Airtel positioning and repositioning –a case study

Harsh,mayank atul

According to bharti:

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.

Initial branding

In the initial days due to high tariff rates cellular players had to impose high call charges on their customers and the handsets were costly.

Naturally, they targeted the elite, up market professionals and entrepreneurs as customers . Airtelwas positioned as an aspirationaland lifestyle brand .

It was pitched not merely as a mobile service, but as something that gave consumer a badge value. The Brand was developed to connote leadership in network, innovations, offerings and services.

The taglines like "Airtelcelebrates the spirit of leadership" and "The first choice of the corporate leaders" emphasized that stance.

The ‘Leadership’ campaign was reportedly successful and resulted in a marginal improvement in Airtel performance.

Leadership to Touch Tomorrow

Conti..

In early 2000 it was observed through market surveys that the concept of leadership was undergoing a transformation resulting in it being a moderate success.

Hence Bharti decided to ‘humanize’ the brand ‘Airtel’ to gain competitive advantage.

In august 2000 Bharti launched its new ‘Touch Tomorrow’ campaign which aimed at strengthening its relationship with its customers and make the brand ‘softer’ to cater a wide variety of people across the society.

The Company adopted a three-tier brand architecture to expanded its ‘Touch Point’ network.

The focus now was on the endless possibilities of technology to make life good and advertising became two-pronged: a product-driven communication that showcased new offerings like the Magic prepaid card, and an emotional communication that showed younger people

Touch tomorrow to

LIVE EVERY MOMEMT

Brand Airtel.flv

Airtel logo

Meaning behind the logo

Airtel logo is a strong,contempory, a confident symbol of a brand that is always ahead of the rest , always ‘In-touch’ and on customer’s side.

It incorporates two solid, red rectangular forms whose counter-form creates an open doorway.

The title case lettering with its capital ‘A’ reinforces our leadership position.

The red dot cues in our focus on innovation.

In 2002, Airtel signed on music composer A R Rahman and changed its tune to "Live every moment": Rahman's signature tune for Airtel is, perhaps, the most downloaded ringtone in India. But that was just part of the ongoing communication.

Live every moment

Live Every Moment to

Express Yourself

Airtel - Express Yourself - YouTube.flvAirtel - Express yourself Ad - YouTube.flv

The following year Airtel adopted the "Express yourself" positioning, which is also its current tagline.

Now, the emotional angle was predominant - and stark, black and white imagery to stand out in what was becoming a highly commoditised, crowded marketExpress Yourself

Taglines of brands

To justify taglines tv ad campaigns were launched

AirTel Advertisement - A R Rahman - YouTube.flv

Youth icons like Shahrukh khan and Sachin were brought in as brand ambassadors to attract youngsters

Aisi Azadi Aur Kahaan - YouTube.flv

Airtel Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai Song with Lyrics - YouTube.flv

Airtel's latest TVC - Rural Tarakki - Tourist Guide - YouTube.flv

Umbrella branding

Co-branding

Bharti Airtel...new ad ...very inspiring - YouTube.flv