Vodafone Essar : Marketing Analysis -

Establishment
The company was founded in 1982 as a joint venture .the name was derived from
the newly-found company's goal of establishing both voice (VO) and data
(DA) services over a mobile telephone network.
Hutchison Essar Established - 1994 an Essar group and Hutchison Whampoa
undertaking,
acquiring the cellular mobile licence for Mumbai has a nationwide market share of
16.4pc
the fourth-largest Indian operator. &;Most Respected Telecom Company‘ &
apos;Best Mobile Service in the country& Most Creative and Most Effective
Advertiser of the Yea.
Vodafone Essar
Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that
covers 23 telecom circles in India.
Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply branded
Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSMcellular phone coverage
throughout India with good presence in the metros.
Vodaphone's current positioning in India has evolved over the years and has not
been immediately or directly influenced by its parent company's global brand
strategy.

Firstly, before it was taken over, Vodaphone in India was called Hutch and even
before that as Orange (Way back in the early part of this decade).

From the time of its conception, this company has always positioned itself as a
hip, premium (not necessarily in cost) and innovative company.

In spite of undergoing two makeovers (From Orange (brand color orange) to

Hutch (color pink) to Vodaphone (color Red)), the image of the company has
remained the same.

From the ads of the current Zoo-Zoo's to the one with the adorable dog,
Vodaphone's ads have always been innovative and sought to strike a note of
being different from the rest of the operators.

Even the value add services they offer are targeted at the pre-dominantly urban
and premium customer. Services like Phone Contact List Back-up, freedom to
record/choose busy tune etc are not normally used by the typical rural/ semi-
urban user.

Moreover, the very fact that they have chosen not to completely follow the
across-the-board price cuts which were adopted by other operators only
reinforces this premium image
 Finally, Vodaphone (its previous avtaars) was among the three operators to have
been given a huge chunk (10 Mhz) of the spectrum in major circles (Mumbai,
Delhi etc) in the first round of mobile license auctions. This gave them a good
platform to launch their percieved premium services

Customer who wish to be associated with a percieved premium operator and

avail themselves of the excellent and innovative services and value add services
are willing to pay that little bit extra for the same. This is called as niche
marketing. You make 10 cents each by serving 10 customers and make your
dollar OR you make 50 cents each by serving two customers. The difference
between Vodafone and Air Tel or for that matter any other service provider is
similar to the difference between HSBC and ICICI. These players are not here to
cater masses but specific class of customers. Their motto is to concentrate on
excellence and thereby customer satisfaction and customer retention. They
provide excellent service and cater to limited number of customers. Compare to
their counterparts, they are likely to spend little time and money on handling
issues related to customer grievances and retention.

as abhinav has said you need to pay for quality. besides the customer care of
vodafone is far superior. this is something you really don't experience unless you
face a problem. only then will you realise that the extra payment is well worth it.

Targeting
Vodafone is adopting multi-segment approach .they are offering a series of differentiated
products to their respective markets. Home calling cards for the families of those
professional who use to work abroad. Rs. 10 recharge for small user.
Cheap SMS facility for youth Facilities for circle users.
Positioning :
“where you go the network follows you “
Hutch , as a brand, always tried to connect with consumers in simple, honest and real
manner, while vodafone is more young and fun brand. So consumer will see a shift
reflecting a more vibrant brand.
The “pug” and actor Irfan Khan will be retained for the brand position.
They are talking about the exclusivity of the network and the service they are offering to the
customer.
Market Strategy of Vodafone:

Strategic objective is
- Innovate and deliver on customer’s total communications needs.
Vodafone too, needed to educate consumers about cellular telephony:-
-Can I call std?
-Can I use my phone in a lift?
-what is airtime?
Commercial / Sale Strategy of Vodafone
Rebranding
-Stores
-Mass media coverage
Innovative distribution to reach the customer
-Exclusive shops
-Hub and spoke
-Associate distributions
Customer service
-Shops and call centers
-Vans
-Help desks
1. Hutch Marketing Strategy
○ “… A big success factor was how aspirational overtones in brand imagery stayed, even though price wars
had started. Again, the colour orange was a seminal attribute; the brand's slogan was 'The
future's bright, the future's orange'…”
2. Hutch Marketing Strategy Cont’d…
○ “…The new brand name also heralded the arrival of a new mascot, the "Hutch" pug. When
Hutch launched the Abby-winning "Wherever you go our network will follow'" ad, viewers
believed that was Hutch's new slogan, but it was just one brand attribute …”
3. Hutch Marketing Strategy Cont’d…
○ Value-added services
○ "Privileges" (discount coupon booklets),
○ cricket scores and stock market information - have formed as critical a part of Hutch's marketing
efforts as its advertising.
○ Hutch World (GPRS service),
○ Hutch Alive (non-stop, streaming action)
○ Hutch4Help, a unique dial-in 'convenience' service, all emphasize the premium attributes of
the service.
○ Chhota Recharge, small value recharge cards (starting at Rs 10), which will also help mobilize small
spenders.
4. Hutch Mobile Shop - A great initiative