Market

Despite intense competition the economic miracle of the telephony market in India has swept everyone to new crests. In this effervescent scenario where penetration has exceeded 38% and more than 450 million telephones are connected to the mobile network, the spectacular achievements of Vodafone stand out as brilliant accomplishments. Already Vodafone has 82.84 million customers and boasts the countrys second largest base of GSM subscribers. With this, the companys share of the Indian mobile telephone market has risen to 18%. This is most impressive given the fact that at the moment fourteen operators offer mobile services in India. Not only are numbers for both GSM and CDMA players rushing northward, the introduction of 3G will add a new twist to an already interesting journey. For waiting to throw their hats into the ring are several new players each with their own weapons and strategies who stand at the altar of optimism despite the global meltdown. Whatever the outcome of the emerging battles one thing is clear: the Indian subscriber will be the ultimate beneficiary.

awareness level of 80%. What followed was a domino effect. Bouquets landed fast and furious, particularly from media pundits. Vodafone was awarded the Grand EMVIE for media effectiveness in 2008. In the EFFIES 2008, held by Ad Club, Mumbai, Vodafone won Gold, Silver and a Bronze. It was also the most awarded brand across categories at the ABBY 2008. 2009 was another spectacular year. The Zoozoo campaign became a matter of intense debate and speculation. While India deliberated, Advertising Age in New York listed it as the worlds top viral campaign, two weeks in a row. The Zoozoos entered the chart at number one the first time any campaign had achieved this on its debut.

History
Vodafone commenced service on 1st January 1985. Within fifteen years, the network had muscled its way to the top, becoming the largest company in Europe. Almost every second UK citizen had a mobile phone and a third of them were powered by Vodafone. The Vodafone story is one of belief, investment, innovation and awardwinning customer service. Above all, its one of an ability to deliver through a complex world of business, the tremendous benefits of mobile communications. India being the de rigueur destination, Vodafone acquired a majority stake in Hutchison Essar in 2007 to launch Brand Vodafone in association with the Essar Group. Essar is one of Indias largest corporate houses with interests spanning a wide spectrum of businesses in manufacturing and services like steel, oil and gas, power, telecom, business process outsourcing, shipping, logistics and engineering.

Achievements
In Bollywood parlance, Vodafone Essar India has had a fantastic box office debut. On 21st September 2007, the country witnessed one of its biggest brand launches, ever. The task was overwhelming. It called for seamlessly switching some 40 million subscribers from the much-loved, iconic brand in Hutch to Vodafone a brand few had heard of and fewer had experienced with out missing a single step or losing a single customer. The launch was a stunning success. In a continuous tracking exercise it was revealed that on the 28th September 2007, seven days after launch, the brand had achieved an

Product
Vodafone has well-mapped benchmarks for developing new products and services. The questions that trigger thought are simple and rooted in common sense: will the product empower the customer make the most of the opportunities that come his or her way? Will it

usher a positive change? The answers reflect in all its product offerings. Vodafone feels that one way of empowering people is to offer value products at affordable price points, making it easier for them to go mobile and make the most of the opportunities that come their way or even create new ones. The Vodafone Magic Box is a fine example. Apart from the handset, which comes with a two-year replacement warranty, the pack offers bonus cards, free talk time, caller tunes and a lifelong prepaid connection. Today, there is a range of ten Vodafone Magic Boxes across varying price points each developed to suit a different customer need. Theres also Chhota Recharge for prepaid wherein customers can recharge for as low as Rs. 10 (US$ 0.20). While the benefits of technology are surely cascading, Vodafones Value-Added Services leaves consumers spoilt for choice. They can choose SMS, MMS, caller tunes, ring tones, wallpapers, voice SMS, Vodafone Alerts, Vodafone live, amongst a host of offerings. In fact, the brand has established an enviable reputation for developing, customer-relevant services. With Busy Message, Vodafone provided customers a fun method of telling callers that they were busy and couldnt take their calls immediately. Vodafone, in fact, is all about innovations. Who else could have thought of living the magic of fables with Amar Chitra Katha on a mobile phone or finding a match on Shaadi.com. Vodafones customer-friendly service makes it all possible.

Recent Developments
Between September 2007 when Vodafone launched its operations in sixteen circles in India

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and now, the company has grown organically. It not only straddles all of Indias 23 circles but also brings with it, its worldwide experience that now helps 82.84 million subscribers stay in touch with the rest of the world. Flush with its success in India, Vodafone is also extending its popular ring back tone service to customers in emerging markets, outside of India. But all these expansion plans hinge on the answer to one critical question: how does a company energise an entire workforce to talk in one service language and seamlessly move forward? The solution was found in providing each employee with a sense of purpose and a higher calling. The Happy to Help initiative was the key. It was crafted to be a public display of positive intent to serve; it was an initiative that resulted in a tangible increase in the number of self-service kiosks, mobile stores, Vodafone outlets and mini stores.

profound example of this than Vodafone letting loose on an unsuspecting public a bunch of eggshaped, gibberishspeaking and hysterically laughing little white creatures called Zoozoos. Each of the 29 Zoozoo commercials revolved around a Vodafone product or service. Soon Zoozoos were everywhere. From the internet to newspapers and magazines to TV channels, Zoozoos swamped even coffee break banter. Facebook had a Zoozoo fan page while the Zoozoo Youtube channel became the most subscribed. Zoozoo became the fourth most searched word on Google.

Brand Values
Consider this impressive data: five continents, 31 countries and 315

Promotion
The task of launching Vodafone was unenviable. But the result was everyones envy. How do you make a transition from Brand Hutch that people loved, to a completely new entity called Vodafone and still evoke the same emotions? The answer was devastatingly simple. Take the most endearing brand icon of Hutch the Pug and give it a new home called Vodafone. To support this Vodafone pulled off a small media coup: it created a 24-hour roadblock by buying every single spot on all thirteen channels of STAR TV. Close on its heels was the customer service campaign kicked off by the Happy to Help initiative. Highlighting the breadth of Vodafones service network the campaign also launched a number of other service-oriented initiatives each designed to simplify lives and differentiate Vodafone from the others. There cannot be a more

at them. The values spring from three human attributes warmth, optimism and personal. Warmth is one of the most basic of all emotions which people embrace unconditionally. It blunts the hard edges of the day and leaves people refreshed. Optimism is the canvas everyone works with. It is a window that opens up to the world of daydreams, beaches, mountaintops, love, laughter, promotions and pay raises. It is the road which almost always leads to success and allows the creation of products that benefit people. Personal is about transparency, about candour and sincerity that helps people feel comfortable with technology. Vodafone understands that there is one simple truth about people: they are, without exception, bundles of emotion. By making an emotional connect with them, the brand is able to enter their lives and stay there. For Vodafone that is home.

www.vodafone.co.in
Things you didnt know about

Vodafone
million customers worldwide as at June 2009. Numbers have a way of introducing companies to people. But numbers are only calling cards. The real message is the vision. Vodafone is singular about being a communications leader in an increasingly connected world. True to that calling, for Vodafone, the terms brand philosophy and brand values arent something frightfully clinical or consciously mundane. They are an insight into life and the philosophy is simply power to customers. Its about empowering people and understanding the challenges that life throws When the advertising with the Pug was first introduced, India fell in love with it; the price of a Pug pup shot up to Rs. 80,000 (US$ 1670) Zoozoo rakhis sold for up to Rs. 350 (US$ 7.30) on the internet during Raksha Bandhan The Zoozoos, believed to be animated, are actually real people in body suits Today, cakes, cookies and theme birthday parties with Zoozoos as central characters have become a rage Over 6000 Indian blogs carry reference to the Vodafone Zoozoo story The Zoozoo campaign is the first-ever Indian entry to reach Ad Ages top viral film list

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