Study on Advertising Activities of Airtel in the Indian Telecom Market

ABSTRACT: 

The purpose of the research paper is to study the promotional activities of Airtel in the Indian telecom market. Promotional activities not only help in enhancing the customer base but also pave the way to better corporate image. A company needs better promotional tools in order to survive and sustain the turbulent Indian market and the prevailing scenario. Bharti Airtel Limited or commonly known as Airtel is one of India’s most popular providers of integrated telecommunication services. The company is a major and vital player in Indian market in terms of telecom sector with relatively large and strong customer base. The company provides a wide array of products and services. Even if Airtel faces strong completion from rival firms suchas Jio and Vodafone Idea, it developed a sustainable advantage through its excellent network of telecom towers in the Indian telecom market. The company has seen a high rise and momentum of growth in the industry with its continuous efforts towards the marketing strategies. Spending gargantuan amount of money on advertising & promotion helped Airtel to become a market leader. Its penetration in India is impressive because the services and networks can be found in the remotest regions of the India. It is engaged in aggressive marketing strategy not only in traditional forms but also in social network marketing. Word of mouth is one of the strongest forms of promotions &Airtel has leveraged that. In order to retain maximum customers and also attract new ones, the company is trying to provide as many products and services as possible in order 

to withstand the challenges of the market. The decision of rebranding in the year 2010 turned out to be a big mistake. Airtel is one such brand which is known for its innovation. The brand also changed its logo to reposition itself as a young and international brand. The brand has evolved from a technological format to a communicational form through continuous evolution and improved marketing strategies too. Its new promotional techniques create a buzz in the market. Whether it is the jingles such as “Jo tera hai” or the Airtel girl, Airtel knows that how customers can easily be attracted to its stores. The brand used Bollywood faces such as Shahrukh Khan, Vidya Balan and Amitabh Bachhan to promote and endorse the brand in the market. The God of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar has been a piece of their notice crusades as well. The organization additionally figured out how to make its mark tune from Oscar winning artist A.R. Rahman which has turned out to be a standout amongst the most downloaded tunes in India. They go regional with the advertisement efforts so that regional customer gets attached to the brand easily. The company also offers special discounts and offers to its subscribers. New promotional scheme being followed by Airtelis that the subscribers who opt for Rs. 250 monthly plan can get the life cover up to 4 lakhs. Following the same methodology can bring best results to the company in future as well.