isn’t just acceptable to any company.
Sriram Peri Class of 2013 PGDM, NMiMS Hyderabad
Will Airtel’s rebranding ring the cash registers? Will the resemblance of Airtel’s new logo to that of Vodafone’s confuse the customers? Will its efforts result in an increase in number of subscribers, resulting in Airtel having the last laugh? Or has Airtel provided Vodafone with the much needed edge by pressing the ‘self-destruct’ mode, after all Airtel did have strong consumer association. These are some of the questions, answers of which can be obtained only as time passes.
MARKETING
Rebranding – Need or Want?
W
hen I started writing this article, I was wondering if it was going to be my only chance to thrash one of my favorite brands for the larger cause of understanding branding. Though what one is about to read here is something that has been covered extensively over the internet, my reason for writing the same is that these cases are classic examples of good and bad (or not so good) branding. Airtel is one of my favourite brands. Even before I knew what a brand was and how it helped an organization, something about Airtel’s advertisements would attract my attention – may be the constant feature of human emotions in them, may be its simple yet powerful tune, may be the freshness it brought to the Indian advertisement market. Whatever it may have been, for years together, Airtel’s ads did what they were supposed to. In fact, if one would appreciate branding and advertising, it would not be an exaggeration to state that Airtel is one of the finest examples of great Indian marketing. Having said that, what is that which Airtel did not consider during its recent rebranding exercise? How could the organization, that stands tall with possibly the greatest consumer association, overlook such repercussions? Was it ‘money down the drain’ for Airtel or yet another case of finest execution on the company’s behalf?
Airtel’s recent acquisition of Zain (South Africa) and Warid (Bangladesh) have put the Indian telecom giant on the world map. The much talked-about acquisition of Zain acted as a launch pad for Airtel on the International telecom scene, and thus the company’s effort to rebrand itself to establish as an international player. Now, let’s consider another acquisition that was quite opposite to what we previously discussed. While Airtel (Indian company) acquired Zain (foreign company) to cater to international market, Vodafone acquired Hutch to enter the high-potential Indian telecom market. Vodafone acquired Hutch but the main problem remained as to how it would appeal to such a vast population that swore by Cheeka – the Pug that was popularly known as “the hutch dog”. The pug was so popular that even after its removal fro H ]?8?&\?Y ?X[?H?\??Y\?? ??[ ?[]?H]\? Z\?[?[H ?[ \\????Y??H?X?Y ???[[??\?8?$??H ?[?\?HX\??] ]\??? ?\?H ?[??Z[?????ZY? ^Y\??[?[??\? ? ?\X?H[?Xx?&\?[???Y?? ??\? ?\?X?\?] ?[? ?H[?[?XK???Y??H[?\?Y HX\??] \?Y H Y? ?[?X?]H H?[??H[? H??\[?K?HY ???Y H Y?X]?[??
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