Vodafone – Drive into the big league: Brand analysis #39

Vodafone recently launched a campaign and this time it is notpromoting an offering. Recognising the pride, thought and effort that goes intothe creation of a logo, the campaign offers viewers a chance to sport theircompany’s logo on a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes race car during the much awaitedGrand Prix to be held in the Buddh International Circuit near New Delhi, India.Much part of the commercial engages the viewer in the commercial before itdelivers a ‘power-punch’ of a message. 

Vodafone in its earlier campaign – Happyto Borrow (read about the campaign here) too follows this format andeffectively delivers the idea of borrowing talk-time from one’s friends. Thecurrent campaign simply elevates the brand higher creating an aspirationalvalue for the brand. The campaign in its multiple variants is a clever way ofengaging the audience while leveraging on Vodafone’s own brand power during theupcoming F1 race. 

With stiffening competition, lowering call rates and plateauing subscriptions in urban cities, smaller players such as Videocon, Etisalat and Loop Mobile are already considering taking advantage of the exit policy announced by TRAI. Bigger players such as Airtel, Vodafone and Idea in turn areconsolidating their operations, marketing and brand strategy to gain moremileage from their marketing campaigns. With little to differentiate theirservices, they have resorted to activate creative campaigns in a bid to drivecustomer loyalty. Airtel and Tata Docomo (read more about their recent campaign here) are following the ‘Connecting people’theme while Idea humours situations from the average Indian’s daily life (readmore about their recent campaign here). With such industry trends, Vodafone ison the right road to taking the brand higher on the recall chart.