Brand Image Measurement of

AIRTEL

A report

Submitted to

Prof. S. Govindrajan

In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the course

Brand Management

On 1.08.08

By

Ankita Ghosh

Pratik Gupta

Raj Kumar Pari

Yatharth Bhuwalka

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

• Executive Summary

• Airtel

• Models to measure brand image of Airtel

o Brand Asset Valuator Model

 What is BAV model?

 Four Pillars of BAV

 Research Methodology

 Implications of the BAV Model

o Laddering Technique

 Rationale

 Research Methodology

 Some Excerpts

 Laddering Flow

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Airtel comes from Bharti Airtel Limited, India’s largest integrated and the first
private telecom services provider, headed by Sunil Mittal with a footprint in all the
23 telecom circles. They offer fixed line services and broadband services. Airtel has
a total of 67,425,935 or 32.81% of the total 205,460,762 GSM mobile connections in
India till May 2008.

Airtel in its course of time had a particular kind of positioning and they repositioned
themselves to change their brand image and increase the customer base. Our
project would study Airtel’s brand Image amongst its user. To study this we took 2
methods of evaluating.

• Brand Asset Valuator model, a quantitative technique and,

• Laddering Technique, a qualitative technique

The Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) is a database of consumer perception of brands

created and managed by BrandAsset Consulting, a division of Young & Rubicam
Brands to provide information to enable firms to improve the marketing decision-
making process and to manage brands better. Brand Asset Valuator and BAV also
describe the Y&R group managing the database. The group tested the brand on the
four aspects of Knowledge, Esteem, Relevance and Differentiation.

The aspect of Knowledge was judged by 3 questions and in this segment Airtel had
the second rank. Among the consumers Airtel had the second rank when they were
questioned about the brand knowledge. Vodafone scored the highest in this range.

The aspect of Esteem was judged by 2 questions and in this segment Airtel had the
first rank. Among the consumers Airtel had the highest scores when they were
questioned about the brands esteem. Vodafone was the second highest.

The aspect of Relevance was judged by 2 questions and in this segment Airtel had
the first rank. Among the consumers Airtel scores the highest when they were asked
about the relevance of the brand or product. Vodafone had the second highest score
and the other brands did not have any significant score in this category.

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The aspect of Differentiation was judged by 3 questions and in this segment Airtel
had the second rank and Vodafone was the highest scorer. Airtel was the second
highest.
Thus, from the BAV model we could derive the brand image of Airtel which has a
very close competition with Vodafone.

Then, the group studied the brand image of Airtel by using the qualitative technique
of Laddering. Laddering is highly recommended in research that elicits hierarchical
constructs and can become especially popular in investigating personal values.

The group selected laddering so that we could study interlink between the
Attributes, Consequences and Values that a consumer derives when he is using the
product. We could conclude as to what are the values the consumer perceives about
the product. The group pin pointed Sense of Belonging, Value for Money, Self
Esteem and Emotional Connect by using this product.

These two techniques helped us identify the consumer’s perception of the brand
Airtel.

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 AIRTEL

Bharti Airtel Limited formerly ‘Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited - BTVL’ was incorporated
on July 7, 1995 under the laws of India for promoting investments in
telecommunication services. With effect from April 24, 2006, the name of the
Company has been changed from Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited (‘BTVL’) to Bharti
Airtel.

Airtel comes from Bharti Airtel Limited, India’s largest integrated and the first
private telecom services provider, headed by Sunil Mittal with a footprint in all the
23 telecom circles. They offer fixed line services and broadband services. Airtel has
a total of 67,425,935 or 32.81% of the total 205,460,762 GSM mobile connections in
India till May 2008. The company provides telephone services and Internet access
over DSL in 14 circles. They complement mobile, broadband & telephone services
with national and international long distance services. The company also has a
submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable
connecting Chennai and Singapore. The company provides end-to-end data and
enterprise services to the corporate customers through its nationwide fiber optic
backbone, last mile connectivity in fixed-line and mobile circles, VSATs, ISP and
international bandwidth access through the gateways and landing station.

Bharti Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of technology and has
steered the course of the telecom sector in the country with its world class products
and services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three
individual strategic business units (SBU’s) - Mobile Services, Airtel Tele media
Services & Enterprise Services. The mobile business provides mobile & fixed
wireless services using GSM technology across 23 telecom circles while the Airtel
Tele media Services business offers broadband & telephone services in 94 cities.
The Enterprise services provide end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate
customers and national & international long distance services to carriers. All these
services are provided under the Airtel brand.

The shares of the Company are listed on the National Stock Exchange (‘NSE’) and
the Mumbai Stock Exchange (‘BSE’), India.

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In the early 2000s, Bharti invested heavily in the acquisitions and alliances to
expand its cellular market in India. Bharti launched Airtel as a post paid cellular
service in Delhi in November 1995. Over the next few years, the company redefined
the way cellular services were being marketed in the country. This was made
possible due to its innovative marketing strategies, continuous technological
upgradation, new value added service offerings and efficient customer service.
Initially confined only to the Delhi circle, Airtel's services were soon extended to
many other places.

It also provided them with information regarding cellular services and the features
of handsets manufactured by various companies, along with their price. On account
of such initiatives, during the late-1990s, Airtel was named the 'Best Cellular
Service' in the country, and won the 'Techies' award for four consecutive years
(1997-2000). However, it was not very easy for the company to build Airtel brand.

In late-2002, Bharti Cellular Ltd. (Bharti), India's largest cellular telephone company
released a television commercial (TVC), which despite using the 'oft-repeated'
celebrity endorsement route was unusual in terms of its celebrity selection. Instead
of using the usual movie stars/sports celebrities, it chose one of the country's most
successful music composers, A.R.Rahman (Rahman) to promote its brand. The
company also decided to undertake a comprehensive brand building program for
the company and chose the slogan 'Unlimited Freedom' for the same. Commenting
on these changes, company sources said, "Airtel's brand identity and campaign will
now have a new younger and international look and feel that builds on the earlier
positioning."

Bharti's massive media expenditure plans were no surprise, considering the fact
that it was the largest cellular telecom company in the country – reaching over 600
million people in 16 (out of 29) states of India. The company posted revenues of Rs
8.48 billion and a net loss of Rs 1 billion in the financial year 2000-01.

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They entered the telecommunication (telecom) industry during the early-1990s.
Bharti Tele-Ventures, a part of Bharti group, offered various telecom services such
as fixed line, cellular, V-SAT and Internet services. In 1992, Bharti entered the
cellular market by launching services in Delhi. Over the next few years, it also
entered other telecom circles.

During the late-1990s, many international players such as 'Orange' announced

plans to enter the Indian market. India being one of the fast developing nations with
a vast population base was being seen as a high potential market. Apart from
international players, many domestic players also entered the segment. This
increased the competition in the sector. Bharti realized the need for repositioning
Airtel to increase its market share. Thus they launched 'Leadership Series'
campaign, which featured successful men and women with their deluxe cars,
carrying laptops and using cell phones. This campaign was aiming at positioning
Airtel as an inspirational brand, which was meant for leaders and celebrities.

In early-2000s, Bharti unveiled a three-tier Airtel brand architecture that was aimed
at defining every service with a special brand name and place them under a mother
brand.
Airtel targeted youth in the age-group 14-19 years, they 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. 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.

Due to consistent marketing efforts, the Airtel campaign became very popular. The
campaign was accompanied by a change in the logo as well. The idea behind the
new logo was to give Airtel a younger look. The logo (with new design and colour

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pattern) symbolized innovation, energy and friendliness. As part of its restructuring
and repositioning exercise, Bharti unveiled a new brand architecture.
Currently, In May 2008, it emerged that Bharti Airtel was exploring the possibility of
buying the MTN Group, a South Africa-based telecommunications company with
coverage in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East.

With all its achievements Airtel is in a continuous process of expanding their

customer base by penetrating into the Indian telecom users mind.

MODELS TO MEASURE AIRTEL’S BRAND IMAGE

The Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) is a database of consumer perception of brands

created and managed by BrandAsset Consulting, a division of Young & Rubicam
Brands to provide information to enable firms to improve the marketing decision-
making process and to manage brands better. Brand Asset Valuator and BAV also
describe the Y&R group managing the database.

Brand Asset Valuator enhances the marketing decision-making process by:

• Evaluating a brand within the entire world of brands, not just in its category.
• Providing a deeper understanding of consumer behavior.
• Helping identify marketplace opportunities and types of risk.
• Predicting outcomes based on leading indicators, rather than lagging.
• Anticipating future earnings and operating margins

The Four Pillars of the BAV Model:

BAV measures the value of a brand along four dimensions: "Differentiation,"

"Relevance," "Esteem," and "Knowledge." Differentiation and Relevance build up to
"Brand Strength." Esteem and Knowledge are used to calculate "Brand Stature."
BAV defines these terms as follows.

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Differentiation -It quantifies the brand's point of difference. It shows how different
the brand is from its competitors with respect to its offerings or image, whether or
not consumers perceive any difference in the image of the brand vis-a-vis
competitors.

Relevance -It measures how appropriate the brand is to the consumers. It tells us
whether the need to be satisfied has been identified correctly and whether the need
is being satisfied appropriately.

Esteem -It tells how well the regarded the brand is. We come to know what is the
image of the brand to the consumers and also what does the brand man to them.
Brand Esteem is a function of the past brand building exercise undertaken by the
brand. Also, CSR activities, rewards, recognition and accolades won by the brand
add to its esteem.
Knowledge - This parameter tells us whether the consumers are aware of the
brand. It also tells us the level of intimacy of awareness of the brand vis-a-vis
competition.

The Brand Asset Valuator Model measures the performance of a brand on two
aspects viz. Brand Strength and Brand Stature. The two aspects are dealt with
below:

Brand Strength - describes the brand's growth potential. It is a function of two

aspects- Differentiation and Relevance. It projects the brand’s future value. It also
measures the current strength of a brand.

Brand Stature – describes how well the brand is known and respected. It is a result
of the past performance of the brand. It also largely depends on the brand building
exercise undertaken in the past. Brand Stature is a function of time. The longer a
brand has been in existence, the higher its stature is likely to be. It is a function of
two aspects- Knowledge and Esteem. Brand Stature describes the brand's current
power.

The 4 pillars of the BAV Model are shown below:

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 The brand’s
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How
appropriate
the brand is An intimate
to you understand
ing of the
brand

The Power Grid:

As discussed earlier the BAV model measures the brand’s performance on two
major parameters- Brand Strength and Brand Stature. For that it uses a power grid
that measures these parameters on two axes.

BAV groups the leading indicators - Differentiation and Relevance - and the lagging
indicators - Esteem and Knowledge. These pairs of Pillars are essential to map the
life of a brand on a power grid.

A brand's strength - its Differentiation and Relevance- is plotted on the vertical axis.
A brand's stature - its Esteem and Knowledge - is plotted on the horizontal axis.

The grid is shown below:

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Research Methodology
The group decided to go for a survey of the mobile users. The research was
conducted with the help of a questionnaire. The sample size was 40. The
respondents were the students of the PGP course of Praxis Business School, Kolkata.
The population was a representative sample of Airtel Users and Non Airtel Users.

The brands that were identified for the purpose of research were:
AIRTEL, VODAFONE, RELIANCE, TATA INDICOM, BSNL.

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Rationale: The above 4 brands were chosen because these are the 4 most
prominent players in Kolkata. The research also was done primarily in Kolkata.

The questions that were asked to the respondents are given below along with the
rationale behind asking the individual questions.

Questions pertaining to Brand Knowledge:

Q1) What is the first brand that comes to your mind when you hear of
mobile service operators?

Rationale: This question would help the group know which brand has the Top-of-
Mind Recall for the consumers. The brand having Top of Mind Recall among most of
the respondents would be the brand that most consumers are aware of.

Q2) Tell us the taglines of the following brands:

a) Airtel:
b) Vodafone:
c) Reliance:
d) BSNL:
e) Tata Indicom:

Rationale: This question would help the group identify the brand that most
consumers could recall. The tagline of a brand is a part of its brand building exercise
and the consumers’ familiarity with the taglines would help the group judge the
extent of awareness of a particular brand.

Q3) Associate a brand with the logo colors mentioned

a) Red, Black and White
b) Red and White
c) Blue
d) Red and Blue
e) Red, Blue and Black

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Rationale: This question would help the group identify the level of awareness that
the consumers have of the symbol of the brands. The brand logo which most
number of respondents could recognize would be the brand that scores the highest
on awareness and knowledge.

Questions pertaining to Brand Relevance:

Q1) If you have to suggest a mobile brand to a new mobile phone user, which brand
will you suggest?

Rationale: This question would help the group to identify which brand the
consumers think is the mist relevant to the users. Relevance could be on any need
viz. call, SMS etc. The most relevant brand is often the most recommended brand.

Q2) Which brand do you associate with the following mobile needs?
a) Call
b) SMS
c) GPRS
d) E mail Access
e) Other Value Added Services

Rationale: Some of the major needs for using a mobile connection were identified by
the group. On the above needs the relevance of the various brands chosen were
tested. The brand having the highest relevance across most of the above
mentioned categories would be the brand that has identified its needs the best and
is best satisfying them.

Questions pertaining to Brand Esteem:

Q1) Which do you think is the respected brand of mobile service providers?

Rationale: This question would help the group know the consumers perception of
the most respected brand of mobile service operators. This question would point at
the esteem level of the brands in the consumers’ mind.

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Q2) Associate a brand of mobile service providers to the following words:
a) Stylish
b) Reliable
c) Socially Responsible
d) Intelligent
e) Prestigious

Rationale: The above mentioned words would help the group gauge the perception
of the consumers and their feeling towards a certain brand.

Questions pertaining to Brand Differentiation:

Q1) If number portability is allowed, will you change your mobile service provider? If
yes, then which brand would you like to change to?

Rationale: This question would help the group identify which brand the consumers
perceive to be the most different from others. It would also help the group establish
the consumers’ brand loyalty. Consumers who wish to change to a different brand
do so because they perceive that brand to be different from the one that they are
using now.

Q2) Associate a brand of mobile service providers to the following words:

a) Innovative
b) Cares for customers
c) Value
d) Quality

Rationale: The above words were as the group identified them to be the
representatives of the differentiating factors that the brands of mobile service
providers can have. It would help the group know the consumers’ oerception of how
much differentiated one brand is from another.

Q3) When buying a new mobile phone connection, what do you consider most?
a) Brand name

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 b) Friends brand
c) Call rates
d) Value added services
e) Connectivity
f) Others

Rationale: This question would help the group identify the factors that the
consumers differentiate a brand of mobile service provider on. It would also shed
light on the most differentiated brand in the consumers’ mind basis the above
mentioned factors. Linking this question to the service provider a respondent is
using now, would bring out the USP of that particular brand.

Implications of the Brand Asset Valuator Model used by the Group

Brand Knowledge:
The absolute and the percentile scores of each brand for this category is shown
below:

BRAND KNOWLEDGE
Airt Vodafon BSN Relianc Tata
Brands el e L e Indicom
Total
Score 1890 1980 620 650 540
Rank 2 1 4 3 5
Percentile 80 100 40 60 20

A comparison of the four brands on the parameter of Brand Knowledge is shown

below:

Airtel:
Airtel has a percentile score of 75 in this category. This category is lead by
Vodafone having the highest score.

The respondents were asked to identify the brand that comes first to their mind for
mobile service providers. Out of a sample size of 40, 45% people said Airtel. This is
almost half the size of the population interviewed. This shows a high Top of Mind

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Recall for Airtel. Vodafone also had a similar count of 45%.The score of Airtel (both
absolute and percentile) on this front is given below:

The respondents were then asked the tagline of Airtel. Out of 40 respondents 35%
could identify its tagline, viz. “Express Yourself”. This means that though there is
very high TOM Recall for Airtel, it needs to work harder on clearing the clutter
among its competitors. For the same question Vodafone had a slightly better figure
of 37.5%.The score of Airtel (both absolute and percentile) on this front is given
below:

Weightage 30

Response Yes
Count 14

Score 420

The respondents were then asked to identify the logo colors of the brands. On this
front, 62.5% of the respondents could identify Airtel with the colors used on the
logo. On this front too, Vodafone had the lead with 67.5%. Vodafone and Airtel use
similar colors on their logo (both use red and white, Airtel has an extra black on its

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logo). The respondents got confused between these two players. The score of Airtel
(both absolute and percentile) on this front is given below:

Weightage 30
Response Airtel
Count 25
Score 750

Vodafone emerged as the winner in this category. Although Airtel is close by, it
needs to put in some efforts on differentiating its look and feel so that the
consumers can easily differentiate it from other brands. Although Airtel has a good
width (comparatively high TOM and unaided recall), it needs to work upon
increasing its width also. Airtel needs to advertise itself differently so as to break
the clutter.

Vodafone leads this category (Brand Knowledge). It has the highest absolute and
the percentile scores (100 percentile) followed closely by Airtel.

For TOM Recall Vodafone had an equal number with Airtel, with 45% respondents
saying that Vodafone is the first brand that comes to their mind. However,
interestingly not all the respondents said the name Vodafone. Many of them still
referred the brand as Hutch. The absolute and percentile score of Vodafone for this
question is given above:
Weightage 40
Response Count Scores
Vodafone 18 720

For tagline identification 37.5% of the respondents could identify Vodafone’s tagline
‘Happy to Help”. Also most respondents could identify Vodafone with its brand
ambassador (the dog used in its ads). The absolute and percentile score of
Vodafone for this question is given below:

Weightage 30

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 Response Yes
Count 15
Score 450

For logo color identification 67.5% of the respondents could identify with the logo
color of Vodafone. However most of the respondents got confused as Airtel uses
similar colors in its logo. Also the respondents could identify Vodafone’s logo easily.
The absolute and percentile score of Vodafone for this question is given below:

Weightage 30
Response Vodafone
Count 27
Score 810

Brand Esteem:

The absolute and the percentile scores of each brand in this category are given
below:

BRAND ESTEEM
Airt Vodafo BS Relian Tata
Brands el ne NL ce Indicom
Total 189
Score 7 1414 226 300 163
Rank 1 2 4 3 5
Percentil
e 100 80 40 60 20

A comparison of the four brands on this parameter is shown below:

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Airtel leads this category. It is followed closely by Vodafone which is second with a
percentile score of 75.

On being asked which brand do the consumers perceive to be the most respected
among the mobile service providers, 52.5% of the respondents said Airtel. Of the
people who identified Airtel as the most preferred brand, 25% were non users. This
is also the highest. This implies that Airtel is an equally respected brand among non-
users also. Many respondents said that the reason they perceived Airtel to be the
most respected brand was that it was an established player and that they are aware
of its existence. Also some of them mentioned the CSR activities undertaken by
Bharti, the parent company of Airtel as a reason for their perception of Airtel. The
score of Airtel with respect to this question is given below:

Weightage 65
Response Count Scores
Airtel 21 1365

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On being asked to relate Airtel to 5 words given Airtel emerged as the brand having
the maximum tally on 4 words. Airtel was perceived to be a more reliable, socially
responsible, honest and a prestigious brand. 37.5% of the respondents perceived
Airtel to be the most reliable brand.40% perceived Airtel to be the socially most
responsible brand. 35% and 45% perceived Airtel to be the most Honest and
Prestigious brand respectively. 47% of the people who perceived Airtel to be the
most reliable, socially most responsible, most honest and the most prestigious
brand were non Airtel users. This proves that Airtel scores high on esteem even
among non users. Thus Airtel is the overall most respected brand. The respondents
perceived Airtel to be high on esteem as they identified Airtel as a matured brand
which has ‘been there and done that’. Also Bharti’s recent announcement of
investing in setting up a B School in Mohali found flavor with the respondents who
perceived it as a CSR activity by Bharti. This also added to the esteem of the brand.
The score of Airtel with respect to this question is given below:

Response Stylis Reliable Socially Honest Prestigio

h Responsible us
Weightag 7 7 7 7 7 Score
e s
Airtel 13 15 16 14 18 532

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Vodafone ranks second in this category with 80 percentile score. 35% respondents
identified Vodafone as the most respected brand among mobile service providers.
Some of the respondents said that Vodafone ads were very ’clean’ and hence added
to the repute of Vodafone. Some respondents also appreciated the fact that
Vodafone did not use any celebrity to endorse the brand but could still manage to
break the clutter. However of all the respondents who identified Airtel as the most
respected brand, 20% were non users, which is close to Airtel’s figure. Thus
Vodafone is also a well respected brand even among non users. The scores of
Vodafone with respect to this aspect are given below:

Weightage 65

Response Count Scores

Vodafone 14 910

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On being asked to relate 5 words to a brand, Vodafone ranked second on all the
words except one. Vodafone was identified as the most stylish brand. 65%
respondents identified Vodafone as the most stylish brand. 32.5% respondents
perceived it to be reliable. 20% respondents perceived Vodafone to be socially
responsible. 22.5% and 40% perceived it to be honest and prestigious respectively.
Of all the people who identified Vodafone with the above mentioned words 42%
were non users. Thus Vodafone is also quite high on esteem among non users, but
not as much as Airtel. Vodafone’s score with respect to this question is given below:

Response Stylis Reliable Socially Honest Prestigio

h Responsible us
Weightag 7 7 7 7 7 Score
e s
Vodafone 26 13 8 9 16 504

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Brand Relevance:

The absolute and percentile score each brand in this category is given below:

BRAND RELEVANCE
Airt Vodafon BSN Relianc Tata
Brands el e L e Indicom
Total
Score 1830 1530 40 420 60
Rank 1 2 5 3 4
Percentil
e 100 80 20 60 40

Airtel is again Numero Uno in this category. There is a healthy difference between
itself and its nearest competitor viz. Vodafone. A high relevance score implies that
the need identification has been good and that the brand is satisfying that need/s
better than competition. Value Added Services is the need that most respondents
identified Airtel with apart from the standard need of calling and messaging. Also
most number of respondents identified Airtel as the brand that they would suggest
to a new user. This implies that the present users/ non users find Airtel relevant to
their needs and hence they would recommend it. This sector is more or less
commoditized where all the players offer similar host of services that a mobile user

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can have. Hence it becomes very necessary to identify the appropriate need/s. At
the end of the day, a brand cannot be everything to everybody.

The respondents were asked to identify the brand that they would suggest to new
users. This was on the basis that the existing users would recommend the brand
only if they were satisfied with it.

50% of the respondents identified Airtel as the brand that they would suggest to a
new user. Of all the people who thus identified Airtel, 20% were non Airtel users.
This figure is slightly low as compared to Vodafone’s 22%. This can be an
opportunity for Airtel to attract more non users to itself. For that Airtel will need to
further differentiate its offerings is-a-vis competition. Again the sector being one
which is fiercely competitive, competitive advantage might not be sustainable for
long. For this very reason, Airtel should differentiate. Repositioning at this moment
is not advisable as it enjoys high relevance among its users. The scores of Airtel
with respect to this question is given below:

Weightage 50
Response Count Scores
Airtel 20 1000

The group identified five most common needs of a mobile phone user viz. Call, SMS,
GPRS, E Mail Access, and other VAS. The respondents were asked to identify the

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brand that they relate most with the above needs. Again Airtel emerged the clear
winner with the highest tally across all the needs. 47.5% of the respondents
identified Airtel with the need to Call, 42.5% each for SMS and GPRS, 27.5% for E
Mail Access and 47.5% for other Value Added Services.

45% of the respondents identified Vodafone as the brand that they would
recommend to new users. The group identified Value Added Services as one area
where Vodafone’s relevance was high. Of the people who would recommend
Vodafone to new users, 22% were non Vodafone users. Much like Airtel this is an
opportunity for Vodafone to attract non users towards itself. The scores of Vodafone
with respect to this question are given below:

Response Call SMS GPRS Email VAS

Weightag 10 10 10 10 10 Score
e s
Vodafone 10 12 14 13 14 630

Brand Differentiation:
The absolute and percentile score for each brand in this category is given below:

BRAND DIFFERENTIATION
Airt Vodafon BSN Relianc Tata
Brands el e L e Indicom
Total
Score 1315 1350 85 400 85
Rank 1 2 5 3 4
Percentile 100 80 20 60 40

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This tells us how different a brand is from its competitors. The mobile service sector
is very competitive and hence not very highly differentiated. All the service
providers provide almost similar offerings. In such a situation it becomes imperative
for a brand to constantly come up with new offerings so that it clears the clutter and
can stand out.

In this category also Airtel ranks first. This implies that consumers clearly see a
difference between Airtel’s and its competitors’ offerings. However, it is a very
competitive sector and that is reflected by the margins. Airtel just manages to steer
clear from its nearest competitor, viz. Vodafone.

The respondents were asked whether they would change their brand if number
portability was allowed. Of the Airtel Users 25% wanted to shift to other brands. Of
the people who anted to shift to other brands, 40% wanted to shift to Airtel’s
nearest competitor viz Vodafone. On the other hand, 28% of Vodafone users wanted
to shift brands. Of all the people who wanted to shift brands, 60% wanted to shift to
Airtel. This shows that people perceive a difference between the two brands.
However, to stay ahead in the rat race, Airtel constantly needs to keep innovating
and come up with new offerings so that it can increase the margin of its lead. The
margin of difference between the two brands is not much.

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The respondents asked to identify a brand with 4 words, i.e. Innovation, Cares for
customers, Value and Quality. The group identified these words as a representative
of the differentiating factor between various brands. In this question Vodafone
emerges as the winner. 42.5% respondents identified Vodafone as the most
innovative brand, 55% as the brand that cares for customers, and 25% as the brand
which offers the best value 45% as the brand with high QoS. This is against Airtel’s
22%, 37.5%, 34% and 34% respectively. This again reinstates the point that
differentiation is low in this sector and perceptions change very quickly as against
knowledge and esteem which are a function of time and the brand width. Hence

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Airtel should be on the alert and make constant efforts at differentiating. However
the relevance is high, so the positioning platform should not be tinkered with. The
clarity of communication of the differentiating factor needs to be stressed on.

Finally the group tried to identify the USP of brand Airtel. The respondents were
asked to identify a brand to the 5 attributes, identified by the group, when buying a
mobile connection. The 5 attributes were: Plans, Customer Service, Value Added
Service, Promo offers and Ease of Recharge or Payment. 45% of the respondents
identified Airtel with Ease of Recharge or Payment followed closely by Customer
Care and Value Added Service with 40% a piece. However, it lags behind Vodafone,
its nearest competitor in the areas of Customer Care and Promo Offers. Airtel should
be careful not to leave this gap open for too long. This is because the sector being
highly competitive and hence less differentiated, its competitors could take
advantage of this lag.

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The BAV Sore of Airtel is shown below:

Brand Strength: Airtel scores high on both differentiation and relevance. This
implies that the need identification process for Airtel has been good and that the
consumers perceive a difference between Airtel’s and its competitors’ offerings.
However there is not much of a gap between Airtel and its nearest competitor viz
Vodafone. The telecom industry per se is highly competitive and there is not much
scope of differentiation. In spite of this Airtel has to keep making efforts to innovate
and come up with new offerings to stay ahead in the rat race. It should not tinker
with the positioning platform as it score high on relevance. It just needs to
communicate its point of differences better to the consumers. The communication
should be more focused on the various attribute that differentiates Airtel from its
competitors.

Brand Stature: Brand Stature takes into account Knowledge and Esteem. Airtel
scores the highest on esteem with Vodafone finishing a close second. However
Airtel stands second to Vodafone on Knowledge. Airtel and Vodafone have almost
equal TOM Recall figures. This implies that the brand building process of Airtel has
been good. However again the industry being very competitive in itself, Airtel
should keep up its brand building exercise. Also Airtel needs to communicate itself
more innovatively but contextually to the consumers so as to break the clutter and
emerge as the No.1 brand in the consumers’ mind.

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Laddering Method

Rationale
The group chose Laddering technique for this research to build an interlink between
the Attributes, Consequences and Values that a consumer derives when he is using
the brand. Laddering method helps in reflecting the consumers’ mind when he/she
is using the product. This qualitative method helps us to study what are the
attributes of the product which attracts a consumer, what he/ or she perceives of
the brand and then conclude about his values behind using that brand.

Thus we as researchers can get an in-depth knowledge about the image perceived
by the consumer.

Sample Size – 7 students and 2 professors of Praxis Business School

Research Methodology
The group’s sample size was of 9 respondents. The respondents were of the age
group of 20-40 years and were mobile phone users.

To start with, the group did not have a fixed set of questions. The interview was
more responsive than leading, initially. The questions were being on the basis of the
responses obtained from the respondents.

During the course of the interview the group diverted the questions more towards
mobile service providers. However the brand for the purpose of the group’s
research was not disclosed to the respondents.
The respondents and their Attributes (A), Consequences(C) and Values (V) are as
follows.

Respondent 1, Ms Jyoti Sinha

Background – She has been using a mobile phone for 6 yrs now. She started with
Airtel and still has Airtel even after coming from Mumbai to Kolkata.
A – Good connectivity
C – Stay in touch

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V – Security

Respondent 2, Mr Manoj Mani Iyer

Background – Bought his mobile phone only after earning his first salary.
A – Cheap call rates
C – Responsible spending
V – Value for money

Respondent 3, Ms Uma Balkrishnan

Background – Is using a mobile phone for 3 years, bought a Sony Ericson recently to
upgrade from her old mobile phone.
A – Quality of Service
C – Clarity in Communication
V – Value for money

Respondent 4, Mr Tarun Daga

Background – Bought his first mobile phone, in hostel to keep in touch with family,
has been using a cell phone for 3 years now.
A – Awareness
C – Brand Recall
V – Self Esteem

Respondent 5, Mr Buddhaditya
Background – When he came to Kolkata he got Airtel connection as he felt it was
easily available.
A – Good connectivity
A – Cheap call rates
C – Stay in touch
V – Acceptability

Respondent 6, Ms. Apoorva

Background – She is using a mobile phone for quite some time now around 5-6
years. Started of with Hutch in Mumbai and is using the same service provider in
Kolkata too.

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A – Good connectivity A - Same service provider
A – Cheap call rates C – Comfort with service provider (familiarity)
C – Stay in touch V – Emotional Connect
V – Security

Respondent 7, Prof CP Singh

Background – He is one the first mobile users in our sample, got his first mobile
phone in the year 1997 and it is a purely functional device for him.
A – Same service provider
C – Convenience
C – Familiarity
V - Emotional connect
V – Corporate & social connect

Respondent 8, Prof Manaswi

Background – Uses the mobile phone as functional device. He is not happy with
service provider.
A – Good connectivity
C – Less time to complete a call (Good communication)
V – Value for money

Respondent 9, Mr Anathmani
Background – Uses the mobile phone more to make calls, looks for promotional
offers.
A – Cheap call rates
C – Talk more (stay in touch)
V – Belonging

Table 1
Summary Content Codes for Hypothetical mobile service provider.

Values
(12) Belonging
(13) Value for money

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(14) Self Esteem
(15) Emotional Connect

Consequences
(6) Stay in touch
(7) Responsible spending
(8) Good/clear communication
(9) Recall
(10) Familiarity
(11) Convenience

Attributes
(1) Good connectivity/coverage
(2) Cheap Call Rates
(3) Awareness
(4) Same service provider
(5) Quality of service

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The most prominent values that came out of the Laddering Exercise were a sense
of belonging and value for money. Respondents perceived cheap call rates and
good connectivity to be the most important attribute. This would result in clear and
cheap communication. This would result in decreasing the call time required to
communicate and hence will provide good value for money to the subscribers. Also
the fact that cheap call rates are perceived to be an important attribute, would
mean that the respondents can speak for longer hours with friends and family, and
hence the feeling of attachment and belonging.

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