EFFECTIVENESS OF AIRTEL BRAND COMMUNICATION

Project Guide: Mr. Manish Dadhich Submitted By: Ram Agarwal BBA Part III

SUMMER TRAINING REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF AIRTEL BRAND COMMUNICATION WITH PEST ANALYSIS, SWOT ANALYSIS & VISION 2020

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly I would like to thank my project guide Mr. Manish Dadhich for his help and support through out the course of the project. Without his help, the project would not have been possible at all. I specially thank him for the independence he allowed to me while working, so that I can feel what it feels like to take responsibilities. It is also for him that I have learnt to accept my mistakes and work for its improvement. A very special thank you to Ms. Supriya Roy Sohi- the senior HR manager of AirTel for issuing me the final certificate. Lastly I would like to thank mr. PHR Virender for his support and help to make this project possible.

Content
1. The company 2. Business strategy 3. services provided 4. Competitive strengths 5. How to recognize AirTel 6. Vision 7. Mission 8. The project 9. Procedure of the study 10.Questionnaires 11.Analysis of the questionnaires 12.Observations 13.recommendations

The Company
Airtel comes to you from Bharti Cellular Limited - a part of the biggest private integrated telecom conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises. Bharti provides a range of telecom services, which include Cellular, Basic, Internet and recently introduced National Long Distance. Bharti also manufactures and exports telephone terminals and cordless phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of telephone instruments in India, it is also the first company to export its products to the USA. Bharti is the leading cellular service provider, with an all Indiafootprint covering all 23 telecom circles of the country. It has over 11 million satisfied customers.

Bharti
Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited was incorporated on July 7, 1995 for promoting investments in telecommunications services. Its subsidiaries operate telecom services across India. Bharti Tele-Ventures is India's leading private sector provider of telecommunications services based on a strong customer base consisting of approximately 12.26 million total customers which constitute, approximately 11.39 million mobile and approximately 874,000 fixed line customers, as of April 30, 2005.

Business Strategy
Bharti Tele-Ventures' strategic objective is to capitalize on the growth opportunities that the Company believes are available in the Indian telecommunications market and consolidate its position to be the leading integrated telecommunications services provider in key markets in India, with a focus on providing mobile services. The Company has developed the following strategies to achieve its strategic objective: Focus on maximizing revenues and margins; Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential with minimum geographical coverage; Offer multiple telecommunications services to provide customers with a "one-stop shop" solution; Position itself to tap data transmission opportunities and offer advanced mobile data services; Focus on satisfying and retaining customers by ensuring high level of customer satisfaction; Leverage strengths of its strategic and financial partners; and Emphasize on human resource development to achieve operational efficiencies.

Services Provided
Bharti Tele-Ventures current businesses include Mobile services Fixed-line National and international long distance services VSAT, Internet services and network solutions

Competitive Strengths
Bharti Tele-Ventures believes that the following elements will contribute to the Company's success as an integrated telecommunication services provider in India and will provide the Company with a solid foundation to execute its business strategy:

Nationwide Footprint - As of April 30, 2005, 100% of India's total mobile subscribers resided in the Company's twenty three mobile circles. These 23 circles collectively accounted for approximately 100% of India's land mass; Focus on telecommunications to enable the Company to better anticipate industry trends and capitalize on new telecommunicationsrelated business opportunities; The strong brand name recognition and a reputation for offering high quality service to its customers; Quality management team with vision and proven execution skills; and The Company's strong relationships with international strategic and financial investors such as SingTel, Warburg Pincus, International Finance Corporation, Asian Infrastructure Fund Group and New York Life Insurance.

The key demographics of Bharti Tele-Ventures' mobile circles are set forth below. All India 23 3,278 Bharti Circles 23 3,278 1027 42.12 53.22 37.7 Bharti as % of All India 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
100%

Number of circles Area of the circles (in '000 sq km) Population in the licensed areas (in 1,027 Mn) Market GSM Mobile subscribers in 42.12 the licensed areas (in Mn) Market Total wireless subscribers 53.22 in the licensed areas (in Mn) Market DELs in the licensed area (in Mn) (4) 37.7

(1) Area estimates are from National Census, 2001. (2) Population estimates for all the circles other than the metropolitan areas are as per National Census, 2001 and are as of March 1, 2001. Population estimates for the Uttar Pradesh (West) circle is 37% of the total population of the state of Uttar Pradesh. (3) Based on data released by the COAI on the total number of mobile subscribers in the circles as of April 30, 2005.

(4) DELs as on April 30, 2002. Based on data released in Parliament questions and Government statistics as per The Financial Express dated June 10, 2002.

How To Recognize AirTel

For a brand to be successful, it must build enduring relationships with its different audiences. Integral to this relationship is the visual image of the brand the consumer carries in his/her mind. The Airtel brand image is created through the consistent application of a carefully developed visual identity, which helps Airtel distinguish itself in a cluttered market. Airtel's visual identity helps create instant brand recall and strengthens the relationships that its audiences have with it. The Airtel visual identity has different elements that work together to create a strong and consistent identity for the brand. The most important of these are:

The Airtel Logo

The Airtel logo is a strong, contemporary and confident symbol for a brand that is always ahead of the rest. It is a specially drawn wordmark. The Airtel Image style It incorporates two solid, red rectangular forms whose counter form creates an open doorway.

The AirTel Typographical style

The title case lettering with its capital 'A' was deliberately chosen to reinforce the brand's leadership position. The red dot on the letterform 'I' cues Airtel's focus on innovation.. The words 'Express Yourself' are very much part of the brand identity. The Airtel Colour Palette The lettering is grey so that the pure black of Airtel is visually unharmed.

VISION
To be globally admired for telecom services that delight customers.

MISSION
We will meet global standards for telecom services that delight customers through: Customer Service Focus Empowered Employees Innovative Services Cost Efficiency

It needs no reasoning to choose Airtel - India's largest cellular service. Because only Airtel offers your services, you would think impossible on
1

other networks. Just have a look at the world of advantages that Airtel brings you-here are 10 of them...

Superior Network:
Experience the most advanced network with Airtel that not just lets you connect in a flash but also gives you nothing less than crystal clarity through its EFR technology

Seamless Highway and Rail routes Coverage:

Airtel will keep you company in every journey you make. With a non-stop stretch of highway coverage that's spread across West Bengal & Sikkim. Keeping you close to your loved ones even when youre far away!

Widest Roaming:
Airtel offers you the most expansive roaming network. Letting you roam anywhere in India with its Pan-India presence, and trot across the globe with International Roaming spread in over 240 networks

Friendly Customer Care:

Experience a customer care service that not just answers all you queries but brings a smile to your face each time you call!

Instant Postpaid:
With Airtel, you don't have to wait; you can start making call the moment you get your connection

Error-free Bills:
The last thing you'll expect from us is bills with errors. We make sure your bills are totally error-free.

Easy Recharge on Prepaid:

With the unique facility of Easy Recharge that Airtel brings along you will be able to recharge anytime, anywhere and with any value

Airtel Live!
Now your mobile is the most happening entertainment spot. Airtel Live! brings you movies, music, cricket and other exciting games - right on your cell phone.

Hello Tunes:
Airtel lets you welcome your callers in the most unique way - with a song! So your callers won't hear the boring 'tring-tring' when they call you. They'll hear your favorite song. So get onto Airtel. It makes the best choice!

THE PROJECT:

EFFECTIVENESS OF AIRTEL BRAND COMMUNICATION

Objectives:
Communications between a company and its customers is one of the most important functions of the marketing team of any company. It is through communications like print advertisements and media advertisement that a company tries to impress its customers and inform them about the facilities being offered. In a telecom company therefore, communications becomes very important as they are constantly coming up with new schemes, calling rates, value added services (VAS) etc. To popularize these schemes, the marketing team constantly prepares and bombards the customers with new advertisements. The idea is to prove to the customers that the products they are supplying are the best and there is every reason to ignore the products of competitors. Thus Airtel also is coming up with numerous such communications. And as is the trend in the telecommunication industry, whenever there is a new scheme, the company starts designing advertisements to popularize that. It is also a common phenomenon that these schemes keep changing very soon and so the advertisements also change that much faster. It is however important that the customers understand these communications, and find them more attractive than that of the companys competitors like Hutch, CellOne, Reliance or TataIndicom. This study will help us to understand if customers are satisfied with AirTel communications or not and if yes how much is that level of appreciation in comparison to other network providers.

Procedure Of The Study:

The study undertaken by me needed extensive research and understanding of the human attitude towards advertisements. Therefore I had to take the help of questionnaires to judge their preference. The following was the procedure of the research.

The sample size for the research was decided. As the universe for the study is very large (consisting of everybody exposed to advertisements) the standard formula for calculating sample size n= z^2(p*q)/e^2, would give a result near to 6000. Therefore a sample size of 200 was chosen considering 20 days of field work and 10 interviews a day. The sample size was further divided into two groups on the basis of age: 15-25 consisting mainly of students, who are mostly adventurous, and easy to convince to experiment with new schemes and the second group of age group 25 and above who are more rational and would take more time to accept changes. A semi structured questionnaire was created to interview the sample size.(a copy of the questionnaire is attached later in this report) The questionnaire contained dichotomous questions and questions on likert scale. Aided recall is used to judge the level to which customers can remember AirTel advertisements. Advertisements to be studied were on new promotion scheme like AirTel friendz, AirTel live!, and Hello Tunes. All the three services taken were aimed primarily at the youth and so the response from the younger group was given a lot of importance while analyzing the results. The view cards and posters for these advertisements were collected from the office of Rediffusion D Y & R (AirTels appointed advertising agency) The questionnaire contains question on customers liking towards Hutch and RIM as well, to make a comparative study possible. 20 days of field work was required to complete the data collection i.e. the filling up of questionnaires. The data was then tallied and charts and pie diagrams formed to arrive at the result.

SAMPLE OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE USED

1. Can you recall these advertisements? AirTel showdown: Yes No AirTel live: Yes No AirTel hello tunes: Yes No 2. On a scale of 5 where will you rate them on the basis of attractiveness? (1 being the best) AirTel showdown: 1 AirTel live: 1 2 3 4 5 2 3 4 5

AirTel hello tunes: 1 2 3 4 5

3. AirTel advertisements are effective enough to motivate non-mobile users to subscribe to AirTel. Strongly agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree

4. AirTel advertisements are effective enough to make other network users to shift to AirTel. Strongly agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree

5. On a scale of 5 how will you rate the appropriateness of the AirTel advertisement catch line Express Yourself? (1 being the best) 1 2 3 4 5

6. Where do you see maximum number of AirTel advertisements? Television Newspapers and magazines Billboards Retail outlets

7. On a scale of 5 where will you rate AirTel advertisements on the basis of attractiveness? (1 being the best) 1 2 3 4 5

8. In the same way where will you rate the following brands advertisements? Hutch: 1 2

Reliance India Mobile: 1 2 3 4 Tata indicom: 12 3 Cell one: 1 2

9. If you have to suggest a non-mobile user about which network he should subscribe to, will you suggest AirTel strictly on the basis of its advertisements? Yes No

NAME: OCCUPATION: MOBILE USER OR NOT: NETWORK USED:

NUMBER OF QUESTIONNAIRES FILLED: 150 PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS: 32% PERCENTAGE OF NON-STUDENT: 68% PERCENTAGE OF AIRTEL USERS: 30% PERCENTAGE OF HUTCH USERS: 43% PERCENTAGE OF RELIANCE INDIA MOBILE USERS: 10% PERCENTAGE OF OTHER USERS: 3% PERCENTAGE OF NON-USERS: 14% OTHER OBSERVATIONS: EVEN THOUGH 50% OF INTERVIEWED PEOPLE WENT FOR BILLBOARDS AS THE MEDIUM WHERE THEY FIND MAXIMUM AIRTEL ADVERTISEMENTS, THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO COULD RECOLLECT THE OUTDOOR ADVERTISEMENT OF AIRTEL LIVE IS ALARMINGLY LOW. MORE THAN 65% OF THE SAMPLE SIZE COMPLAINED ABOUT THE SERVICE OF THE NETWORK, AND THE TREATMENT THEY RECEIVE FROM THE CUSTOMER CARE DEPARTMENTS. ABOUT 30% PERCENT SAID THEY WERE DISSATISFIED WITH THE BILLING SYSTEMS OUT OF WHICH ABOUT 95% WERE AIRTEL POSTPAID CONNECTION USERS. ABOUT 25% COMPLAINED THAT THE SCHEMES AR FAR LESS ATTRACTIVE IN REAL USAGE THAN PROMISED BY THE AD VERTISEMENTS. GENERAL POPULATION PREFERS THE GENERAL AIRTEL ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE VAS SPECIFIC ADVERTISEMENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, THEY LIKED THE A.R. REHMAN ADVERTISEMENT AND THE EXPRESS YOURSELF ADVERTISEMENTS MORE THAN THE SHOWDOWN ADVERTISEMENT OR THE EASY RECHARGE (SHAHRUKH KHAN) ADVERTISEMENT. AS A BRAND AMBASSADOR 90% PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO SEE SACHIN TENDULKAR AND NOT SHAHRUKH KHAN OR KARINA KAPOOR. PREFERENCE FOR HUTCH ADVERTISEMENTS OVER THOSE OF ANY OTHER BRAND IMAGE IS CLEARLY VISIBLE.

ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONNAIRE FILLED BY STUDENTS

1. Can you recall these advertisements? AirTel showdown: Yes- 99% No- 1% AirTel live: Yes- 25% No- 75% AirTel hello tunes: Yes-69% No- 31% 2. On a scale of 5 where will you rate them on the basis of attractiveness? (1 being the best) AirTel showdown: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 30% 56% 6% 8% 0%

AirTel live: 1- 4% 2- 28% 3- 48% 4- 12% 5- 8%

AirTel hello tunes: 1- 7% 2- 51% 3- 30% 4- 9% 5- 3%

3. AirTel advertisements are effective enough to motivate non-mobile users to subscribe to AirTel. Strongly agree- 15% Agree- 65% Not sure- 13% Disagree- 7% Strongly disagree- 0%

4. AirTel advertisements are effective enough to make other network users to shift to AirTel. Strongly agree- 1% Agree- 34% Not sure- 26% Disagree- 24% Strongly disagree- 15%

5. On a scale of 5 how will you rate the appropriateness of the AirTel advertisement catch line Express Yourself? (1 being the best) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 9% 74% 15% 1% 1%

6. Where do you see maximum number of AirTel advertisements? Television- 28% Newspapers and magazines- 2% Billboards- 39% Retail outlets- 31%

7. On a scale of 5 where will you rate AirTel advertisements on the basis of attractiveness? (1 being the best) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 21% 59% 18% 1% 1%

8. In the same way where will you rate the following brands advertisements? Hutch:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

35% 56% 9% 0% 0%

Reliance India Mobile: 1- 6% 2- 32% 3- 28% 4- 28% 5- 6%

9. If you have to suggest a non-mobile user about which network he should subscribe to, will you suggest AirTel strictly on the basis of its advertisements? Yes- 44% No- 56%

ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONNAIRES FILLED BY NON-STUDENTS

10.Can you recall these advertisements? AirTel showdown: Yes- 100% No- 0% AirTel live: Yes- 19% No- 81% AirTel hello tunes: Yes- 63% No- 37% 11.On a scale of 5 where will you rate them on the basis of attractiveness? (1 being the best) AirTel showdown: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 32% 56% 6% 6% 0%

AirTel live: 123450% 50% 17% 33% 0%

AirTel hello tunes: 1234515% 60% 15% 5% 5%

12.AirTel advertisements are effective enough to motivate non-mobile users to subscribe to AirTel. Strongly agree- 16% Agree- 63% Not sure- 13% Disagree- 8% Strongly disagree- 0%

13.AirTel advertisements are effective enough to make other network users to shift to AirTel. Strongly agree- 0% Agree-28% Not sure- 25% Disagree-31% Strongly disagree-16%

14.On a scale of 5 how will you rate the appropriateness of the AirTel advertisement catch line Express Yourself? (1 being the best) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 9% 81% 6% 0% 4%

15.Where do you see maximum number of AirTel advertisements? Television- 41% Newspapers and magazines- 0% Billboards- 24% Retail outlets- 35%

16.On a scale of 5 where will you rate AirTel advertisements on the basis of attractiveness? (1 being the best) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 16% 68% 13% 0% 3%

17.In the same way where will you rate the following brands advertisements? Hutch:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

22% 72% 0% 0% 6%

Reliance India Mobile: 1- 0% 2- 32% 3- 34% 4- 25% 5- 9%

18.If you have to suggest a non-mobile user about which network he should subscribe to, will you suggest AirTel strictly on the basis of its advertisements? Yes- 27% No- 73%

ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONNAIRES FILLED BY NON STUDENTS

19.Can you recall these advertisements? AirTel showdown: Yes- 99% No- 1% AirTel live: Yes- 24% No- 76% AirTel hello tunes: Yes- 72% No- 28%

20.On a scale of 5 where will you rate them on the basis of attractiveness? (1 being the best) AirTel showdown: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AirTel live: 123455% 21% 58% 5% 11% 29% 58% 6% 7% 0%

AirTel hello tunes: 123454% 47% 37% 10% 2%

21.AirTel advertisements are effective enough to motivate non-mobile users to subscribe to AirTel. Strongly agree- 15% Agree- 66% Not sure- 13% Disagree- 6% Strongly disagree- 0%

22.AirTel advertisements are effective enough to make other network users to shift to AirTel. Strongly agree- 1% Agree-36% Not sure-27% Disagree-21% Strongly disagree- 15%

23.On a scale of 5 how will you rate the appropriateness of the AirTel advertisement catch line Express Yourself? (1 being the best) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 9% 71% 19% 1% 0%

24.Where do you see maximum number of AirTel advertisements? Television- 21% Newspapers and magazines- 2% Billboards- 47% Retail outlets- 30%

25.On a scale of 5 where will you rate AirTel advertisements on the basis of attractiveness? (1 being the best) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 24% 54% 21% 1% 0%

26.In the same way where will you rate the following brands advertisements? Hutch:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

41% 46% 13% 0% 0%

Reliance India Mobile: 1- 10% 2- 32% 3- 25% 4- 29% 5- 4%

27.If you have to suggest a non-mobile user about which network he should subscribe to, will you suggest AirTel strictly on the basis of its advertisements? Yes- 17% No- 83%

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRES:

99% of the people interviewed could recollect the Airtel showdown advertisement, whereas only 25% could recollect Airtel live and 69% could recollect hello tunes On a scale of 5 ranging from very good to very bad, maximum people voted showdown as good (56%), Airtel live as moderate (48%), and hello tunes as good (51%). SHOWDOWN:

VERY GOOD GOOD MODERATE BAD VERY BAD

LIVE:

VERY GOOD GOOD MODERATE BAD VERY BAD

HELLO TUNES:

VERY GOOD GOOD MODERATE BAD VERY BAD

65% of the interviewed people agree that Airtel advertisements are good enough to motivate nonusers to subscribe to Airtel. But only 15% strongly agree with this view and 7% disagree whereas 13% are unsure. Compared to the previous question less number of people strongly agree that Airtel advertisements can motivate other network users to change to Airtel.

Airtel advertisements if taken singularly are very popular. For example the popularity can be shown as: very good- 21% Good- 59% Moderate- 18% Bad- 1% Very bad- 1%

VERY GOOD GOOD MODERATE BAD VERY BAD

But compared to Hutch the popularity is slightly low. The ratings of hutch are: Very good- 35% Good- 56% Moderate- 9% Bad- 0% Very bad- 0%

VERY GOOD GOOD MODERATE BAD VERY BAD

Compared to RIM the popularity of Airtel is again noticeably high. In the second stage the questionnaire has been divided into two parts. 1. Students- age group 18- 25 2. Non students- age group 26 and above.

In most of the questions the percentage distribution of response of the options are more or less similar except for the 6th question which asks which form of communication do they think is most widely seen and the options are Television Newspapers and magazines Billboards Retail outlets. In case of students: Television 41% Newspaper and magazines- 0% Billboards- 24% Retail outlets- 35%
TELEVISION NEWS PAPER AND MAGAZINE BILLBOARDS RETAIL OUTLETS

In case of non students: Television 21% Newspaper and magazines- 2% Billboards- 47% Retail outlets- 30%
TELEVISION NEWS PAPER AND MAGAZINE BILLBOARDS RETAIL OUTLETS

This observation can be the result of: Absence of habit of newspaper reading in the younger generation of today. Higher rate of television viewing within the younger generation

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. More emphasis should be given to television advertisements, as they are normally most attractive form of communication. But in the case of Airtel is not that popular with viewers other than students. 2. Most Airtel customers are very fond of Airtel live as a service, but the outdoor advertisements have failed to attract them. These advertisements should be reconsidered, as the service has the potential to attract people. Use of a celebrity can be of help. Customers are especially fond of Sachin Tendulkar in this regard. 3. Maximum Airtel users have complaints against the network of the brand, Leading to huge number of people changing to Hutch or other networks. Unless something is done to improve that, attractive communications tend to lose its attractiveness. 4. Advertisements in newspaper have to be made more colorful to attract the youth. They are very fond of the offers and schemes designed by Airtel. These can be emphasized in newspaper communications to attract them. 5. Most people tend to like the cartoon characters H and I in the Hutch advertisements. They might also like the use of cartoon characters in Airtel advertisements. 6. The advertisement of A.R. Rehman composing music and the Express Yourself advertisements are clearly the most popular advertisements designed by Airtel even today. People seem to like these advertisements without words more than others. Similarly, the Hutch advertisement casting the puppy and the boy is the most popular communication designed by that brand. More of these advertisements will be helpful.