TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.

INRODUCTION TO MARKETING STRATEGIES

2.

COMPANY PROFILE

3.

COMPANY HISTORY
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
SERVICES PROVIDED BY COMPANY
AREA OF OPERATION
MERGERS,ACCQUISITIONS AND JOINT VENTURES

MARKETING STRATEGIES ADAPTED BY BHARTI

BRANDING AND POSITIONING STRATEGIES

PRISING AND DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES
PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES

4.

COMPANYS FINANCIAL STATUS

5.

CONCLUSION

6.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INRODUCTION TO MARKETING STRATEGIES

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Marketing is the important aspect of an organization. The success of the organization

is largely attributed to the performance of the marketing. Therefore, there must be
suitable marketing strategies in respect of the following

1. Product Strategy :- Every organization has appropriate product strategy. The

product strategy enables to take decisions in respect of Product line/mix: A company may follow either a single product strategy
or a multi-product strategy. A company may concentrate on core product
line or a diversified product line business.
Development of a new product A firm must decide about the

development of new products or modified products to face the

competition in the market and to meet the needs and wants of the
customers. In this connection, the firm must decide as to how many new
products and as what time intervals they must be introduced.
Other product policies- A firm must decide on the other product policies in
respect of-

Policies relating to product packaging.

Policies relating to branding and brand extension.
Policies relating to product positioning, etc.

2. Pricing Strategy :- A firm must decide about pricing strategy. While fixing
prices , a firm may consider several factors such as cost of product, demand for
product, competition in the market, the nature of the product, the nature of the
consumers, objective of the firm, etc. There are several pricing strategies such
as

Skimming Pricing strategy- In this case high prices are charged in

order to earn high profit margins. A firm may follow either Rapid

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skimming where high prices are charged and there is heavy promotion.
Or Slow skimming where high process is charged and there is low

promotion.
Penetration pricing strategy- in this case , low prices are charged , in
order to capture a good market share. A firm may follow either Rapid
penetration where low prices are charged and there is heavy
penetration or Slow penetration where Low prices are charged and

there is low promotion.

Other pricing strategies- there are several other pricing strategies such as
- Follow the leader pricing
- Standard pricing (For all market same price)
- Differential pricing (Different pricing for different markets)
- Trial pricing (initially lower pricing at the product launch)
- Probe pricing (initially higher pricing to probe the demand
3. Distribution Strategy:- A firm must decide in respect of distribution. The
distribution strategy needs to be framed in respect of:
Channels of distribution whether direct channels, or indirect channels.

Area of distribution - whether local, regional, national or international.

Dealers network- The number of dealers, area-wise, product-wise.
Dealers training training to the dealers, especially in case of
consumer durables, so that they are familiar with the features and

operations of the product.

Dealers incentives and compensation- Commission to be paid to the

dealers, and additional incentives to push the sales in the market.

4. Promotional Strategies:- A firm must decide policies in respect of promotion.
The various promotion strategies are in respect of the following :
Advertising Strategy- A firm must frame strategy in the area of
advertising in respect of :
a) Advertising Budget Strategy brand wise, area wise, period wise,
and media wise.
b) Media Scheduling Strategies bursting, fighting, pulsing, etc.

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c) Media Selection Strategy depending upon several factors, such as

nature of product, competitors, advertising, consumers, advertising

budget, advertising objectives, etc.

Sales Promotion Strategy A firm must give proper emphasis on sales
promotion techniques. Therefore, a firm must frame sales promotion
strategy in respect of :
a) The amount of funds to be spent on sales promotion techniques like
discounts, exchange offers, free gifts, free samples, premium
offers, samples, etc.
b) Decision on areas like after sales service, guarantees, etc. in respect
of period, product, selection and training of service staff, etc.
c) The duration and timing of sales promotion offers whether during
specific season or festival periods, etc.
d) The products or brands, and the market areas, which needs to be

given more focus in respect of sales promotion

Publicity Nowadays, publicity plays an important role in promotion of
goods and services. Therefore, a firm needs to frame a proper publicity
strategy in respect of :
a) The media to be concentrated for publicity.
b) The period or timing of publicity.
c) The relationships with various media people.
d) The amounts of funds to be allocated for publicity purpose, such
as on event marketing during product launch, gifts to the media

people, etc.
Personal Selling Strategy It plays an important role in promoting the
sale of products, especially in the case of industrial goods. Therefore,
proper decision must be taken in respect of :
a) The number of sales force, selection and training.
b) The compensation to the sales force.
c) The product, which require personal selling efforts.
d) The market or area where personal selling is required, etc.

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5. Marketing Research Strategy:- Nowadays, marketing research plays an

important role in marketing of goods and services. A firm must decide in
respect of :
The products, which requires market research.
The markets, where marketing research to be conducted.
The type of marketing research , such as sales research, product research,
consumer research, pricing research, etc.

Bharti Airtel Ltd.

Bharti Airtel Ltd., commonly known as Airtel, was incorporated on the 7th of July,
1995 as a Public Limited Company and one of the first companies to enter the
Telecom Services business in India. It is the largest Indian telecommunications
company and it operates in more than 20 countries across South Asia and Africa
offering 2G, 3G and 4G LTE mobile services. It is the largest cellular service
provider in India, with over 303 million subscribers as of June 2015.
In the early years, Bharti Airtel Ltd established itself as a supplier of basic telecom
equipment. Mr Sunil Mittal jumped at the opportunity provided when the government
opened up the sector and allowed private players to provide telecom services. Bharti
Airtel Ltd accepted every opportunity provided by this new policy to evolve into
India's largest telecommunications company and one of India's most respected brands.
It is considered to be the first mobile firm in the world to outsource everything except
marketing, sales and financial operations and building the 'minutes factory' model of
low cost and high volumes. The strategy has since been adopted by several operators.
Airtel's telecom equipment is provided and maintained by Ericsson and Nokia
Solutions and Networks whereas IT support is provided by IBM. The transmission

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towers are maintained by subsidiaries and joint venture companies of Bharti

including Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers in India.
Airtel now offers a variety of services to its consumers including 4G services in select
cities.
Vision- Our vision is to enrich the lives of our customers. Our obsession is to win
customers for life through an exceptional experience.
Tagline The smart phone Network.

BHARTI AIRTEL LTD - COMPANY HISTORY

In 1984, Sunil Mittal started assembling push-button phones in India which he earlier
used to import from a Taiwan company, Kingtel, replacing the old fashioned,
bulky rotary phones that were in use in the country then. Bharti Telecom Limited
(BTL) was incorporated and entered into a technical tie up with Siemens AG
of Germany for manufacture of electronic push button phones. By the early 1990s,
Bharti was making fax machines, cordless phones and other telecom gear. He named
his first push-button phones as 'Mitbrau'. In 1992, he successfully bid for one of the
four mobile phone network licenses auctioned in India. One of the conditions for the
Delhi cellular license was that the bidder has some experience as a telecom operator.
So, Mittal clinched a deal with the French telecom group Vivendi. He was one of the
first Indian entrepreneurs to identify the mobile telecom business as a major growth
area. His plans were finally approved by the Government in 1994 and he launched
services in Delhi in 1995, when Bharti Cellular Limited (BCL) was formed to offer
cellular services under the brand name AirTel. Within a few years Bharti became the

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first telecom company to cross the 2-million mobile subscriber mark. Bharti also
brought down the STD/ISD cellular rates in India under brand name 'India one'.
In 1999, Bharti Enterprises acquired control of JT Holdings, and extended cellular
operations to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 2000, Bharti acquired control of
Skycell Communications, in Chennai. In 2001, the company acquired control of Spice
Cell in Calcutta. Bharti Enterprises went public in 2002, and the company was listed
on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India. In 2003,
the cellular phone operations were rebranded under the single Airtel brand. In 2004,
Bharti acquired control of Hexacom and entered Rajasthan. In 2005, Bharti extended
its network to Andaman and Nicobar. This expansion allowed it to offer voice services
all across India. Airtel launched "Hello Tunes", a Caller ring back tone service
(CRBT), in July 2004 becoming to the first operator in India to do so. The Airtel
theme song, composed by A.R. Rahman, was the most popular tune on that year. In
May 2008, it emerged that Airtel was exploring the possibility of buying the MTN
Group, a South Africa-based telecommunications company with coverage in 21
countries in Africa and the Middle East. The Financial Times reported that Bharti was
considering offering US$45 billion for a 100% stake in MTN, which would be the
largest overseas acquisition ever by an Indian firm.. However, the talks fell apart
as MTN group tried to reverse the negotiations by making Bharti almost
a subsidiary of the new company. In May 2009, Bharti Airtel again confirmed that it
was in talks with MTN and the companies agreed to discuss the potential transaction
exclusively by 31 July 2009. Talks eventually ended without agreement, some sources
stating that this was due to opposition from the South African government.

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In 2009, Bharti negotiated for its strategic partner Alcatel-Lucent to manage the
network infrastructure for the fixed line business. Later, Bharti Airtel awarded the
three-year contract to Alcatel-Lucent for setting up an Internet Protocol access
network across the country. This would help consumers access internet at faster
speed and high quality internet browsing on mobile handsets. In 2009, Airtel launched
its first international mobile network in SriLanka. In June 2010, Bharti acquired the
African business of Zain Telecom for $10.7 billion making it the largest ever
acquisition by an Indian telecom firm. In 2012, Bharti tied up with Wal-Mart, the US
retail giant, to start a number of retail stores across India. In 2014, Bharti planned to
acquire Loop Mobile for INR 7 billion, but the deal was called off later.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

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SERVICES PROVIDED BY COMPANY

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In India, the company's offers products and services both for the end consumer as well
as for businesses. The consumer business offers 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services,
mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV and Digital
TV. The enterprise services include national & international long distance services to
large enterprises and carriers and tower infrastructure services.
One Network:- One Network is a mobile phone network that allows
Airtel customers to use the service in a number of countries at the
same price as their home network. Customers can place outgoing
calls at the same rate as their local network, and incoming calls are
free. As of 2014, the service is available in Bangladesh, Burkina
Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville,
Gabon, Ghana, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda,
Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
B2C Services

Mobile Services
Cellular mobile services across 20* countries.
Customer and revenue market leader in India.
Telemedia Services
Offers fixed telephony and broadband internet (DSL + IPTV).
Services provided across 87* countries.
Digital TV Services
Pan India DTH operations.
Coverage across 639* districts.

Value Added Services

CD Recording and Delivery :- Proceedings of the entire conference can be

recorded, burned onto a CD and delivered within 48 hrs of the conference,
anywhere in India.

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Conference Coordinator :- Availability of professionally skilled conference

coordinators to ensure that your conference is held smoothly.

Dry Runs :- Provision of dry runs to test the call quality.
Playback :- Real time recording of the conference on the video bridge for

listening to the conference at a later time.

Question and Answer session :- This tool is extremely helpful and provides the
unique experience of having a complete Question and Answer session with

participants across the globe.

Transcription :- The recorded conference can also be provided in a word

format to the organization.

Polling :- Use this service to get the mandate of the participants.
Webcast :- To play the conference on your company web portal use this

facility.
Data Conferencing :- Involves PC based applications, e.g. transfer files to
multiple users, collaborate on a white board, share an application, etc.

What the Customer gets form these Services

Sharing :- End users can share their desktops, any application or web browser.
Upload Facility :- PowerPoint presentations can be dynamically uploaded and

shared during the conference.

Remote Control :- This feature allows the host to take control of desktops or

applications in order to conduct training sessions.

Conference Codes :- A unique code is assigned by the system or scheduler,
and participants must enter the correct code to get into your conference. For
regular conferences the same code can be used, so that you don't have to

remember different codes for each conference.

Name Announcements :- Participants are prompted to call their names before
entering a conference. This recorded voice is then used to introduce them into

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the conference. This feature is also used when a participant leaves the

conference.
Lock/ Unlock Option for Moderator :- When the moderator locks a call, the
operator is locked out and participants dialing in later are not allowed to enter
the conference. The moderator can unlock the call at any time during the

conference.
Entry/ Exit Tones:-Whenever a caller enters/ exits a conference, for security
and control reasons, a tone will be generated.

How it Benefits the Customer

Bring geographically dispersed people together face-to-face.

Inter-location meetings are as simple as calling, thus reducing the cost of

travel, lodging and boarding.

Increases productivity and organizational efficiency by saving precious man

hours.
Reduces costs thus creating competitive advantage.
Quick decision making and faster time to market for new products.
Free from location/ physical constraints.

How it suits the Customer

Interview:- Distant interviews/ recruitments reduce cost and increases

efficiency.
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Research and Development:- Get customers' feedback on your products/

services using Q and A and polling feature to get real-time responses.

General Business Application:- Use for crisis management or for meetings.
Financial Applications:- Announce financial results and holding Investor
Relations meets. Overseas investment analysts or journalists can join the

conference at a minimal cost.

Press Conference:- Hold a press conference for your clients, investors and
journalists to broadcast your financial results or to launching new products/

services.
Sales and Marketing:- Get regular updates and sales progress from the sales

team. You can hold monthly/ weekly reviews more frequently.

Education:- This service can be used for distance learning, sales training,
product briefings or corporate policy updates as well as for other online

training modules.
Project Applications:- Recurring project team meetings can be held without

having the members to travel from place to place.

Budget Planning:- Facilitate the decision-making process of preparing

financial budgets.
Legal Applications:- Use video conferencing for negotiation or amendment of
contracts with overseas business associates or customers.

AREA OF OPERATION
Domestic Operations
Airtel is the largest provider of mobile telephony and second largest provider of fixed
telephony in India, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription
television services. It offers its telecom services under the "airtel" brand, and is
headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal.
International Operations

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Africa :- Airtel Africa is a subsidiary of Indian

telecommunications company Airtel, that operates in 17
countries across Africa i.e. Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Gabon, Ghana,
Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda,
Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
It operates a GSM network in all countries,
providing 2G or 3G depending upon the country of operation.
On June 8th 2010, Bharti Airtel completed the purchase of
mobile operations in 15 African countries from Zain, a Kuwaiti
operator.
On 11 August 2010, Bharti Airtel announced that it would
acquire Telecom Seychelles for US$62 million.

Bangladesh :-Airtel Bangladesh Ltd. is a GSM-based cellular

operator in Bangladesh. Airtel is the sixth mobile phone carrier
to enter the Bangladesh market, and originally launched
commercial operations under the brand name "Warid Telecom"
on 10 May 2007. Warid Telecom International LLC, an Abu
Dhabibased consortium, sold a majority 70% stake in the
company to India's Bharti Airtel Limited for US$300 million.

Sri Lanka :-Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd is a subsidiary of Bharti

Airtel Limited. Bharti Airtel has been featured in Forbes Asia's
Fab 50 list, rated amongst the best performing companies in
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the world in the Business Week IT 100 list 2007, and voted as
India's most innovative company in a survey by The Wall
Street Journal.
Airtel Lanka commenced commercial operations of services on
13 January 2009. Granted a license in 2007 in accordance with
the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Act No. 25 of 1991, it is also
a registered company under the Board of Investment Sri
Lanka. Under the license, the company provides digital mobile
services to Sri Lanka. This is inclusive of voice telephony,
voice mail, data services and GSM-based services. All of these
services are provided under the airtel brand.

Channel Islands: Jersey and Guernsey :- On1May2007, Jersey

Airtel and Guernsey Airtel, both wholly owned subsidiaries of
the Bharti Group, announced they would launch mobile
services in the British Crown Dependency islands of Jersey and
Guernsey under the brand name Airtel-Vodafone after signing
an agreement with Vodafone. Airtel-Vodafone operates a 3G
network in Jersey and Guernsey.

Subscriber Base
Bharti Airtel has about 303.08 million subscribers worldwide264.58 million in
India and South Asia and 50.949 million in Africa as of the end of December 2011.
The numbers include mobile services subscribers in 19 countries and Indian
Telemedia services and Digital services subscribers.
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Acquisitions and Mergers

MTN Group merger negotiations :-In May 2008, it emerged that Airtel was
exploring the possibility of buying the MTN Group, a South Africa-based
telecommunications company with operations in 21 countries in Africa and
the Middle East. The Financial Times reported that Bharti was considering
offering US$45 billion for a 100% stake in MTN, which would be the largest
overseas acquisition ever by an Indian firm. However, both sides emphasized
the tentative nature of the talks. The Economist magazine noted, "If anything,
Bharti would be marrying up", as MTN had more subscribers, higher
revenues and broader geographic coverage. However, the talks fell apart as
MTN Group tried to reverse the negotiations by making Bharti almost a
subsidiary of the new company.
In May 2009, Airtel confirmed that it was again in talks with MTN and both
companies agreed to discuss the potential transaction exclusively by 31 July
2009. Airtel said in a statement "Bharti Airtel Ltd is pleased to announce that
it has renewed its effort for a significant partnership with MTN Group. The
exclusivity period was extended twice up to 30 September 2009. Talks
eventually ended without agreement.
A solution was proposed where the new company would be listed on 2 stock
exchanges, one in South Africa and one in India. However, dual-listing of
companies is not permitted by Indian law.

Zain :- In Jun 2010, Bharti struck a deal to buy Zain's mobile

operations in 15 African countries, in India's second biggest
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overseas acquisition after Tata Steel's $13 billion buy of Corus

in 2007. Bharti Airtel completed its $10.7 billion acquisition of
African operations from Kuwaiti firm on June 8th 2010, making
the Airtel the world's fifth largest wireless carrier by subscriber
base. Airtel has reported that its revenues for the fourth
quarter of 2010 grew by 53% to US$3.2 billion compared to
the previous year, newly acquired Zain Africa division
contributed US$911 million to the total. However, net profits
dropped by 41% from US$470 million in 2009 to
US$291 million 2010 due to a US$188 million increase in radio
spectrum charges in India and an increase of US$106 million
in debt interest.

Warid Bangladesh :- In 2010, Warid Telecom sold a majority

70.90% stake in the company to India's Bharti Airtel Limited
for US$300 million. The Bangladesh Telecommunication
Regulatory Commission approved the deal on Jan 4,
2010.Bharti Airtel Limited took management control of the
company and its board, and rebranded the company's
services under its own airtel brand from December 20, 2010.In
March, 2013, Warid Telecom sold its rest 30% share to Bharti
Airtels Singapore-based concern Bharti Airtel Holdings Pte
Limited.

Telecom Seychelles :-On 11 August 2010, Bharti Airtel

announced that it would acquire 100% stake in Telecom
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Seychelles for US$62 million taking its global presence to 19

countries. Telecom Seychelles began operations in 1998 and
operates 3G, Fixed Line, and ship to shore services satellite
telephony, among value added services like VSAT and
Gateways for International Traffic across the Seychelles under
the Airtel brand. The company has over 57% share of the
mobile market of Seychelles.[41] Airtel announced plans to
invest US$10 million in its fixed and mobile telecoms network
in the Seychelles over three years, whilst also participating in
the Seychelles East Africa submarine cable (SEAS) project. The
US$34 million SEAS project is aimed at improving the
Seychelles' global connectivity by building a 2,000 km
undersea high-speed link to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

Wireless Business Services Private Limited :- On 24 May 2012,

Airtel announced an agreement to acquire a 49% stake in
Wireless Business Services Private Limited (WBSPL) at an
investment of 9.07 billion (US$165 million).WBSPL was a joint
venture founded by Qualcomm, and held BWA spectrum in the
telecom circles of Delhi, Haryana, Kerala and Mumbai.
Qualcomm had spent US$1 billion to acquire BWA spectrum in
those 4 circles. The deal gave Airtel a 4G presence in 18
circles. On 4 July 2013, Airtel announced that it had acquired
an additional 2% equity share capital (making its stake 51%)in
all the four BWA entities of Qualcomm, thereby making them

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its subsidiaries. On 18 October 2013, Airtel announced that it

had acquired 100 percent equity shares of WBSPL for an
undisclosed sum,[making it a wholly owned subsidiary.

Joint Venture Agreements

Airtel-Vodafone :- On 1 May 2007, Jersey Airtel and Guernsey

Airtel, both wholly owned subsidiaries of the Bharti Group,
announced they would launch mobile services in the
British Crown Dependency islands of Jersey and Guernsey
under the brand name Airtel-Vodafone after signing an
agreement with Vodafone. Airtel-Vodafone operates a 3G
network in Jersey and Guernsey.

Airtel-Ericsson :-In July 2011, Bharti signed a five-year

agreement with Ericsson, who will manage and optimize
Airtel's mobile networks in Africa. Ericsson will modernize and
upgrade Airtel's mobile networks in Africa with the latest
technology including its multi standard RBS 6000 base station.
As part of the modernization, Ericsson will also provide
technology consulting, network planning & design and
network deployment. Ericsson has been the managed services
and network technology partner in the Asian operation.

SBI-Airtel:-SBI and Airtel have joined hands to form a new

company that offers mobile banking services. The initiative is
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aimed at financial inclusion of the un-banked population in the

country. Under the new initiative Airtel outlets and retailers
served as business correspondents (BC) of SBI (State Bank of
India) and the banks customers are able to deposit and
withdraw money from their accounts at Airtel outlets. The
incorporation of the joint venture, likely to be called SBI-Airtel,
is completed on 31st March, 2011. They are also able to
transfer this money to others electronically as well from Airtel
and SBI outlets. Services are including loans, insurance, credit
cards and purchase transactions. Mobile banking is cloud
based service accessible via mobiles, PCs and bank branches
(ATMs and BC outlets included). Customers are also able to
use SBIs network for their banking activities. Airtel has more
than 1.5 million retail touch points in rural and semi urban
areas, compared to SBIs 13,000 branches. Together SBI and
Airtel invested Rs 100 crore in the joint venture. SBI owns 51
per cent of the new company and Airtel owns the remaining
49 %. The investment is in addition to infrastructure, which is
already in place. SBI appointed the chief executive officer of
the new organization while the chief operating officer is from
Airtel. While SBI takes care of the banking, Airtel contributes
to its distribution and technology.

MARKETING STRATEGIES BY BHARTI

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Airtel uses mix of segmentation strategies to segment its offerings like basic Call
/SMS plans, prepaid / Post-paid plans, VAS Data, caller tunes etc. Apart from
geographically segmenting the market in East, West, North, South & central, the
market is also segmented in each region on the basis of demographic variables like
age, Income, Social groups. Different geographic regions are handled independently
and different campaigns are run according to the preferences of people in each region.
Airtel has targeted the generation Z of 15-25 ages, generation X & baby Boomers by
using different campaigns over the period of time i.e. campaign like Har Ek friend
Zaruri hota hai/ Jo tera hai wo mera hai to target Gen Z and recently launched
campaign of one touch internet targeting Gen X & baby boomers. Airtel has been
successful in top-of-the-mind recall amongst cellular phone users and is enjoying a
leadership position in most markets. After changing its logo it has repositioned itself
as Young, Energetic & International brand. It has evolved itself as a torch bearer of
the telecom industry in India. Airtel has extended its infrastructure in the extreme
parts of the country for nationwide penetration, creating competitive edge over other
players in terms of low operational cost, better network connectivity, coverage, low
call drops & better customer service. Airtel developed a sustainable advantage
through its excellent network of telecom towers. In many locations, newer entrants
found it cheaper to rent Airtels existing infrastructure rather than setup new towers.
Also spending extensively on advertising & promotions helped it to become a market
leader. Word of mouth is one of the strongest forms of promotions & Airtel has
completely leveraged that. Airtel is always known for its innovation and some of its
products were the lifetime prepaid, Airtel live, Hello tunes, My Plans, M-check are
pioneer strategies & the list is never ending.

Branding & Positioning Strategy21 | P a g e

The aim is to highlight the rebranding and constant repositioning done by Airtel.
Airtel has undergone a very huge rebranding which has cost millions to the company.
The aim is to highlight how it has impacted Airtel. Airtel despite being the number
one company (with widest consumer base and largest market presence) has been
constantly rebranding and repositioning itself. Airtel is the number one telecom
service provider in India, its the only service provider which has its presence in all
the telecom service circles of India. Even then it changes its logo, jingle and tagline
very regularly. And it has managed to maintain its top position. Hence I wish to
present the strategy implemented by Airtel. Airtel has been constantly repositioning
itself. Their target customer base has been increasing to cover different segments
whether its youth or senior citizens, urban or rural customers they have specialized
packages for all. Airtel has spent lots of money in revamping the brand in order to
appeal all segments of market. The rebranding of Airtel in November 2010, has
worked in favor of Airtel. Airtel is a unique case as despite being the top company in
the Indian telecom circle (with widest consumer base and presence across all the
telecom circles of India). Airtel has an emotional connect with its customers. Airtel
has invested lots of money in constantly changing itself to suit the different
requirements of its customers and adapting itself to the changing environment. 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. Airtel is a JV between SingTel, (Singapore, Telecom Italia, Italy), and Bharti
Telecom. Airtel has not changed the brand name despite the various rebranding.

Initial Branding -

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Initially, the target group was elite professionals since tariff rates were high. Airtel
positioned itself as an inspirational and 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 "Airtel celebrates the spirit of leadership" and "The first choice of the
corporate leaders" emphasized that stance. The Leadership campaign was reportedly
successful.

SIGNIFICANCE OF EACH TAGLINE

1. Power to keep in Touch (1995-1998)
The tag line 'Power to keep in Touch' used in the brand promise was

designed to make the user feel 'in controlpowerful'.

Positioned in premium category aimed at elite class of society.
Perception of aspirational and lifestyle brand

2. Touch tomorrow (1999-2001)

As the category developed with prices going down sharply, Airtel began
talking to a wider spectrum of potential users. This gives the birth to the

new Tagline.
Airtel started talking to new segments by positively positioning and

establishing itself as a brand that improved the quality of life.

New look and the feel of the brand tagline indicated the core values of the

brand i.e. leadership, performance and dynamism.

Cellular service operators had dropped their prices to target new customer

segments.
The advertising became two-pronged: a product-driven communication
that showcased new offerings like the Magic prepaid card, and an
emotional communication to connect with younger people.
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3. Live Every Moment (2002-2003)

Rediffussion DY&R, which is the ad agency that took charge of
revamping Airtel's brand image thought, To become a Indian leader, Airtel

need to change its tagline

This was the first time A R Rehman had agreed to work for any brand,
anywhere in the world. The music from the commercial became the most

downloaded ring tone in the history of telecommunications.

Tagline denotes that each and every person in India live every moment

(emotions, feelings etc.) of the life with Airtel.

Airtel started to look from a regional level to pan India position.

4. Express yourself (2003-2009)

Rediffussion DY&R, which is the ad agency that took charge of
revamping Airtel's brand image, again changed the tagline to give better

tagline to Airtel which catches some emotional appeal.

'Express yourself' was successfully launched taking the ownership of the
entire space of communication and strengthening the emotional bond

Airtel enjoys with its customers.

The masterminds behind the 'Express Yourself' campaign are the joint

vice-presidents: Mr. Prashant Godbole and Zarwan Patel.

Airtel is a market leader in the cellular network and they wanted a very
fresh and contemporary idea to build a brand image which their customers

could identify".
To justify this tagline Airtel comes up with an ad commercial (Barriers
break when people talk) which becomes popular among the people.

5. Dil Jo Chahe Paas Laye (2010-2011)

The new tagline was introduced to target the corporate and postpaid
subscribers with its new communication.
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Became Aspirational and lifestyle brand.

Bringing people closer around the globe.
Wherever you go carry your entertainment with you.
Entertainment anywhere any day.

6. Har ek Friend zaroori hota hai (2012-2013)

The new tagline was introduced to target the youth with an evergreen
theme of Friendship and its relevance. It served to position Airtel as a
brand that stands for friendship, and helps one to stay in touch with all
kinds of friends
7. The Smartphone Network (2014-Present)
The new tagline was introduced to promote 3G and 4G service and
network connectivity in smartphone.

Brand Logo
1. Airtel started talking to new segments by positively positioning and
establishing itself as a brand that improved the quality of life. New look
and the feel of the brand indicated the core values of the brand i.e.
leadership, performance and dynamism.

The logo was black, uppercase bold lettering; and the baseline was "the

power to keep in touch".

"From day one, it was decided that the brand should always connote

leadership - be it in network, innovations, offerings or services.

Indicated the core values of the brand were leadership, performance,
enthusiasm and dynamism.

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2. Airtel changed its logo, the new look and feel of the brand signify the core
values of the Airtel brand accompanied by a set of supportive variables
like courtesy, politeness and efficiency.

Change from BLACK to Dark Red Background is to refresh the brand and

give it a new look.

Airtel wants to show its leadership by having only one letter capital in

new brand logo.

3. Airtel came out with a new logo that signifies a strong, contemporary and
confident symbol for a brand that was always ahead of the rest.

It had two solid, red rectangular forms whose counter forms create an open

doorway.
Capital A showed leadership and red dot on i showed innovation.
As it is seen from the secondary data and primary data that there was no

change in the brand name since its inception.

The change is made to make the logo stylish and classic.

4. Airtel came up with a new logo. The new logo was supposed to give Airtel
and the brand a more youthful and international" look.

The Logo is a modern representation of the letter a on a bright red

background.
The unique symbol is an interpretation of the a in Airtel.
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The curved shape and the gentle highlights on the red color make it warm

and inviting, almost as if it were a living object.

The color Red shows the heritage. It is the color of energy and passion that
expresses the dynamism that has made airtel the success it is today, in

India and now on the global stage.

The logo is called The Wave.
With new logo The airtel signature tune has also been refreshed by A R
Rahman making it youthful and dynamic in line with the new visual
identity. Like the earlier tune, which has made history as worlds most
downloaded mobile music with over 150 million downloads, the maestro
has once again delivered a master piece. The new tune retains the essence
of the original but uses an inspiring musical style, with a universal appeal,
that will be loved by listeners the world over. The unveiling of the new
identity also marks the 200 million customers milestone for airtel. airtel
crossed 50 million customers in October 2007 and 100 million in May,
2009. The company added the next 100 million customers in just 18
months. This further cements airtels positions as one of worlds leading
telecom companies.

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Umbrella Branding Strategy

AIRTEL incorporated umbrella branding strategy, a marketing practice that involves
selling many related products under a single brand name.

It involves creating huge brand equity for a single brand, and thereafter leveraging
that over multiple products. On the flipside, bad reputation of any one product, may
affect the equity of all the other products using the same brand name.

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Co-Branding Strategy
Airtel made partnership with brands, it formed an alliance to work together, creating
marketing synergy. The object for this is to combine the strength of two brands, in
order to increase the premium consumers are willing to pay, to combine the different
perceived properties associated with these brands with a single product. Ultimately,
co-branding helps both the partners as each contributes some aspect of its brand
(expertise, distribution, status) to create an offering that neither could develop as
effectively on their own.

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In 2000, Hungama ties up with airtel for incentive scheme. With this tie-up,
one can get access to Hungama site anywhere. Airtel Hungama will provide

mobile entertainment and gaming for users.

In Nov 2006, Airtel and Google announced a strategic partnership that will

allow airtel to bring Google search to Airtel Live.

In Aug 2009, Airtel and Nokia in exclusive tie-up. Airtel offers free outgoing

calls, SMSs and data usage with Nokia handsets.

In 2011 Airtel cobranded with blackberry to offer range of applications.
US based Apple Inc to bring the popular GSM based iPhone in the country.
In 2012, Opera Software which will offer a customized and co-branded
version of the worlds most popular Opera Mini internet browser (over 168

million user) for Airtel mobile customers across its operations.

On 1st August 2012, Airtel co-branded merchandise with the F1 team and offer
mobile content because of building on its title sponsorship of the Grand Prix.

Pricing strategy of Airtel

The company uses competitive pricing strategy just like any other network providers
because of the competition which is present in this sector. However, Airtel also
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provides flexible pricing mechanism depending on the prevailing market conditions.

For instance, when the company relaxes taxation, it also reduces its prices across all
affected products. The make my plan introduced by Airtel was a smart strategy as
customers could now modify their plan as they see fit.

Distribution Strategy of AirtelCompany

Franchisee

Distributor

Dealer

Dealers

Customer

Customer

In India, Airtel has one of the largest bouquets of mobile services offerings
for customers - including 2G, 3G, 4G, Mobile Commerce and other Value
Added Services. Its distribution channel is spread across 1.5 Million
outlets, with network presence in 5,121 census and 464,045 non-census
towns and villages in India covering approximately 86.8% of the countrys
population. Airtel has the largest rural mobile customer base in India with
over

100 million mobile customers (from rural markets). Bharti uses the

small retailers and the local shops to retail its recharge coupons to customers. The
company whose operations are concentrated in and around Delhi. It 27 Franchisees
and 15 Distributors- They also have 8 'instant access cash card counters- Each
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franchises or distributor can have any number of dealers under him as long as the
person is approved by the Airtel authority. Each franchise has to invest Rupees Ten
Lakhs. To obtain a franchise and should employ an officer recruited by Airtel. This
person acts as a liaison between the company and the franchises. The franchises can
it any number of dealers as long as their territories do not overlap. But unfortunately
Airtel has not been very successful in controlling territorial overlaps of dealers. The
franchises can carry out his/her own promotional strategy. For this the company
contributes 75% of the money and the franchises contributes 25% of the money. The
dealers under the franchise receive the same commission. The franchises and the
dealer obtain the feedback from the customers and they are sent through the liaison
officer on a day-to-day basis to Airtel. The dealer has to invest Rupees. One Lakh as
an initial investment. The dealer of Airtel are not allowed to provide any other
operators' service. Target set for distributors and the dealers is 100 -150 activations
per month. Hence the dealers can also go for their own promotions like banners and
discounts on festivals etc. The dealer provides service promptly. The consumer on
providing the bill of purchase for the handset and proof of residence has only to wait
an hour before getting connected. The staff of the dealers and the franchisees are
provided training by the Airtel personnel.This significantly reduces costs in terms of
overhead expenses. This distribution strategy has been a success for Bharti and has
enabled the company to improve its penetration and add to its profits as well.

Promotional Strategies

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Airtel spends crores of rupees every year in advertisements in all avenues of mass
communication. While radio happens to be the cheapest means of mass
communication, the most widely mode is that of television. Though advertising on
television is the costliest proponent among all the modes of communication, print
media is also used aggressively by Airtel to serve its purposes.
It creates pervasiveness, allows Airtel to be in the eyes of the consumers all the time.
Even the audience is not obligated to pay heed to the advertisements; the high
creativity quotient of Airtel advertisements makes them virtually impossible to get
unnoticed. Various market experts have rated Airtel Ads very highly on various
parameters.
It also amplifies the message Airtel wants to send to its consumers. The ads score
reasonably well on the imagery and music. In fact, the catch tune of Airtel is one of
the most popular jingles in the Indian ad industry. The genius of the Oscar winning
A.R. Rahman is behind the catchy tune.
The trust factor of Airtel amplifies greatly with the caliber of its brand ambassadors.
The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan,
Vidya Balan, A.R. Rahman have been the brand ambassadors of Airtel at some point
of time or the other.
One of the reasons for the lasting effects of the Airtel ads has been the reinvention of
the content displayed. Airtels campaign strategy is designed keeping in mind its
marketing strategy. The tone, tenor and the stance of the visual ads are designed to
convey the image of a market leader in terms of its market share. It tries to portray
the image of being a "first mover every time" and that of a "market leader".
Most successful AD-COMPAIGNS of Airtel1.

Airtel Jingle- A.R. Rahman

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This music went on to become the Airtel Signature Tune. The signature
tune of Airtel is composed by Indian musician A. R. Rahman. One network
that connects India, like A. R Rahman moves India with his music. The tune
became hugely popular and is the world's most downloaded mobile music
with over 150million downloads.

2.

Join The Dots

Few relation are very important, they cant be avoided, when relations are
based on love and affections, distance is nothing and conversation is
possible, Keep connected with Airtel

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3.

Communication Boundaries

Express yourself platform making the Barriers break when people talk
is a highly emotional ad campaign connecting people.
Its about Connecting cultures, longing to communicate without any barriers
the society places, making new friends, caring, unity, peace, free
mindedness.

4.

Endless Goodbye

A man and his girl are never apart even after they say goodbye. With
Airtel 3G video calls, you always stay close to your loved ones, no matter
how far you are.
Its about the people who always want to see and talk with each other.
It was nominated as Best Ad in CANNES Festival in 2010.

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5.

Street Performer

Dil Jo Chahe Pass Laye

Wherever you go, carry your entertainment with you, Entertainment
anywhere any day.

6.

Together Good Things Happen

The growth of Airtel is related to Shahrukh khan from its No one to someone
to stardom, which is connected to 110 million fans. Unity, togetherness,
networking, Aspiration, chasing the dreams, relationships, success, life is all
about experience.You cannot be alone when 110 million people are
connected with you

7.

Har ek friend Zaroori hota hai

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Airtel Har ek friend Zaroori hota hai ad campaign

The catchiest viral-ad-campaign was created by Airtel. So popular is the
jingle, everyone finds themselves humming the tune to Har ek friend
zaroori hota hai. But nevertheless they were able to gather a more-thanexpected fan following for their brand, this financial year. Be it the massive
number of downloads, status updates, or Airtel song sharing on social media,
the brand was able to strike a chord with the urban youth a major chunk of
their target consumers. The ad served to position Airtel as a brand that stands
for friendship, and helps one to stay in touch with all kinds of friends i.e. the
early morning friend, the late night savior, , the ones who borrow money
from you, the ones who pay for you and the list is endless.
8.

Jo tera hai wo mera hai

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Friendship is all about sharing

The ad coupled with brilliant picturization, excellent score & upbeat mood
is literally creating quite a buzz on digital and electronic spaces. It was
created by Taproot.
Its about Relation, happiness, Youngsters, Masti, Cool factor, memorable
moments in friends.

Airtel Brand is all about.

Teenagers, youngsters,
Special relations-family, friends, love
Breaking of communication barriers
Express Yourself
Love-Affection-Togetherness-bonding
Every friend is important
Dil Jo Chahe Pass Laye
More than 185 million people networking
& many more..

COMPANYS FINANCIAL STATUS

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Conclusion
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From this exhaustive study on Bharti Airtel Ltd., we got to learn a lot about how
Airtel Established itself a market leader in the Indian telecom space. The journey was
not a bed of roses for Airtel. They faced numerous stumbling roadblocks along the
way and overcame most of them. This is because they applied and adopted sound
strategies relating to Outsourcing, Marketing, Advertising, creating Customer Value
and Satisfaction, Positioning, etc. The above facts are proved through the survey we
conducted which emphasizes the fact that Airtel continues to be the most preferred
telecom operator in our country, and also amongst the youth.
Even though the growth of the company is stagnating in recent times, and the pressure
from competitors and regulatory bodies is always on the increase, new strategies and
innovations, acquisitions, penetration into international markets better schemes for
customers should ensure that Airtel keeps its nose above its strong competition. The
prospects of Airtel continue to remain strong because it is built around very strong
fundamentals, and this growth should be visible in the near future.

Bibliography
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Bharti Airtel website http://www.airtel.in/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharti_Airtel
Text book- Strategic Management
Author Michael Vaz
Publisher- Manan Prakashan

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