Amidst all the tumultuous times that telecom saw in India, the Bharti Airtel brand has managed to stay on top. But things are getting even tougher...
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Chairman and Group CEO Bharti Enterprise Sunil Bharti Mittal’s entry into the telecom business was accidental. Mittal, an importer of portable electric generators, was overnight out of business in the early 1980s when the then government banned imports of generators in India. It was his sheer enterprising ability and sensing of opportunity in difficulty, which took him ahead. While roaming around in Taiwan, he happened to notice the popularity of push-button phones. At that time, Indian users were still struggling with rotary dials phones with no speed dials or a redial button. He sensed the opportunity and started promoting push button telephones, answering and fax machines under the Beetel brand. Mittal’s vision turned the Rs.20,000 investment, which he had borrowed from his father to start the manufacturing of bicycle crankshafts for local manufacturers, into a $ 8.3 billion company (as per Forbes India).
Mittal also learned that while your first venture is the closest to your heart, it is rarely your big bang. In 1995, Mittal entered into the telecom services space with Airtel, which ultimately became the big bang he was looking for. At that time, the cost of handsets was around Rs.45,000, equivalent to the price of a pre-owned Fiat; and call charges were as high as Rs.16 per minute. But Mittal was confident about the services as it had given Indians the “Power to keep in Touch” with their loved ones, friends and business associates 24X7. And that is the reason why Bharti Airtel launched its first positioning as ‘Power to keep in touch’. At that time the target audience of the services was the elite group of age 25 years and above. This positioning was retained for over five years.
In 1999, when the new National Telecom Policy (NTP) was announced, the rules of the game suddenly changed. The new policy replaced the license fee with a revenue sharing scheme and extended the period of license to 20 years from 10. The service provider passed the benefits to users, resulting in cheaper tariff rates and greater penetration into Tier I cities. Mobile tariffs had come down to Rs.4 per minute and handsets became available at around Rs.15,000. Handsets became slim and SMS was introduced as a service. Pre-paid services were born, helping users to keep a tab on the usage. Bharti then repositioned itself with the punch line – Touch Tomorrow – and also started targeting youths below 25 years with handsome purchasing power.
Come 2002 and Airtel roped in A. R. Rehman. It was the first and last brand that A. R. Rehman got associated with. At the same time, Airtel also repositioned itself on the emotional plank with ‘Live every moment’. Since then, Bharti’s branding exercise has retained an emotional appeal. “Over the years, the brand has evolved to reflect the changing environment and customer preferences. In 2002, we introduced the current identity of our brand and since then, the revenues of this brand have grown by nearly 50 times, with our customer base increasing by 80% year on year,” says Mohit Beotra, Head- Emerging Business, Bharti Airtel.
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Chairman and Group CEO Bharti Enterprise Sunil Bharti Mittal’s entry into the telecom business was accidental. Mittal, an importer of portable electric generators, was overnight out of business in the early 1980s when the then government banned imports of generators in India. It was his sheer enterprising ability and sensing of opportunity in difficulty, which took him ahead. While roaming around in Taiwan, he happened to notice the popularity of push-button phones. At that time, Indian users were still struggling with rotary dials phones with no speed dials or a redial button. He sensed the opportunity and started promoting push button telephones, answering and fax machines under the Beetel brand. Mittal’s vision turned the Rs.20,000 investment, which he had borrowed from his father to start the manufacturing of bicycle crankshafts for local manufacturers, into a $ 8.3 billion company (as per Forbes India).
Mittal also learned that while your first venture is the closest to your heart, it is rarely your big bang. In 1995, Mittal entered into the telecom services space with Airtel, which ultimately became the big bang he was looking for. At that time, the cost of handsets was around Rs.45,000, equivalent to the price of a pre-owned Fiat; and call charges were as high as Rs.16 per minute. But Mittal was confident about the services as it had given Indians the “Power to keep in Touch” with their loved ones, friends and business associates 24X7. And that is the reason why Bharti Airtel launched its first positioning as ‘Power to keep in touch’. At that time the target audience of the services was the elite group of age 25 years and above. This positioning was retained for over five years.
In 1999, when the new National Telecom Policy (NTP) was announced, the rules of the game suddenly changed. The new policy replaced the license fee with a revenue sharing scheme and extended the period of license to 20 years from 10. The service provider passed the benefits to users, resulting in cheaper tariff rates and greater penetration into Tier I cities. Mobile tariffs had come down to Rs.4 per minute and handsets became available at around Rs.15,000. Handsets became slim and SMS was introduced as a service. Pre-paid services were born, helping users to keep a tab on the usage. Bharti then repositioned itself with the punch line – Touch Tomorrow – and also started targeting youths below 25 years with handsome purchasing power.
Come 2002 and Airtel roped in A. R. Rehman. It was the first and last brand that A. R. Rehman got associated with. At the same time, Airtel also repositioned itself on the emotional plank with ‘Live every moment’. Since then, Bharti’s branding exercise has retained an emotional appeal. “Over the years, the brand has evolved to reflect the changing environment and customer preferences. In 2002, we introduced the current identity of our brand and since then, the revenues of this brand have grown by nearly 50 times, with our customer base increasing by 80% year on year,” says Mohit Beotra, Head- Emerging Business, Bharti Airtel.
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Proves Its Mettle Once Again.....
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS
Planman Technologies
