I Umesh Garg, sincerely thankful to all those people who have been giving me
any
kind of assistance in the making of this project report.
I express my gratitude to Mrs. Priyanka Singh, who has through her vast experience and knowledge
has been able to guide me, both ably and successfully towards the completion of the project. I
Faridabad
I would hereby, make most of the opportunity by expressing my sincerest thanks to all my
comprehension, which ultimately made my job more easy. Credit also goes to all my
friends whose encouragement kept me in good stead. Their continuous support has given
me the strength and confidence to complete the project without any difficulty.
Last of all but not the least I would like to acknowledge my gratitude to the
respondents without whom this survey would have been incomplete.
I am also thankful to authority of Airtel & Vodafone for providing me the information.
CONTENT
1. Acknowledgement
2. Contents
3. Declaration
4. Synopsis
5. introduction
6.Need of the study
7. objectives of the study
8. introduction of the topic
•
Telecom sector in India
•
Airtel
•
Vodafone
•
Background
•
Company profile of Airtel
•
The magic
•
Comparison between marketing strategy of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone
9. Research Methodology
•
Type of research methodology
•
Data collection method
•
Method of collection
10. Data Analysis and Interpretation
11.Swot analysis
13.Recommendations
14.Bibliography
15. Questionnaire
Declaration
I, Umesh Garg being a student of MBA of Bhawani Shankar Anangpuria Institute of
Technology & Management. (B.S.A.I.T.M.), Faridabad. Hereby declares that the project
my own work it is the analysis of the big scale sector of communication. This project
involves the big scale services involved in telecommunication sector provided by Airtel
and Vodafone to its customers. The survey was conducted so as to analyze the big scale
sector prevailing in the current industry and the improvement that can be made upon it.
All care has been taken to keep this report error free and I sincerely regret for any unintended
discrepancies that might have crept into this report. I shall be highly obliged if errors (if any) be
brought to my attention.
Thank You
Umesh Garg.
decision process.
organization to know about the view of consumers and their competitive products. This survey
research may be also aimed as to estimate potential buyer for the product. The objective of the
study is as under:-
1. To identify the difference between market performance of Airtel industry and
Vodafone.
2. To study the market of Airtel Industry and Vodafone on big scale telecommunication
sector.
adopted production policy, advertising, collaboration, export scenario, future prospect for the
• airtel
Airtel is abrand of telecommunication services inIndia operated by Bharti Airtel.
Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India in terms of number of
subscribers. Bharti Airtel owns the Airtel brand and provides the following services
under the brand name Airtel: Mobile Services (using GSM Technology), Broadband
& Telephone Services (Fixed line, Internet Connectivity(DSL) and Leased Line),
for corporates). It has presence in all 23 circles of the country and covers 71% of the
vod
Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator inIndia that covers
16
telecom circles inIndia Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply
brandedVodafone. It offers bothprepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout
Vodafone essar
Vodafone Essar provides2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM
technology, offering voice and data services in 16 of the country's 23 license areas.
Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator inIndia that covers
16
telecom circles inIndia . Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply
brandedVodafone. It offers bothprepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout
BACKGROUND
The project is an extensive report on how the Airtel Company markets its strategies and
how the company has been able in tackling the present tough competition and how it is
scooping up by the allegations of the quality of its products. The report begins with the
history of the products and the introduction of the Airtel Company. This report also
contains the basic marketing strategies that are used by the Airtel Company of
scenario, future prospect and government policies. The report includes some of the key
In today’s world of cutthroat fierce competition, it is very essential to not only exist but
also to excel in the market. Today’s market is enormously more complex. Hence forth, to
survive in the market, the company not only needs to maximize its profit but also needs
to satisfy its customers and should try to build upon from there.
Vision
"As we spread wings to expand our capabilities and explore new horizons, the fundamental focus
remains unchanged: seek out the best technology in the world and put it at the service of our
Established in 1985, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom sector. With many firsts and
innovations to its credit, ranging from being the first mobile service in Delhi, first private basic
telephone service provider in the country, first Indian company to provide comprehensive telecom
services outside India in Seychelles and first private sector service provider to launch National Long
Distance Services in India. Bharti had approximately 3.21 million total customers – nearly 2.88
Its services sector businesses include mobile operations in Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Delhi,
Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh circle,
Maharashtra circle, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh (West) circle. In addition, it also
has fixed-line operations in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Delhi,
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and nationwide broadband and long distance networks.
Bharti has recently launched national long distance services by offering data transmission services
and voice transmission services for calls originating and terminating on most of India's mobile
networks.
The Company is also implementing a submarine cable project connecting Chennai-
Singapore for
providing international bandwidth.
Bharti Enterprises also manufactures and exports telephone terminals and cordless phones. Apart
from being the largest manufacturer of telephone instruments, it is also the first telecom company to
Position itself to tap data transmission opportunities and offer advanced mobile data
services;
•
Mobile services
•
Fixed-line
•
as an integrated telecommunication services provider in India and will provide the Company with a
Nationwide Footprint - approximately 92% of India's total mobile subscribers resided in the
Company's fifteen mobile circles. These 15 circles collectively accounted for approximately 56% of
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
Brand Architecture:
Bharti is working on a complex three-layered branding architecture — to:
•
Create specific brands for each service,
•
Build sub-brands within each of these services and
•
Use Bharti as the mother brand providing the group its corporate identity as well
as defining its goal to become a national builder of telecoms infrastructure.
Airtel - The flagship brand for cellular operations all across the Indian
country.
Touchtel - The brand earmarked for basic service operations.
India One - The brand for national long distance (NLD) telephony
Though the costs of creating new brands are heavy but the group wants to
create “distinct independent brands to address different customers and
profiles”.
Brand Strategy:
To understand the brand strategy, let’s first look at the brand building exercise
associated with
Airtel — a brand that had to be repositioned recently to address new needs in the
market.
When the brand was launched seven years ago, cellular telephony wasn’t a mass market by any
means. For the average consumer, owning a cellular phone was expensive as tariff rates (at Rs 8 a
minute) as well as instrument prices were steep — sometimes as much as buying a second-hand
car.
Bharti could have addressed the customer by rationally explaining to him the economic advantage of
using a mobile phone. But Sachdev says that such a strategy would not have worked for the simple
reason that the value from using the phone at the time was not commensurate with the cost.
“Instead of the value-proposition model, we decided to address the sensory benefit it
gave to the
customer as the main selling tack. The idea was to become a badge value brand,” he
explains.
So the Airtel “leadership series” campaign was launched showing successful men with their laptops
and in their deluxe cars using the mobile phone. In simple terms, it meant Airtel was positioned as
an inspirational brand that was meant for leaders, for customers who stood out in a crowd.
Did it work? Repeated surveys following the launch showed that there were three core
benefits that
were clearly associated with the brand — leadership, dynamism and performance.
These were valuable qualities, but they only took Airtel far enough to establish its presence in the
market. As tariffs started dropping, it became necessary for Airtel to appeal to a wider audience. And
the various brand-tracking exercises showed that despite all these good things, there was no
emotional dimension to the brand — it was perceived as cold, distant and efficient.
Sachdev and his team realized that in a business in which customer relationships were the core this
could be a major weakness. The reason with tariffs identical to competitor Vodafone telecomm and
roughly the same level of service and schemes, it had now become important for Bharti to
The brand had become something like Lufthansa — cold and efficient. What they needed was to
become Singapore Airlines, efficient but also human. A change in tack was important because this
The leadership series was okay when you were wooing the crème de la crème of
society. Once you
reached them you had to expand the market so there was need to address to new
customers.
By that time, Bharti was already the leading cellular subscriber in Delhi with a base of 3.77 lakh (it
now has 1.8 million customers). And with tariffs becoming more affordable — as cell companies
How could Bharti leverage this leadership position down the value chain? Surveys showed that the
concept of leadership in the customer’s minds was also changing. Leadership did not mean directing
subordinates to execute orders but to work along with a team to achieve common objectives — it
was, again, a relationship game that needed to be reflected in the Airtel brand.
Also, a survey showed that 50 per cent of the new customers choose a mobile phone brand mostly
through word-of-mouth endorsements from friends, family or colleagues. Thus, existing customers
were an important tool for market expansion and Bharti now focused on building closer relationships
with them.
That is precisely what the brand tried to achieve through its new positioning under the
Airtel
“Touch Tomorrow” brand campaign. This set of campaigns portrayed mobile users
surrounded by
caring family members. Says Sachdev: “The new campaign and positioning was
designed to
highlight the relationship angle and make the brand softer and more sensitive.”
As it looks to expand its cellular services nationwide —to eight new circles apart from the seven in
which it already operates — Bharti is now realizing that there are new compulsions to rework the
Airtel brand, and a new exercise is being launched to this effect. Right now, the company is unwilling
to discuss the new positioning in detail. But broadly, the focus is on positioning Airtel as a power
brand with numerous regional sub-brands reflecting customer needs in various parts of the country.
If Airtel is becoming more humane and more sensitive as a brand, Bharti has also understood that
one common brand for all cellular operations might not always work in urban markets that are now
and for those who are “young at heart”. With its earlier positioning, Airtel was perceived as a brand
for the well-heeled older customer; there was nothing for younger people. With Youtopia, Airtel
In order to deliver the concept, Airtel offered rock bottom tariff rates (25 paise for 30 seconds) at
night to Youtopia customers — a time when they make the maximum number of calls. It also set up
merchandising exercises around the scheme — like a special portal for young people to buy things
The company is now looking at offering other services at affordable prices to this segment which
include music downloads on the mobile and bundling SMS rates with normal calls to make it cheaper
Tango brand name. The brand was created to offer mobile users Internet-interface services or what
The idea was to bring Internet and mobile in perfect harmony. “The name was chosen from the
popular movie title It Takes Two to Tango: basically, you need the two services to tango to offer
Subsequently, the ads were withdrawn, but the company re-iterated that the branding exercise could
be revived because Tango will be the brand to offer GPRS services — or permanent Internet
The magic
Perhaps the more ambitious experiment has been withM agic — the pre-paid card. The idea was to
make the brand affordable, accessible and, most importantly, feasible as a means of expanding the
that he would have to pay only if he made a call. Such a customer used the phone sparingly —
mostly for emergencies — and was not willing to pick up a normal mobile connection with its
across Delhi, a ruse that saw the number of subscribers go up from 5.47 lakh to 1.2 million today,
overtaking Essar’s branded pre-paid cardSpeed, which was launched much ahead of Magic. The
Earlier, the branding strategy was aimed at roping in only interested customers — that is, customers
who were already inclined to opt for mobile services. But now, with basic service providers having
been allowed limited mobility at far cheaper rates, mobile service providers could find themselves
That is why the new exercise is aimed at co-opting non-adopters. While the exact strategy is under
wraps, insiders say the new branding strategy would be aimed at offering them value which they had
PHASE II -
Bharti used Airtel Magic to build a strong value proposition and accelerate market
expansion
through India’s first national pre-paid card TV brand campaign
•
A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium designed to connect
with the
masses of India
•
Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value proposition of Airtel
Magic -
‘Mumkin Hai’ come alive
•
All elements - user imagery, context, tone & language created to connect the category
to the
lives of the SEC B & SEC C segment – the middle class non-mobile user.
•
Airtel Magic positions itself on the platform of being excellent for emergency situations -
increasing productivity as a part of everyday life.
•
Sharukh Khan makes ‘everything in life possible’ while romancing pretty Kareena
Kapoor
with Airtel Magic, India’s leading pre-paid mobile card.
Airtel today unveiled its strategy for market expansion with the launch of its new Airtel Magic pre-
paid card brand campaign – ‘Magic hai to Mumkin hai’. The strategy is targeted at the non- user
segment defined as young adults, 15-30 years of age; in the Sec B & C segment is aimed at
accelerating market expansion. The value proposition is centered around a person’s desire to make
all his / her dreams, ambitions & aspirations instantly possible. The new campaign for Airtel Magic is
The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to make all their dreams, hopes
& desires come alive… instantly. (At just Rs.300/- per month Airtel Magic is so easy to buy.)
Improving productivity, letting you befriend the world and opening up new horizons. It gives you the
freedom to control your life in a way never possible before. Indeed, anything that you think is
possible is possible with Airtel Magic. The new brand slogan ‘Magic hai to Mumkin hai’ has been
PHASE III -
Bharti used Airtel Magic to build a strong value proposition and accelerate market
expansion
through India’s first national pre-paid card TV brand campaign
•
First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand gives such freedom to recharge any
value
•
A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium designed to connect
with the
masses of India
•
Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value proposition of Airtel
Magic -
‘Aisi azaadi aur kahan?” come alive
•
Sharukh Khan Makes ‘everything in life possible’ Airtel today unveiled its strategy for market
expansion with the launch of its new Airtel Magic pre-paid card brand campaign – ‘Magic Hai to
Mumkin Hai’. . The value proposition is centered on a person’s desire to make all his / her dreams,
ambitions & aspirations instantly possible. The new campaign for Airtel Magic is all about
The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to make all their dreams,
hopes & desires come alive… instantly .At a amount of your choice you can recharge your account
with available validity time .Improving productivity, letting you befriend the world and opening up
new horizons. It gives you the freedom to control your life in a way never possible before.
Indeed, anything that you think is possible is possible with Airtel Magic. The new brand slogan
‘Aisi azadi aur kahan’ has been specially created to capture this effectively
To make the service simpler for customers using roaming facilities, Airtel has devised
common numbers for subscribers across the country for services like customer care, food services
Bharti expects that most of its new customers (one estimate is that it would be 60 to 70 per
cent of the total new subscriber base) would come from the pre-paid card segment. So, they must be
Bharti, for the first time for a cellular operator, has decided to offer roaming services even to
its pre-paid customers, but the facility would be limited to the region in which they buy the card. To
ensure that customers don’t migrate to other competing services (which is known as churn and
ranges from 10 to 15 per cent of the customer base every month), the company is also working on a
loyalty program. This will offer subscribers tangible cash benefits depending upon their usage of the
phone.
•
The loyalty program will not be only for a ‘badge value’, it will provide real benefits to
customers. The idea is to create an Airtel community.
•
Another key area which Bharti is concentrating its attention upon is a new roaming service
launched in Delhi under which calls of a roaming subscriber who is visiting the city will be routed
specialized phone with a in-built camera can take pictures and e-mail it to friends or store it in the
Bharti is also aware that it has to make owning a ready-to-use cellular service much easier
than it is today. A key area is to increase the number of activation centers. Earlier Bharti had 250
Airtel Connect stores which were exclusive outlets (for its services) and about 250 Airtel Points
which were kiosks in larger shops. Now activation can be done by all of them, and not only by
Connect outlets, all within 15 to 20 minutes. In comparison, the competition takes two to four hours.
•
Pre- paid cards are really catching up with the mobile phone users and it is actually helping
the market to increase. First, they are easier to obtain and convenient to use. Unlike post-paid, one
need not pay security deposits for picking up a pre-paid card. It is often available even with
paanwalas. As befits a fast-moving consumer service, the game is now moving beyond price to
expanding distribution reach and servicing a well-spread-out clientele with technology and strategic
alliances. Bharti is focusing on two factors to make pre-paid cards more attractive. Keeping the entry
Bharti is in the process of launching a new system in alliance with Mumbai-based Company
Venture InfoTech which will enable a pre-paid card user to renew his subscription by just swiping a
card. The system will not only save users the hassle of going out and buying a card every time it
expires but also enable mobile companies to reduce the cost of printing and distributing cards.
•
Bharti Televentures has tied up with 'Waiter on wheels,' a company delivering food at home,
to reach its Magic pre-paid cards to subscribers' doorsteps. The company is also joining hands with
local grocery shops which will enable users to recharge their cards by just making a phone call to the
shop. Apart from improving the convenience of recharging, mobile operators are beefing up their
distribution channels. The company is constantly innovating to enhance the value proposition for its
pre-paid service. They are leveraging technology to expand their distribution network and deliver
Vodafone is the second largest player and share holder in Communication sector.
Since its launch Vodafone has been adopting aggressive marketing strategies.
The comparison shows how Hutchison Essar Telecom. Captured 22% market share in one
month of its first launch of postpaid subscription in 2002.AD.
With a different technology Vodafone creates its own market.
Vodafone odafone. Today deals in every business of communication sector.
Vodafone making and changing the strategies to capture the market shares
Market segmentation
Businessmen
Positioning
Creating brands (Sharukh khan & Sachin Tendulker)
Market segmentation
Geographical segment (rural India)
Demographic segment - middle income groups
Target marketing
People living in small towns and villages.
Businessmen
Positioning
Creating brands
Ads and promotions
Marketing mix
●Universal Internetworking
●Interactive Television
●Visual Communication
●Broadband Portal
Fixed-line connections
•
Broadband services
●Telecommuting
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Achieving accuracy in any research requires a deep study regarding the subject. The prime objective
of the project is to compare Airtel with the existing competitor (Vodafone) in the market and the
The research methodology adopted is basically based on primary data via which the most recent
and accurate piece of first hand information could be collected. Secondary data has been used to
Questionnaire Method
Observation Method
The main tool used was, the questionnaire method. Further direct interview method, where a face-
to-face formal interview was taken. Lastly observation method has been continuous with the
Questionnaire Method
Observation Method
The main tool used was, the questionnaire method. Further direct interview method, where a face-
to-face formal interview was taken. Lastly observation method has been continuous with the
questionnaire method, as one continuously observes the surrounding environment he works in.
DATA USED FOR THE RESEARCH WORK WAS PRIMARY IN NATURE.
PRIMARY
DATA: PRIMARY DATA IS THAT WHICH IS THE COLLECTED FOR THE FIST TIME
AND THUS HAPPEN TO BE ORIGINATED IN CHARACTER
QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY :
IN THE STUDIES A QUESTIONNAIRE IS PREPARED. THE QUESTIONNAIRE
CONSISTS OF 15 QUESTIONS.
SECONDARY DATA:
COLLECTED .THE SECONDARY DATA, WHICH HAS BEEN USED TO CARRY OUT THIS
STUDY, ARE AS FOLLOW:
•
•
BOOKS, JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS
INDUSTRY REPORTS
COMPANY’S INTERNET SITE
•
SOMEOTHER RELEVANT STUDY MATERIAL AND WEBSITES..
SAMPLE UNIT: - DELHI & NCR
THE RESEARCH PROCESS WAS DONE BY INTERACTING WITH NUMBE
CUSTOMERS DURING THE ACTIVITIES PERFORMED, WHICH INCLUDED, MARKETS,
COLD CALLING, CANOPIES, ETC.
SAMPLE DESIGN CONSISTS OF RANDOM
SAMPLING.