set up one of the largest cellular networks in the
country. Currently, we are covering more than 10000+ cities and towns. This has
involved an investment in the company of more than US$ 3.3 Billion. We have 66

23

Switches and more than 8,000+ cell sites and the number keeps growing at a rapid pace.
Mobilink also have deployed around 6,500km of optical cable.
Years of Business
Cities
Investment
Switches
Cell Sites
Optical Cable Deployment
Switches
Radio Base Stations
Intelligent Networks
Microwave Equipment
Operating Frequency
SMSC

15
10,000+
USD 3.3 Billion+
66
8,000+
6,500 KM
Nokia-Siemens, Alcatel, Huawei
Motorola and Alcatel.
Siemens
NEC and Alcatel
900/1800 MHz
Logica CMG

Source: Mobilink internal record

9.0 Organizational Chart of Marketing Department

Vice
President
Marketing

Director
Brand Team

Specialist
Manager

Director
Marketing
Operation

Associate
Manager

Specialist
Associate

Director
Pricing
Strategy

Specialist
Manager
Associate

Director
VAS
LDI

Specialist
Manager
Associate

24

Director
Public
Relations

Specialist Manager
Associate

Source: Employees of Mobilink

9.1 Number of Employees working in Marketing Department

In Mobilink marketing department 65 employees are working, below are the details of
number of employees working in each department;

Vice President
Brand Team
Marketing Operations

1
18
16
25

VAS /LDI Unit

Pricing Strategy
Public Relation
Total Employees

16
14
5
70

Source: Mobilink internal record

9.2 Marketing Operations

Every company needs to manage its marketing activities effectively. Especially the
company needs to know how to analyze the market opportunities, select appropriate
target markets, segmenting the market in proper segments, establishing the effective
marketing mix and manage the marketing efforts effectively. To fulfill these
requirements, marketing department is established in almost all well-known
organizations.

Defining Marketing Objectives

26

According to Peter Drucker, The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The
aim is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him
or her and sells itself.
Operations of Mobilinks marketing department are as follows:
Analyzing the trend of the market and competitions movement of marketing.
Analyzing the customer demand and product development process
Analyzing the quality assurance process and enhance the market share as
compare to competitions.
Introduce new product in the market through research and development
process.
Create the need for the new and existing customers through different loyalty
programs
Run all he promotional activities efficiently and effectively
Public relation
Research and development

10. Function of Mobilinks Marketing Department

Following are the functions of Mobilinks marketing in details;

Trade Marketing;
In this sub department of marketing ,all trade and retail level activities at ground level is
working efficiently and the whole department is responsible for the marketing of
promotional and sales activities of the Mobilink for trade and retailer.

27

BTL (on ground activity);

This sub department of Mobilinks marketing is responsible for the land and site
acquisition for cell sites, bill boards, sign boards and banners. Along with this it is
responsible for the installation of cable network and server used in cell sites.

Handset Offers;
This sub department is responsible for the different bundle offer for corporate groups of
customers and for individual customer for retention and loyalty programs. This includes
the bundle handsets offers and many such related campaigns.

Corporate Social Responsibilities;

This sub department is playing very important role for the growth of the organization,
and this department responsibilities are to manage or organize all the community
welfare related activities for the Pakistani nation following are the activities;

a) Donations for Community welfare:

Helping Pakistan for a better tomorrow, Mobilink is a long standing believer in giving a
portion of its revenues for charitable causes and is making efforts for brining about a
positive social change for the underprivileged. It has been actively involved in
providing regular donations to Shaukat Khanam Memorial Cancer Research Hospital
and urging its huge customer base to partake with their own donations for the cause.
Mobilink also supports other organizations such as the Khidmat Foundation, Umeedenoor and PIMS Children Hospital Islamabad, in making lives of millions in Pakistan
more comfortable.

b) Educating the Youth

High quality education is the right of every Pakistani. Most of the time this right does
not see the light of the day due to many factors, and one of them is the high cost of
education. Mobilink has decided to help out those deserving students or organizations
however it can.
28

c) Cultivating the Community

Respecting and protecting the environment we live in, is a job we must all do together.
The only way to combat poverty is to transform the less fortunate into productive
members of the society. Mobilink has taken steps to alleviate poverty while protecting
and beautifying the environment by collaborating with Khushhali Bank to empower
villagers to own personal mobile phones through micro-financing. Mobilink was also
the official sponsor of the second Human Resource Development Congress held in
October 2004.

d) Encouraging Arts
Each culture is best defined by an artistic expression. To preserve and cultivate art is a
necessity that should be partaken more often in Pakistan. Mobilink has taken the lead in
doing so in many different ways.

e) Encouraging Arts
Each culture is best defined by an artistic expression. To preserve and cultivate art is a
necessity that should be partaken more often in Pakistan. Mobilink has taken the lead in
doing so in many different.

f) Revival of Cinema Industry;

Promote the cinema industry and starts different campaign for the revival of the
industry through various promotional activities and sponsoring the latest movies in
Pakistans cinemas.

Promotional Activities;
The one of the functions of Mobilinks marketing is to handle different promotional
activities for customers and for distributors/retailer with smart way.

29

Public Relations;
The functions of this public relation unit are to create good relations with media or with
customers through different surveys and campaigns.

Product Development & Research;

This units functions are to develop different new products or value added services for
the customers through various surveys and researches, this unit of Mobilink has a great
worth within the organization.

Pricing Strategies;
The function of this sub unit of Mobilinks marketing is to introduce the price of the
products after the analyzing the market need and customers demand and this is also
responsible for the increase or decrease in the product price.

Business Intelligence Unit;

This units functions are to store the data and to do different analysis and trends for the
growth of business.

Loyalty programs;
This unit responsibility is to create different loyalty programs for the good relations and
retentions of the customers with company.

Satisfaction Surveys/ Feedback;

The function of this unit of Mobilinks marketing is to conduct various surveys through
different telemarketing team to know the satisfaction level and feedback of the
customers so that if changes required they can implement.

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10.1 Marketing Strategy

Marketing strategy is the practical application of marketing techniques. It is the
analysis, planning, implementation, and control of programs designed to create, build,
and maintain mutually beneficial exchanges with target market. The marketing manager
has the task of influencing the level, timing, and composition of demand in way that
will achieve organizational objectives.

Marketing Strategy of Mobilink:

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Mobilink is the market leader both in revenue and customers and is the first GSM
service provider of the Pakistan as leader Mobilink strategies are to lead the market and
to get the maximum share of revenue thats why Mobilink is always adopting leader
ship strategies.
Mobilinks major strategy involves;
Be always first in introducing latest technology in telecommunication
Focus on best quality,customer satisfaction
Identifying the market style and market trend
Identifying the customer trend and style
Identifying the customer needs and demands
Identifying the new research and development in telecommunication
Identify the segments within the market
Understand company's strengths and weaknesses.
Implementation of 4p's price place product promotions.
Understand where you want your brands to be in the future
Internal service quality of customer satisfaction.
In Mobilink private when lunch any product they all decision making on higher
management and first the complete analysis of the market and customer behavior all
sensitive issues with point of competitors of current market situation then pre test lunch
the product if they successful then introduced in the market.

10.2 Product Planning, Development & Management:

Mobilinks new product development process based on following steps;

Idea Generation:
A process starts with idea generation, which may draw the Mobilinks inspiration from
internal sources, customers, competitor's suppliers and others.

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Idea Screening:
The next step is idea screening which reduces the number of ideas based on the
Mobilink own criteria which the best suitable for the company.

Concept Development:
After the idea screening Mobilink research and development management continue
through product concept development in which a detailed version of the new product
idea is stated in meaningful consumer terms.

Test Market:
In this stage concept testing new product concepts are tested with a group of current
market target consumers to determine if the concept have strong consumers appeal and
successful in market.

Marketing Strategy:
After the successful concept of the new product to proceed to marketing strategy
development in which an initial marketing strategy for the new product is developed
from the product concept

Business Analysis:
After the marketing strategy of Mobilink proceed to in business analysis stage a review
of the local and nation market of the sales, costs and profit projections for new product
is conducted to determine whether the new product is likely to satisfy the Mobilinks
objectives .

Commercialization:
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With positive results there the ideas become more concrete through test marketing and
finally are launched for commercialization.

10.3 Pricing Strategy

Mobilink is a market leader in subscribers and always introduces a reasonable price
for their products with good quality. Mobilink pricing strategies for new products;
Positioning Strategy; Mobilink uses both premium strategy (high price & high quality)
and good value strategy (low price & high quality) for their new products.
Mobilink also uses the marketing skimming strategy for new products and market
penetration for existing products.

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10.4 Distribution Strategy

Distributing the products in the market is one of the major functions of any
distribution center on behalf of the principal. As it is said in the previous section that
Mobilink treats every principal as a separate business unit, so the distribution process
for all the principals vary considerably with each other.

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Extensive nationwide distribution network positioned to lunch new products as well

as service existing ones.

18 Offices
250 Cities.
475 frachises
enhancing relationships with third party distributors to enhance penetration. Mobilink
divide the whole Pakistan in three regions for the better take up of the distributions and
to increase the sale in efficient way below are the details of the regions;
1. Central
2. South
3. North

10.5 Promotional Strategy

Mobilink give the desirable information in the print ads to the target market in order
to inform the customers about the benefit of their products. Whenever Mobilink
introduced new products they give ads on print media at regular intervals. So that the
customer is informed about the new product. For their matured products they give ads

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with different gaps in the newspapers. The newspapers they use are: The NEWS,
DAWN, and JANG

Radio
Radio is a good local acceptance, high geographic and demographic selectivity and low
cost advertisement.

Magazines
The Magazines advertisement high geographic and demographic selectivity, credibility
and prestige and high quality reproduction, long life and good pass along readership.

Outdoor Advertising
Outdoor Advertisement flexibility high repeat exposure low cost low message
competition, good positional selectivity
For example
Sing Boards
Bill Boards
Banners

Public Relation
It is communication efforts that are designed to favorably influence attitudes toward an
organization, its products and policies. Mobilink is not just a quality product services
supplier, but also a socially conscious corporate citizen. It has been equally involved in
promoting and funding several community welfare projects through aggregate revenue
Mobilink is a professionally managed, organization.

11. Critical Analysis of Theoretical and Practical

Experience
The main objective of this internship program is to critically analyze the theoretical
concepts and relating them with the practical experiences, I studied the Mobilink for

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this purpose. I have observed that Mobilink is a market leader both in revenue and in
customers share as they are practicing the right procedure what they have written,
Mobilink is ISO 9002 certified in billing and engineering.
In this organization I observed and noticed that all the department and business
processes are implementing as of theoretical concepts for the better results. Every
department processes are written, and all the staff are implementing on the written
procedures with pleasure and its the secret of Mobilinks leadership. Mobilink is
providing the friendly environment for their internal customers and giving then the
salaries as per the market standards, I observed that in all the departments of Mobilink
all the theoretical concepts are implementing As in Mobilink particular in marketing
department every thing is handling with respect to same as theoretical or what we
studied in MBA as in product development ,marketing research, in pricing ,distribution
and in promotional activities every thing is well organized and planned.
Success and failure of products of Mobilink in Market with reasons:
In Mobilink every product is successful as per the demand and need of the customers,
as Mobilink is a market leader and launch their every product with planning and deep
research, feed back of their existing and new customers. These successful products are
for prepaid customers, post paid customer, for corporate customers and for corporate
level business solutions.
Following are the some successful products from the list of successful products;

11.1 Successful Products of Prepaid Customers

1. Jazz Budget
2. Jazz Ladies First
3. Jazz GPRS
4. SMS Fever
5. Jazz One

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6. Jazz GPRS
7. Jazz Octane
8. Such Jazba

Successful Products of Postpaid Customers;

1. Indigo GPRS
2. Indigo Unlimited
3. Indigo Plans
4. Indigo Talk Fiesta

Successful Products for Corporate Customers & Business Solutions :

1. Black berry
2. Connect card
3. Mobilink Genie
4. SMS bundle Offers

Reasons:
Mobilink is a marketing leader and its every product is very successful in the market
and as per the customer demand and requirement, as before launching any new product
or any value added services for their existing and new customers Mobilink always did a
solid research for the need and requirement of the customers through different channels,
surveys and questionnaires from customers.
Mobilink also keep an eye on the market environment and on the competitors
activities. Mobilink focus on the strong marketing strategies and before introducing any
product worked on the marketing mix very carefully.

11.2 Major Competitors of Mobilink

In Pakistan, currently five cellular mobile operators i.e. Telenor Pakistan, PTCL
(Ufone), Warid Telecom and China Mobile Pakistan (CMP/Paktel) are providing
services using GSM technology whereas the sixth operator i.e. Instaphone is providing
services using D-AMPS technology.
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Above mentioned names of operators are the major competitors of Mobilink.

Warid Telecom
Warid Telecom is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Group & SingTel Group. Abu
Dhabi Group entered into a strategic alliance with Singapore Telecom. Subsequent to
this transaction in July 2007, telecom giant SingTel acquired 30% percent equity stake
in Warid Telecom, Pakistan, for US$758 million. This partnership is part of a strategy to
support Warid Telecoms continued growth and to enhance its market position.
Abu Dhabi Group, one of the largest business groups in the Middle East and the
single largest foreign investor in Pakistan. It has diversified business interests, offering
strong financial resources and extensive management expertise that result in
commercial success for several institutions.
SingTels investment in mobile operations include, Advanced Info Service (AIS)
Thailand, (21.4%), Bharti Telecom Group India (30.5%), Optus Telecom Australia
(100%), Globe Telecom Philippines (44.5%), Pacific Bangladesh Telecom (PBTL) Bangladesh (45%), Telkomsel Indonesia (35%) and Warid Telecom Pakistan
(30%).

Ufone GSM
Ufone GSM is a Pakistani GSM cellular service provider. It is a subsidiary owned by
Pakistan Telecommunication Ltd (PTCL). It is a brand of Pakistan Telecommunication
Mobile Ltd. (PTML), It was established to operate cellular telephony. The company
commenced its operations from Islamabad on January 29, 2001. As a consequence of
PTCLs privatization, 26% of its shares were acquired by Emirates Telecommunication
Corporation (Etisalat). Being part of PTCL, the management of Ufone has also been
handed over to Etisalat. During the year July 2005 to June 2006, Ufone continued on
the path to success. The Company further expanded its coverage and has added new
cities and highways. Ufone has network coverage in more than 750 cities, towns and
across all major highways of the country. During the year, as a consequence of PTCLs
privatization, 26% of its shares were acquired by Emirates Telecommunication
Corporation (Etisalat). Being part of PTCL, the management of Ufone has also been
40

handed over to Etisalat. During the year July 2005 to June 2006, Ufone continued on
the path to success. The Company further expanded its coverage and has added new
cities and highways. Ufone has network During the year, as a consequence of PTCLs
privatization, 26% of its shares were acquired by Emirates Telecommunication
Corporation (Etisalat). Being part of PTCL, the management of Ufone has also been
handed over to Etisalat. During the year July 2005 to June 2006, Ufone continued on
the path to success. The Company further expanded its coverage and has added new
cities and highways. Ufone has network coverage in more than 3756 locations and
across all major highways of the country.
During the year Ufone successfully completed the network expansion of Phase IV
in existing as well as in new cities and towns which amounted to more than US Dollar
million. As a result the asset base of the Company has increased from Rs. 20 billion to
Rs. 27 billion. During the year Ufone adopted the policy of simplified tariffs with no
hidden charges,
which resulted in positive impacts on the usage trends of subscribers as well as total
subscriber base, which has increased from 2,579 k in June 2005 to 7,487 k in June
2006. Ufone currently caters for International Roaming to more than 225 live operators
in more than 130 countries and introduced International roaming facility for Prepaid
subscribers in Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore,
Portugal, Thailand, Cyprus, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Belgium and
Kuwait with lowest rates, featuring no security deposit and activation charges. GPRS
Roaming facility is available with more than 115 Live Operators in more than 85
countries. The company has also been awarded a new License for providing cellular
services in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Northern Areas.

Telenor Pakistan
Telenor Pakistan is 100% owned by Telenor ASA and adds on to its operations
in Asia together with Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh. Telenor Pakistan launched its
operations in March 2005 as the single largest direct European investment in Pakistan,
setting precedence for further foreign investments in the telecom sector. The company
has covered several milestones over the past twenty eight months and grown in a
number of directions, we have grown to become a leading telecom operator in the

41

country. In fiscal year 2006, we achieved nearly 200% growth in our subscriber base
the highest in the industry by a wide margin.
We are the fastest growing mobile network in the country, with coverage
reaching deep into many of the remotest areas of Pakistan. In the most difficult terrains
of the country, from the hilly northern areas to the sprawling deserts in the south, at
times we are the only operator connecting the previously unconnected. We are keeping
ahead by investing heavily in infrastructure expansion. With USD1 billion already
invested, we have extended agreements with our vendors for network expansion and
services until 2009. The agreements, with a potential to result in USD750 million worth
of orders from Telenor Pakistan, are some of the biggest of their kind in the industry.
We are spread across Pakistan, creating 2,500 direct and 25,000-plus indirect
employment opportunities. We have a network of 23 company-owned sales and service
centers, more than 200 franchisees and some 100,000 retail outlets.

Zong (CMPAK)
China Mobile is the largest telecom operator in China. It has recently completed
the purchase of Paktel. ZONG is the first International brand of China Mobile being
launched in Pakistan. It is meant to empower and liberate the people of Pakistan in
every nook and corner of the country. It will become a part of their hearts, their minds
and bring about a change in their lives that every one desired but few thought would be
possible. The core essence of ZONG is to allow people to communicate at will. Without
worrying about tariffs, network coverage, capacity issues or congestion. ZONG will be
supported by ground breaking communications, trend setting customer service and an
unmatched product offering which will redefine rules of the game and establish ZONG
as a serious contender for the number one spot.
ZONG would offer its customers with entertaining & innovative value added
services and will empower them by giving a wide variety of products, services &
content to choose from. We are privileged to be the pioneering country introducing this
brand with others to follow. And God willing, together we will also make ZONG a
success story for others to try and replicate.

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Market Share
Mobilink is currently the market leader with 41% market share by subscriber and 50%
market share by revenue, whereas Ufone, Warid and Telenor are significantly behind.
CM Pak (Paktel) at the moment has 2% share in both by revenue and subscribers, but
it is expected to increase when they launch their new products. Below is a chart taken
from PTAs Annual Reports for the year 2009 that shows the division of market share
amongst the current players in the industry.

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Market Share of Pakistan's Mobile Operators

by Revenue,Source;PTA

Source: PTA Annual Reports 2009

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11.3 Future prospects of the Organization

As Mobilink is a market leader and always pioneer in providing the latest technology
to telecommunication industry of Pakistan. In future Mobilink is planning to launch a
new service for Mobilinks new and existing customers called V-CON. This would be
a video conferencing service that Mobilink could launch after it gains the 3G license.
Mobilink will introduce a video conferencing service aimed at its postpaid customers
(Indigo), prepaid customers (Jazz) and for new customers. The video conferencing
would work on 3G technology compatible cell phones like the Nokia N-series. These
cell phones have two cameras, one on either side of the phone, that enable it to be in a
video conference with more than one person at a time. Research has suggested that
videoconferencing is very successful when there is a clear communication need that
cannot easily be met using other media. While users feel that video conference meetings
do not have the flow and momentum of face-to-face meetings they are seen to be
particularly good for:
dealing with routine matters
dealing with non-controversial issues
quick informal meetings at short notice
saving travel costs
saving time

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12- Short-falls/Weakness of the Mobilinks Marketing Department

SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
Competitive in value added features
Infrastructure sharing reducing operational & fixed costs & largest number of
cell sites
Aggressive promotional activities
Extensive staff training programs
Standardized pay structure
Management is always open to improvement from every level of hierarchy
Strong brand value
Comparatively better value added services than competitors
Largest Network Coverage

Weaknesses:
Lack of good coordination with other department
Instability of network
Problems with Billing systems
Inefficient Complaint Management System
Customer verification and recording antecedents
High Traffic
Declining quality
Poor call service department

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Opportunities:
Expansion in new geographical areas
Providing per second billing
Providing more value added services
Expanding into new markets (DSL)
Coverage Expansion is the fastest way to capture the remaining addressable market
1st mover advantage. Developing Network in uncovered areas at a fast pace
Ensure seamless mobility
Infrastructure sharing reducing operational & fixed costs
Use technology to go beyond GSMs usual limits 35Km which can be doubled

Threats:
Pressure on Quality of Service (QoS)
Increased competition
Price sensitivity
Declining quality
With MNP in place the basic product becoming homogeneous could force mass
exodus of the consumer to better offerings
MNP conversion cost could have negative implication on ROI
Technology improvements a continuous process and threat
Declining market share
Decline in profits due to price wars
New entrants (China Mobile)
Mobile industry overall is at a saturation point

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13. Conclusions & Recommendations

Conclusions:
During my internship, I have pointed out following conclusions:
Best environment of marketing department.
Strong marketing policies.
Imported machinery.
Qualified and motivated staff.
Strong market leader
Awareness of products
Customer satisfaction procedure is very good.
High financial resources.
More customers in International market.
Fully computerized system of production.
RD&C department is working tirelessly.
Every department is working with the standards of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
Research product and development procedure is very good.

Marketing strategies are always made to keep in mind the current market
situation and competitors analysis.

Marketing personnel continuous visit to existing customer for getting new

orders.

Recommendations:
On the basis of my studies and analysis, following areas are recommended to
improve the results of the organization.
The company should arrange the proper training program relevant to technical
knowledge of product; this would improve the efficiency of marketing
department.
Hired only those employees having technical background qualification with
MBA.

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 Meeting should be arranged with production manager for discussion about

complaints on monthly basis
The company should focus the attention to customer services and proper
complaint handling to improve the company image in the market.
The company should arrange the visit of marketing manager, Regional manager
for the covering, and studding of international market.

The company is going for expansion; therefore company should increase the
staff of marketing department for better results.

Decision making power should be decentralized in each region.

The company should improve the communication process among the different
departments for getting better results.
Appreciation and monetary regard is necessary on better performance of sales
executives.

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14. References & Sources

All of the references and sources from where the data gathered for this report are
mentioned herewith for your kind concern.

Organization:

Annual Reports of Mobilink

http://www.mobilink.com.pk/

http://www.mobilink.com.pk/Products/index.aspx

http://www.mobilink.com.pk/Publications/AnReport.aspx

http://www.mobilink.com.pk/management/index.aspx

Web Portals:

www.pta.gov.pk

www.orascomtelecom.com

Books:
Marketing Management By Phillip Kotler
Marketing by Gary Armstrong & Philip Kotler,11th Edition
International Marketing by Philip R.Cateora, 7th Edition

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15. Annexure

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Annexure 02
Market Share of Pakistan's Mobile Operators
by Revenue,Source;PTA

52