Airtel Rebranding
Strategy
Significance: The significance of the paper is to present a
case study of Airtel for its unique strategy.
Objective: Objective of the paper is to study the marketing
strategy of Airtel and to analyze the reasons behind the
constant rebranding and the impact of the same.
Paper submitted by:
Nisha D. Sawant,
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Airtel Rebranding Strategy
MBA-IT, Mass Communication, Finance, MCA, PGPMFinance, Doctorate in management studies
#9096683428
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Airtel Rebranding Strategy
Airtel Rebranding Strategy
The aim is to highlight the rebranding and constant repositioning done by Airtel. Airtel has
recently undergone a very huge rebranding which has cost millions to the company. The aim is
tohighlight how it has impacted Airtel.
Airtel despite being the number one company (with widest consumer base and largest market
presence) has been constantly rebranding and repositioning itself.
Airtel is the number one telecom service provider in India, it’s the only service provider which
has its presence in all the telecom service circles of India. Even then it changes its logo, jingle
and tagline very regularly.
And it has managed to maintain its top position. Hence I wish to present the strategy
implemented by Airtel.
1. Introduction and brief history of Airtel
Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises headed by Sunil Bharti
Mittal. Airtel is the 5th largest mobile operator in the world in terms of subscriber base and has a
commercial presence in 19 countries and the Channel Islands. Airtel is India’s largest cellular
service provider and India’s First Telecom Company that provides telecom services in all the
circles. Bharti Airtel has about 207.8 million subscribers worldwide - 152.5 million in India, 50.3
million are in Africa, 3.2 million in Bangladesh and 1.8 million in Sri Lanka as of the end of
2010.
2. The marketing strategy of Airtel
Airtel has been constantly repositioning itself.Their target customer base has been increasing to
cover different segments whether its youth or senior citizens, urban or rural customers they have
specialized packages for all. Airtel has spent lots of money in revamping the brand in order to
appeal all segments of market. Airtel is the market leader in India with about 155,796,598 out of
the total 745,000,000 subscribers in India or about 27.61% market share as of January 2010
3. Airtel has not changed the brand name despite the various rebrandings
Airtel was born free, a force unleashed into the market with a relentless and unwavering
determination to succeed. A spirit charged with energy, creativity and a team driven “to seize the
day” with an ambition to become the most globally admired telecom service.
Airtel is a JV between Singtel, (Singapore, Telecom Italia, Italy), and Bharti Telecom.
4. The various logos of Airtel since its inception
a. WHY BLACK LOGO?
YEAR:- 1995
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Airtel Rebranding Strategy
The time when mobile telephony began in India a decade ago, the brand was all about aspiration.
That's understandable: a handset cost about Rs 45,000 - the price of a second-hand Fiat - and call
charges hovered around Rs 16 a minute.
Naturally, the target customer was clearly defined: elite, upmarket professionals and
entrepreneurs. They positioned Airtel as an aspirational and lifestyle brand.
REASONAirtel was on a power trip: the logo was black, uppercase bold lettering; and the baseline was
"the power to keep in touch". "From day one, it was decided that the brand should always
connote leadership - be it in network, innovations, offerings or services
b. WHY CHANGE OF COLOR?
YEAR- 2000
This was also a time when customers needed to be educated; interest levels were high, but
customers' exposure to the cellular world was limited. Airtel took out full and half-page ads in
newspapers, answering queries like "what is roaming?", "what is coverage area?" and "how to
make international calls".
REASONTo give the logo a new look and feel. Company wants to denote Innovation, leadership and
enthusiasm in their logo.
5. JINGLES OF BRAND
“Nigahhein nigahon se mila kar to dekho, Naye logo se rishta banakar to dekho…..”
With this the focus have shifted to vibrating the innermost core of a viewer’s heart.
The ad is made up of five snippets, each one displaying the importance of reaching out to
others.
In this Ad, there is the range of situations/relationships covered, from two little girls in the
first one to an aged couple in the next one to the young lovers and then to student-teacher pair.
Best part about the ad is that it never shows anyone using a cell phone !!
This is definitely one of the best ads of recent times.
It certainly makes you believe in the line -’’Aasman simat jaayega tumhare aaghosh mein, chahat ki baahen phaila kar tho dekho ’’.
6. SIGNATURE TUNE
Introduced In 2002
• The signature tune of Airtel is composed by Indian musician A. R. Rahman. The tune
became hugely popular and is the world's most downloaded mobile music with over 150
million downloads.
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Airtel Rebranding Strategy
•
A new version of the song was released on 18 November 2010, as part of the rebranding
of the company. This version too was composed by Rahman himself.
7. SIGNIFICANCE OF EACH TAGLINE
a. 'Power to keep in Touch'
YEAR- 1995-1998
SIGNIFICANCE:
The tag line 'Power to keep in Touch' used in the brand promise was designed to make the user
feel 'in control…powerful'. It gave Airtel a perception of aspirational and lifestyle brand. It was
positioned in the premium category focusing upon the elite class of the society.
REASON FOR CHANGENow, cellular service operators could drop their prices and target new customer segments. As the
category developed with prices going down sharply, Airtel began talking to a wider spectrum of
potential users. This gives birth to the new Tagline.
b. 'Touch tomorrow‘
YEAR: 1999-2001
SIGNIFICANCE:
Airtel started talking to new segments by positively positioning and establishing itself as a brand
that improved the quality of life. New look and the feel of the brand tagline indicated the core
values of the brand i.e. leadership, performance and dynamism.
REASON FOR CHANGEAirtel started to look from a regional level to pan India position. Rediffussion DY&R, which is
the ad agency that took charge of revamping Airtel's brand image thought, to become an Indian
leader, Airtel needed to change its tagline.
c. 'Live Every Moment'
YEAR: 2002-2003
SIGNIFICANCE:
This was the first time A R Rahman had agreed to work for any brand, anywhere in the world.
The music from the commercial became the most downloaded ringtone in the history of
telecommunications. This tagline denotes that each and every person in India lives every moment
(emotions, feelings etc.) of the life with Airtel.
REASONS FOR CHANGE–
Re-diffusion DY&R, which is the ad agency that took charge of revamping Airtel's brand image
again changed the tagline to give better tagline to Airtel which catches some emotional appeal.
d. 'Express yourself‘
YEAR- 2003-2008
SIGNIFICANCE:
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Airtel Rebranding Strategy
'Express yourself' was successfully launched taking the ownership of the entire space of
communication and strengthening the emotional bond Airtel enjoys with its customers.
e. ‘Get Closer to what you love’
Year- 2010 onwards
Airtel is a market leader in the cellular network and they wanted a very fresh and contemporary
idea to build a brand image which their customers could identify. The idea now is that anyone
can use Airtel to get whatever he loves. Whether it’s a feeling or an object, Airtel is the key to
achieve it.
8. BRAND AMBASSADORS
a. WHY RAHMAN, SACHIN AND SHAHRUKH TOGETHER?
YEAR– 2003-2007
REASONS-All the three are the leaders in their respective fields, so is AIRTEL.
SACHIN
CRICKET
SHAHRUKH - MOVIES
A.R RAHMAN - MUSIC COMPOSER
Sachin: he is a legend of Indian cricket, not only a batsman, he is a belief, a motivation - his
mere presence brings so much to Indian dressing room.
Shahrukh Khan is one of the biggest movie star - Indian film Industry has produced, he has the
record of holding most number of awards (including all categories)
A.R RAHMAN: Blasting music, classical songs at a very young age. He is very popular among
the masses.
b. VIDYA BALAN AND MADHAVAN
YEAR– 2008
REASONS-Spontaneity and vibrancy are key attributes of Airtel.
Vidya is a hugely talented actress who brings a lot of freshness and naturalness to any role. We
are sure that these traits of Vidya will have a positive rub off on the brand as well.
Madhavan is a big superstar in the southern region, now Airtel picks him up to connate
leadership.
c. SHARMAN JOSHI
YEAR– 2009
REASON--
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Airtel Rebranding Strategy
When Airtel signed on Sharman, his immense popularity that he got after the roaring success of
3 Idiots was cited as the main reason and also the youthful and bubbly image that he has and
which Airtel also wants to stretch to its young target audience.
d. SAIF-KAREENA
YEAR– 2009 onwards
REASONS-Bollywood real life couple Saif and Kareena are touted as the powerhouse couple. Their public
display of personal emotions, fights, tattoos, love expression has done miracle. Like filmmakers,
advertisers are also running after them with bagful of money to sign them for their products. The
sizzling duo will soon be seen in ample of ads and latest they will be seen in Airtel
advertisement.
-- They will replace Vidya Balan and Madhavan who has mesmerized the audience with their
sensuousness and on-screen chemistry
9. CONCLUSION
Airtel has been constantly repositioning itself. Their target customer base has been increasing to
cover different segments whether its youth or senior citizens, urban or rural customers they have
specialized packages for all. Airtel has spent lots of money in revamping the brand in order to
appeal all segments of market. The rebranding of Airtel in November 2010, has worked in favor
of Airtel.
Airtel is a unique case as despite being the top company in the Indian telecom circle (with widest
consumer base and presence across all the telecom circles of India). Airtel has an emotional
connect with its customers. Airtel has invested lots of money in constantly changing itself to suit
the different requirements of its customers and adapting itself to the changing environment.
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Airtel Rebranding Strategy