Airtel - Positioning (And Repositioning)

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Themes : Positioning
Period : 1990-2003
Organization : Bharti Cellular Limited
Pub Date : 2003
Countries : India
Industry : Cellular

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Case Code : MKTG037
Case Length : 12 Pages
Price: Rs. 300;

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"With these launches, we will create an Airtel user's community that will have a better depth of service availability than all competition."

- Sunil Mittal, Bharti's CMD, commenting on the launch of Airtel's new logo, in June 2002.

Airtel - Positioning (And Repositioning): From 'Touch Tomorrow' to 'Live Every Moment'

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 campaign attracted considerable media attention because this was the first time Rahman had agreed to do a television commercial and also because, Rahman had been paid Rs 10 million¹ for the campaign, a sum usually unheard of, for celebrity endorsers in India. The campaign received brickbats as well as bouquets in the media, both for the selection of Rahman and the TVC's execution. However, Bharti claimed to have scored an ace in terms of getting Rahman to compose five exclusive symphonies downloadable as ring tones for Airtel users.

The TVC was a part of the brand repositioning and restructuring efforts for Airtel, as part of which, Bharti changed the brand's tagline in early-2002 from 'Touch Tomorrow' to 'Live Every Moment.' 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. The Airtel brand (and the pre-paid card service brand, Magic) had top-of-the-mind recall amongst cellular phone users and enjoyed a leadership position in most markets. Industry observers primarily attributed it to Bharti's strong brand building and positioning strategies.

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1] In November 2002, Rs 48 equalled 1 US $.