One thing in world that I enjoy doing the most is Watching Cricket live on TV. Unlike many others, to me, cricket means not just a GAME but indeed a LIFE- A wanna be profession. And as you all know- as a MARCOM professional, I cannot withstand the tendency to attend and abbreviate each ADVERTISEMENT (AD) that gets played in between and thus ensuring a real band for the buck for my time spent on watching Cricket. I don’t know which inspires what, but I end-up reading equally into the mindset of the players as much as I do with each AD I get to see.

So, courtesy IPL-2, I want to hit the circuit with my analysis on one of the most popular and promising business segment today "The cellular companies-- MOBOs".

Firstly, being a citizen of India- The most Populous Democracy of the world and an acute and fast growing economy of the world- a mobile phone is much more than a necessary commodity. To put this in other (business) words- A lucrative and a most promising commercial market housing the people with world's fourth largest Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).

Which inevitably makes India as the Darling of the World's Marketers, especially, the mobile phone makers and network carriers, because, all you have to do is- selling to consumers who not only needs it but also capable of owning it. In Dhirubhai Ambani's words - Har Aadmi ke pass Mobile.

So what it translates to the AD world is- you have to sell your message to each and every Indian who is a current and prospective owner of a mobile phone. So, the positioning has to be a very clear and distinct that appeal to everyone in the target market.

Let’s look at the Positioning of the FOUR major Mobile Service Providers of India- Vodafone, Airtel, Idea, and TATA Indicom

Considering the significant number of prospective buyers in India already own mobile phones- now the objective is to "1) Educate them what all they can do with their mobile 2) To sell various Value Added Services which are designed keeping the individual users in mind.

Vodafone- Ever since, Hutchinson Essar has forayed into India, they have always been on the threshold of Creative Advertising Campaign for their products and services. They have handled the Brand identity Transitioning very professionally when they changed from Orange to Pink (when Orange quits Hutch Alliance) and Pink to Red (when Vodafone took over the Hutch).
If you still remember one of the early ads of Hutch with a kid and dog- Wherever you go our network follows, one of the most successful and creative AD campaigns. Both the caption and taking has been a smash hit, as even today, am sure you hear the tagline being quoted somewhere or the other. The sequel campaign with the tagline "Happy to Help" was again set the perfect example of MOBO Branding.

And today, Vodafone chooses the IPL-2 as a platform to launch it's new Brand Identity- The Zoo Zoo ADs. The objective here is to- carry the uniqueness of Hutch ADs yet establish Vodafone as an Independent Brand.

From a Vodafone's perspective a long term investment in building the Brand equity. I believe, the Zoo Zoos is a SUPER HIT idea. The taking of the ADs has been very simple, witty and clean. The Zoo Zoo characterization has been wonderfully hilarious as its tickling the funny bone of each soul that watching the AD. I am absolutely confident that this will boost the numbers by multiple folds in future.

Airtel- This time the story has been the other way round. Airtel for sure is the First Choice for customers when in terms of its connectivity, wide reach and customer service. But right from the day-1, they lacked the creativity in their advertisements & promotional tactics courtesy to their Fuzzy positioning.

This time, they hit the deck hard one more time with same (age) old couple- Madhavan and Vidya Balan. The ADs have passed their prime and now appear rather disgusting and distasteful. I don’t still know why still to bank only the On-Screen chemistry of the (Not So Young) couple to sell your message. Even if you want to do so, why the hell Maddy and Vidya, you have much better looking couple than Maddy and Vidya in Bollywood today, who recently did a lot of PR investment for gossiping around their affairs, Ranbir and Deepika, Kareena and Saif or even the forever young Bips and John. Even if you did so- why the hell only two messages (one message actually)... pyar mein Cut backs nahin hona chahiye, Pyar mein rukavat nahin hona chahiye.

My dear friend, please wake-up. Maddy and Vidya are no more a selling combo. And I am sure people are enough botched with the Tongue-in-Cheek comments and reactions between this couple. And you pouring such money for these ads in a prime time and high profile tournament like IPL is such a waste.

Idea- After running a very emotional and quite a successful campaign built around "What an idea Sirji" idea is now banking on the craze that built around the league stage cricket in India. Sure you want to make the most of being the prime sponsors of Mumbai Indians, but unfortunately no one in Mumbai Indians has the Charisma to carry and present the Brand in its perfect form. Besides, Mumbai Indians themselves looking very tardy this time round in IPL. I come back to basics "Don’t Lay all your Eggs in one basket".

TATA Indicom- What will Hello Hello do it your brand that Ajay Devgan, Kajol and Trisha (south states) couldn't do. I think again the history repeats, they actually claiming something which eventually they do not have, the network connectivity. Right from the day one- Tata Indicom failed to choose/convey what their target market is, and what their selling proposition is. I am not sure how the newly acquired Network coverage Infrastructure concept Works for them, when there is already an established opinion about their dormant connectivity. Tata Indicom although started the same time as others, somehow not captured the reasonable market share partly owing to its CDMA technology and not having the flexibility and portability of in-hand instrument.

That’s it for now, More later
Srikrishna Chintalapati