MxMIndia

Tag: Bharti Airtel

  • Vani takes over from Rohit Malhotra, who after spending over nine years with the Company in various senior positions, has decided to pursue opportunities outside of Airtel

    Airtel appoints Vani Venkatesh as CEO – Retail

    By A Correspondent

     

    Vani Venkatesh

    Bharti Airtel announced the appointment of Vani Venkatesh as CEO – Retail. In her new role, Vani will be responsible for driving Airtel’s retail strategy to deliver a seamless and world-class customer experience across retail touch points.

     

    Vani takes over from Rohit Malhotra, who after spending over nine years with the Company in various senior positions, has decided to pursue opportunities outside of Airtel.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel said, “We are delighted to have Vani on board and are confident that her rich experience will add to our initiatives to ensure customer delight across our retail points. I wish her all the best for her new role. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Rohit for his valuable contribution to the company.”

     

    Vani brings with her over 19 years of work experience. In her last role, she was responsible for the medical nutrition business at Abbott Healthcare (India). Prior to Abbott Healthcare, she worked with McKinsey & Company, where she led projects across industries, helping her clients to plan and implement successful retail strategies. She began her career with Hindustan Unilever in the Finance division. Vani is an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. She is also a qualified CA, Cost and Works Accountant and Company Secretary.

     

  • Airtel rolls out a 360-degree campaign around the all new My Airtel App – one app for all apps

    Airtel girl is back with shortcut to digital world

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bharti Airtel has re-launched its My Airtel App with a 3600 degree marketing campaign around My Airtel app featuring Sasha Chhetri. This time the Airtel girl, who is out with her friends, takes up the ‘Apps Challenge’ and manages to outfox the challenger with the My Airtel App.

     

    Said Rajiv Mathrani, Chief Brand Officer, Bharti Airtel, “Smartphones have redefined our lives and mobile applications allow us to do almost everything on the go, wherever we are. The new campaign is built around the new My Airtel app, which has a collection of the top apps, and brings the best of the online world to users in one place.” The campaign has been created by Taproot Dentsu.

     

  • The campaign from Taproot-Dentsu takes a bold approach to communicating the initiative with a media-mix of TV, Print, Outdoor and Digital

    Airtel rolls out 360-deg campaign around Open Network

    By A Correspondent

     

    In another industry first initiative, Airtel has opened up its entire mobile network information to its customers through an interactive online interface. The new interface will display Airtel’s mobile network coverage across India in addition to site/tower deployment status.

     

    Using a simple colour scheme, the interface will allow customers to check if the Airtel mobile network in the area is excellent, good, moderate or the area has no coverage, along with the status of corresponding sites/towers serving the area – existing, required, being upgraded or forcibly shut down. The interface uses advance geospatial tools and other technologies for accurate reporting of network coverage.

     

    The new interface, will be available on www.airtel.in/opennetwork and myAirtel app and, will also allow customers to report their network related issues in an easy fashion.

     

    The Open Network initiative will be communicated to consumers through a bold and path-breaking communication mix that will include TV, Print, Outdoor, and Digital.

     

    Rajiv Mathrani, Chief Brand Officer, Bharti Airtel, said, “This is a path-breaking campaign in the journey of brand Airtel and a frank conversation with the customer. Network quality is at the core of the experience we deliver to our customers and we are willing to say that our network can certainly be better. We are opening ourselves to feedback and questions from our customers and inviting them to help us make our network better. The look & feel, tonality of the communication is very different from past Airtel communication and we hope that it will help the brand establish a strong connect with customers.”

     

  • Calls out customers to stop wasting their benefits under traditional postpaid plans that offer pre-set benefits that never get fully utilized

    Airtel’s new postpaid campaign urges customers to ‘Waste Nothing’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sasha Chhetri, the Airtel 4G Girl, is back once again and this time she is telling customers to stop wasting the benefits that come with traditional postpaid mobile plans and move to Airtel MyPlan to get the best value for their monthly mobile spends. The ad, crafted by Taproot, is currently on outdoor, print and radio. A television version may happen soon.

     

    Commenting on the launch of new marketing initiative, Srini Gopalan, Director – Consumer Business, Bharti Airtel said, “Airtel MyPlan is designed to simplify the postpaid customer experience and offers them the flexibility to create their own plans. The new campaign is based on a simple consumer insight – that a lot of postpaid mobile users end up with plan benefits that they never fully utilize and end up wasting these benefits month on month. MyPlan addresses this problem by giving customers the freedom to choose what they actually need in their postpaid plans and gives them absolute value for their spends by eliminating any wastages.”

     

    With traditional postpaid plans offering pre-defined voice/data/SMS benefits, customers end up wasting some of these benefits as their actual usage/requirements may be very different.

     

    Some benefits include customers have the flexibility of changing their MyPlan whenever they want – if they are going for a vacation, they can always switch calls to data so that they have ample data to navigate, find the best restaurants or just upload vacation pics in real-time. Again, helps optimizing phone bills every month and waste nothing.

     

    Not just that, under the plan, customers can also share the extra benefits with their family by getting one member connection at a nominal rate of Rs. 199/year. No separate rental is charged for the member connection.

     

  • The agency attempts a tongue-in-cheek spin on the Airtel girl’s character

    Taproot unveils Airtel 4G campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    The ubiquitous Airtel 4G Girl is back in a new avatar starting today as she goes on a vacation with her friends. Airtel’s new campaign around its 4G services starring Sasha Chhetri went on air today in the the India New Zealand match of the ICC World T-20 Cup on Tuesday.

     

    Taproot Dentsu has unveiled a new campaign for Airtel’s 4G service. Here are some details, as per a communiqué received from Taproot:

     

    Over the last few months the ubiquitous Airtel girl has become synonymous with the launch of 4G in the country. Loved, trolled, debated and discussed in equal measure she has gone on to become one of the highly salient brand advocates in recent times.

     

    As the competition gets ready with starting out with 4G in the country, Airtel has moved on to delivering the power of 4G speed to the far reaches of the country. It is an important phase in the Airtel 4G campaign and we thought it would be interesting to get a tongue-in-cheek spin on her character, showing her now trying to take a break from 4G advocacy but ending up finding the brand’s influence preceding her.

     

    It is a bright, brave campaign from a brand of this stature and drives home the underlying message that Airtel 4G is not only fast but available in more parts of the country than one would think.

     

    The Films:

    Shimla 40 sec – https://youtu.be/Em_Ov3h0C3U

    Shillong 35 sec – https://youtu.be/ZIZK85eVFYM

     

    Clientspeak: Srinivasan Gopalan, Director – Consumer Business, Bharti Airtel (India & SA) says, “Airtel has established a clear leadership in the 4G category, both in terms of network presence and brand communication. Sasha has become the face of 4G in India and we believe that the new campaign, which communicates the unmatched reach of Airtel’s 4G network, will further strengthen our data proposition and help us build on our first mover advantage.”

     

    Agencyspeak: Agnello Dias, “We have seen a lot of the Airtel 4G girl in recent times. And she’s powerfully built 4G association with Airtel. We thought it would be great if we could take a cheeky look at her ubiquity. So this time instead of continuously advocating the brand, we have taken a different spin on her character while driving home a strong network message.”

     

    Credits:

    Client- Airtel

    Agency- Taproot Dentsu India Communication Pvt. Ltd.

    CCO- Agnello Dias/ Santosh Padhi

    CEO- Umesh Shrikhande

    Writers- Agnello Dias/Pallavi Chakravarti

    Account Management- Gargi Vegiraju/ Alekhya Marada/ Sana Patel

    Art- Santosh Padhi/ Durvesh Gaikar/ Rutuja Mali

     

    Production House Credits:

    Equinox Films Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai

    Director – Ram Madhvani/ Nitin Parmar

    Producer/Executive Producer – Manoj Shroff/ Sia Bhuyan

     

  • The new TVC is a creative execution based on the premise of 'sound of savings'

    Airtel opts for ‘Sound of Savings’ to lure consumers into using new app

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bharti Airtel has launched an all-new campaign announcing the season of savings for Airtel prepaid users. As part of the campaign, customers will now be able to avail a host of value-for-money offers by simply shaking the ‘My Airtel’ application window on their mobile phones – an all new feature aimed at giving customers a quick and fun way of availing the best recharge deals on Airtel prepaid. The new TVC is a creative execution based on the premise of ‘sound of savings’.

     

    The commercial features a montage of people from all walks of life who are shown shaking their phone and celebrating. Young and spirited in its tonality, the film is also supported by a catchy new jingle that has been composed by Sameer-ud-din, a prominent music composer in the ad-film industry. The film delivers a simple message in a joyful and interesting manner. The overall proposition —- ‘Bachatkikhunnkhunn’ or the sound of savings is what you will hear if you are a myairtel app subscriber.Customers need to download myairtel app on their smartphone, shake the phone and avail the offers they want.

     

    The campaign has been conceptualized by Taproot India. The TVC will also be accompanied by digital, outdoor, radio, retail POS and print.

     

  • Wynk Music is a carrier agnostic music application for mobile that offers an integrated mobile music experience with full track audio streaming, cache downloads, etc

    Airtel launches ‘WynkMusic’ TVC campaign

    Leading telco Bharti Airtel has rolled a new TVC campaign for its ‘Wynk Music’ application. Wynk Music is a carrier agnostic music application for mobile that offers an integrated mobile music experience with full track audio streaming, cache downloads, mp3 purchase, internet radio and caller ring back tone features.

     

    The TVC has been shot with a congregation of musicians and showcases the fact that music changes one’s mood, in an evocative manner. The film starts on a sombre note, with a college girl in a bad mood because of a fight she has had with her boyfriend. She starts the Wynk app on her phone and realises that she has taken centrestage in a large auditorium filled to the brim with musicians of all genres and languages. As she swipes from one song to another on Wynk, a motley group somewhere in the crowd livens up and delivers the chosen number. The wide range of genres available on Wynk are reflected in the colourful melting pot of artists in the auditorium. Each artist is jostling for space and an opportunity to play his piece and impress the girl. The film ends on a musical high, with the girl grooving to a number she starts air-guitaring with. She throws herself at the crowd, completely lost in her music.

     

    The campaign team

    Creative agency: – Taproot

    Director: – Ram Madhwani

    Music: – Sameeruddin

    Production: – Equinox Films

    Media Agency: – Madison

    Date of release: – 19thDecember 2014

     

  • Airtel has been calling for media pitches once every five years and the last time it reviewed the account was in early 2010

    Airtel calls for media agency pitch

    By Pritha Dasgupta

     

    Bharti Airtel, India’s largest mobile carrier by revenue and subscribers, has called for a media agency pitch. It is touted as one of the biggest advertising pitches of 2014.

     

    The company has just finished the process of sending out invites to leading media agencies including the Sam Balsara-led Madison World, which has been handling the account for the past 11 years. According to people in the know, other agencies in the fray include one of GroupM agencies, Lodestar, Dentsu Aegis Network, OMD and ZenithOptimedia.

     

    “Airtel has made all the media agencies sign a non-disclosure agreement barring them from talking about the pitch process,” said an executive with knowledge of the matter.

     

    Airtel has been calling for media pitches once every five years and the last time it reviewed the account was in early 2010, he said.

     

    Airtel didn’t respond an email seeking comment. A top executive at the New Delhi-based company said it “is just a part of the evolution process” as it periodically reviews the contract. “This time too we want to see who’s offering what and at what price,“ he said.Globally, Airtel is the fourth largest mobile telecommunications company by subscribers, with more than 300 million subscribers across 20 countries as of end-September. It is the largest cellular service provider in India, with over 200 million subscribers.

     

    During the last pitch process, Madison had faced stiff competition from agencies like TME, Starcom MediaVest, Percept, Mediaedge:cia (MEC) and Lintas Media Group. This year, it will be up against the mighty GroupM ­ the biggest media agency of the country.

     

    Interestingly, GroupM already has four telecom companies in its portfolio ­ Vodafone, Tata Docomo, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications. “GroupM has five media agencies and four telecom clients. So they can still look at adding one more telecom business to its kitty,“ said a top industry executive in the know.When Madison retained the account in 2010, it was also given the outdoor duties of Airtel which were initially handled by Portland, a unit of GroupM.

     

    Later, Madison set up a dedicated outdoor team to handle the Airtel account.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Introduces new design unit as part of its brand identity

    Airtel unveils ‘The Smartphone Network’ ad campaign

    Bharti Airtel has launched its ‘The Smartphone Network’ (TSN) advertising campaign.

     

    The new campaign by Airtel rides on the surge in adoption of data services led by increasing penetration of smartphones across India. “Data is clearly driving the next phase of telecom revolution across the globe. In recognition of this phenomenon, we at Airtel have made significant technology and network investments to ensure we deliver the best data experience for smartphone users in India. ‘The Smartphone Network’ campaign by Airtel drives this very message in a manner that is intrinsic with our brand positioning”, said Mohit Beotra, Chief Brand Officer – Bharti Airtel (India).

     

    In line with brand Airtel’s larger positioning around enabling relationships – the campaign’s television commercial (TVC) is a thematic film with a contemporary take on the role that smartphones and data networks are playing in bringing millions of data savvy Indians closer to one another. “From ‘Express Yourself’ to ‘Har Friend Zaroori Hai, Yaar‘ – enabling magical relationships have always been at the very core of Airtel’s brand values. Our all new campaign strengthens Airtel’s legacy of identifying fresh and relevant insights around relationships – and is a contemporary take on this very theme”, added Beotra. Supporting the main TVC, a set of short commercials emphasizing the strengths of the Airtel data network (across parameters like faster video streaming, longer battery life etc.) will also be aired.

     

    Designed and developed by Taproot, the TVC will run on all national TV channels, and also have a strong presence in the digital world. The campaign will be supported by a strong presence on static media, including outdoor and retail.

     

  • Anand will lead product conceptualization, design and development across the B2C segment of the company

    Anand Chandrasekaran joins Bharti Airtel as Chief Product Officer

    By a correspondent

     

    Bharti Airtel announced the appointment of Anand Chandrasekaran as its Chief Product Officer for its India operations. Anand will lead product conceptualization, design and development across the B2C segment of the company and will report into Srini Gopalan, Director – Consumer Business. He will be responsible for driving best in class user interfaces, content partnerships and product experiences across all current and future offerings across the internet ecosystem.

     

    Announcing the appointment, Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia) said, “We are delighted to have Anand on board as we sharpen our focus on innovation. I am confident that his rich experience and in-depth understanding of technology and the internet ecosystem will contribute to our endeavor of building an organization of the future.”

     

    Anand joins Airtel from Yahoo where he was Sr. Director of Global Search Products and a member of the search leadership team. Previous to this role, he was Sr. Director & Head of Product for Mobile, which was the fastest growing part of the Search & Commerce Business Unit for Yahoo.

     

    Anand is a proven entrepreneur with experience of leading product development, growth and revenue in mobile, consumer internet, search, maps, local and big data across numerous Fortune 500 companies. Prior to Yahoo, Anand was Director of Product Management at Openwave. Anand also co-founded and helped build Aeroprise Inc. before joining Openwave.

     

  • Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola are considering launching video channels over mobile phones to deliver branded content and advertisements directly to consumers in India

    Watch out, TVwallahs. P&G, Coke eyeing mobile video streaming for effective & cheaper advertising

    By Deepali Gupta

     

    Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola are considering launching video channels over mobile phones to deliver branded content and advertisements directly to consumers in India, because it is cheaper than running ads on television and easier to measure the impact. The launch of third- and fourth generation mobile technology is making this possible and more affordable for advertisers, allowing them to sidestep, at least partially, the traditional mass media.

     

    Airing ads over telecommunication networks will also allow the companies to know who is watching their ads, something that is difficult to measure in TV advertisements.

     

    P&G and Coca-Cola, two of the biggest advertisers globally, are in preliminary discussions with India’s top telecom operators to start their own streaming video channels which consumers could access free of charge, three people familiar with the talks said. Another executive at one of the two consumer-goods companies said it was too early to say if his company would launch such a channel. “We have just had a meeting with the telecom operators, that’s it. There is no way to say whether this will happen or if it does when,” this person said.

     

    Initially, the brands may make their programmes available to customers of the nation’s top two mobile operators, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India, that roughly account for 60 per cent of the subscribers across India, said one of the three people cited above. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone did not respond to emails seeking comment. P&G and Coca-Cola declined to comment.

     

    The talks come close on the heels of Hindustan Unilever launching a dedicated radio station on mobile phone in Bihar which has already acquired more than five million subscribers. P&G and Coca-Cola are also encouraged by the response to their existing online video content.

     

    Beverages-maker Coca-Cola has branded content such as the Coke Studio musical performance which receives lot of hits on You Tube, one of the people said. “We can push that content to users on their mobile phones,” this person said, adding that the channels would also carry company or brand logo through all shows which will be interspersed with advertisements. “It is cheaper than running campaigns on national television.”

     

    There is huge demand for mobile video content. Bharti Airtel’s Re 1 per video offer had 22 million hits within the first two months of its launch in May 2013, with nearly a quarter of them by first-time data users, according to data released by the company. Much of the content was Bollywood or fashion. As much as 80 per cent of that was accessed on feature phones – phones that can access Internet but are cheaper than smartphones – and nearly half in rural, content-starved markets. “Now imagine this is free to access,” said one of them, referring to the video channels these companies are considering. “I think there would be much more viewership.”

     

    However, the concept is still in its inception, added another. It involves a content aggregator creating the channel, the brand buying bulk data and an operator pushing the site to data-enabled phones. Offering this service requires the operator to enable data connections also on phones that don’t subscribe to data service and allow free connectivity as long as the device accesses merely the streaming channel.

     

    For telecom operators, offering free programmes will likely help attract voice consumers to data, and once they get hooked, the companies can sell services outside the free channel. According to analyst estimates, India has around 400 million phones that can use Internet or data services, such as viewing streaming video. However, only around 140 million actively connect to the Internet.

     

    Smartphone maker BlackBerry too has spoken of monetising its dedicated channels that brands like Café Coffee Day, Mercedes-Benz and even some political parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party use to connect with Blackberry Messenger customers. The channels started by the brands involve posting text and pictures that are shared by followers accumulated through invites.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The Advertising Club, which completes 60 years of existence this year, has planned a series of new activities

    Josy & Aggie to present Ad Club Creative Review, event kicks off Club’s Diamond Jubilee

    By A Correspondent

     

    Josy Paul
    Agnello Dias

    The Advertising Club will revive its popular Creative Review with a  tweak in format. To be held at the Taj Vivanta in Gurgaon on February 28, it will be jointly presented by Josy Paul (Chairman and CCO, BBDO India) and Agnello Dias (CCO and co-founder, Taproot India).

     

     

    Colors is presenting sponsor of the Creative Review with Bharti Airtel and Pepsi being Associate Sponsors.

     

    Pratap Bose

    Meanwhile, a communique signed by President Pratap Bose notes that the Club which completes 60 years of existence has planned a series of new activities.

     

    For details: www.theadvertisingclub.net