pbm - airtel

[ ] The

Brand Equity of Air Tel is higher than any other network. How? Let’s have a look!

2010BHARTI AIRTEL

Jagriti Shivpuri, Ritika Edoliya, Sakshi Suri Srishti Singh,

Bharti Airtel Limited

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the project is to study and analyze the brand Airtel for which we used the following parameters:

Brand strategy of Airtel

Value proposition of Airtel

Brand Equity of Airtel

CBBE Pyramid of Airtel

Brand valuation of Airtel

METHODOLOGY

To perform this project, we used secondary data available to us online and through print media. Some of the inferences that have been used in the project are a result of the primary data available to us online.


INTRODUCTION

Airtel comes to you from Bharti Cellular Limited, a consortium of giants in the telecommunication business. Airtel launched its services in Delhi on November 14, 1995. It has at present over Six lakh fifty thousand customers in it's seven years of pursuit of greater customer satisfaction, Airtel has redefined the business through marketing innovations, continuous technological up gradation of the network, introduction of new generation value added services and the highest standard of customer care.

Airtel has consistently set the benchmarks for the Indian cellular industry to follow.

First to launch Cellular service in Delhi on November 1995. First operator to revolutionalize the concept of retailing with the inauguration of Airtel

Connect (exclusive showrooms) in 1995. Today Airtel has 2015 Customer Care Touch points called "Connects" and over 350 dealers in Delhi and NCR towns.

First to expand its network with the installation of second mobile switching center in April, 1997 and the first in Delhi to introduce the Intelligent Network Platform First to provide Roaming to its subscribers by forming an association called World 1 Network.

First to provide roaming facility in USA. Enjoy the mobile roaming across 38 partner networks & above 700 cities Moreover roam across international destinations in 119 countries including USA, Canada, and UK etc with 284 partner networks.

VISIONTo make mobile communications a way of life and be the customers' first choice’.

MISSIONWe will meet the mobile communication needs of our customers through:1. Error- free service delivery2. Innovative products and services3. Cost efficiency4. Unified Messaging Solutions

BHARTI VALUES

Innoventuring We will generate and implement entrepreneurial and innovative ideas, which will continuously create new growth engines.

Customer FirstWe are committed to delivering service beyond the expectations of the customer.Our quality of customer responsiveness clearly differentiates us from others.


AIRTEL: APPROPRIATING THE VALUE OF 'EXPRESSION'

Over the last couple of years, the market has grown considerably, with deeper penetration and wider usage of voice and data services, accompanied by much higher competitive intensity," Atul Bindal, chief marketing officer, Bharti Tele Ventures, expands on this. "In this context, differentiating merely on network, coverage and SMS is just not enough. You need to go beyond all the rational identifiers - which are prerequisites in any, case - and connect at a deeper level. We needed a strong differentiator in an increasingly commoditized and crowded market. We found this differentiator in a core human truth that defines our category - which is that there are moments when you need to make your point, when you need to be heard. Expressing and communicating are perhaps two of the most basic emotions.

Airtel enables you to make your point in the most expressive way, anytime, anywhere. The campaign is towards owning this through 'Express Yourself.' We believe 'Express Yourself' allow us to connect at a deeper level and create a long-term platform for the brand."

For Airtel, the challenge also lay in presenting a unified 'face' to the consumer. This assumes significance when viewed in the light of the company's pre- and post-paid communication, which, in the past, had been treated very differently. Brand image, as a result, was being driven in two different dimensions. "Brand Airtel is a category leader straddling completely different market segments such as consumer, business and corporate, as well as different voice, data and payment platforms," says Bindal. “Express yourself' enables the brand to unify and connect across the entire base of our existing and prospective customers."

One of the most obvious benefits of owning a property such as 'candid expression' (and Express yourself') is the expansive nature of the thought.

"The moment you have as broad a canvas as 'Express yourself', it becomes easy for anyone working on the brand to come up with new ideas and executions. That's what makes a good campaign idea," observes Rediff's Prashant Godbole, who, along with creative partner Zarvan Patel, conceived the campaign. This is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg, Patel adds. "We will be taking the idea forward in many different ways in the forthcoming work," he informs. Patel also credits his creative team for "fleshing out the idea".

In October 2002, Magic led the market, with 30% of the market share. Bharti claimed that its strategies were one of the most ambitious experiments ever in the Indian pre-paid cellular telephony market. However, given the increasing competitive pressure, doubts were being expressed regarding the ability of Bharti's marketing initiatives to help Magic retain its 'Magic' in the future.


BRAND RELATED ISSUES

Due to lack of visibility, one cannot factor the upsides from the Sri Lanka rollout, rural markets, the DTH business, and the 3G services. An increase in network costs (due to rural penetration) and additional advertising spends (to combat increasing competition) seem inevitable. Airtel must work on handling these properly.

Though initially Airtel had the upper hand in advertising, now Vodafone has gathered advantage by using the creative and innovative ‘Zoo Zoo’ advertisement. Airtel’s ringtone with endorsement from AR Rahman was a sensational hit and Airtel needs to come up with a similar advertisement now to win the lost battle.

Type www.airtel.com in your browser and you will be directed to guess what? Vodafone Spain! www.airtel.com was owned by Airtel Spain. Later Airtel Spain was acquired by Vodafone. It was in the year 2000 when Vodafone completed the acquisition. But what about lazy branding of Airtel? Despite knowing millions of people will actually come and visit and inquire about their company in that domain (airtel.com) directly, Airtel never ever asked Vodafone to sell it to them. In this hugely growing internet world, how can you be so relaxed after seeing that the most important domain name of your company redirects you to the rival's site!

According to TRAI, Airtel is the most congested telecom network. As per the analysis by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Airtel had 14 congested (POI) - the geographical locations where two networks inter connect and exchange traffic. Against this, Vodafone had 12 POIs, followed by Reliance Communications and Idea with 11 each, and Dish net Wireless with eight. TRAI confirms that Airtel also tops the list of call drop as well. This is something Airtel has to look into.

The company in the future plans to expand its network in order to establish its presence in more than 500,000 villages all across the country by 2010. Along with this the company must improve existing regions also.


BRAND STRATEGY AND PLAN

The Functional Dimension

The role of the technology is to make thing easier for the consumers. Airtel has been very successful in simplifying the use of mobile services by modifying the technology to suit the common users. Even the simplest of the consumer can use the products and services.Airtel says, "Your world of communication just got simpler."

The Social Dimension

Airtel is a recognized brand to be associated with. I satisfy my esteem and it gives me opportunity to be a part of the culture. It is associated with high level of social value.

The Spiritual Dimension

"Building telecom, building relationships." It is important to be in touch with the relatives and dear ones but this is possible today through the mobile communication. Airtel encourages everyone to be more involved in building relationships and spread the happiness.

The Mental Dimension

Airtel gives me the opportunity to "Express Myself." The message is very clear to be open and daring to express. The expression gives me a lot of pleasure and an opportunity to think that I am a separate individual and have the right to communicate and express myself.

Bharti has spent a considerable amount on advertising its mobile phone service, Airtel. Besides print advertising, the company had put up large no of hoardings and kiosks in and around Delhi. The objective behind designing a promotion campaign for the ‘Airtel’ services is to promote the brand awareness and to build brand preferences.

Brand awareness is spread through the campaigns and brand preference through brand stature. Airtel's campaign in the capital began with a series of 'teaser' hoardings across the city,' bearing just the company's name and without explaining what Airtel was. In the next phase the campaign associated Airtel with Cellular only thereafter was the Bharti Cellular connection brought up. Vans with Airtel logos roamed the city, handing out brochures about the company and its services to all consumers. About 50,000 direct callers were sent out. When the name was well entrenched in the customer’s mind, the Airtel campaign began to focus on the utility of Cellphone. In the first four months alone Airtel's advertisements spend exceeded Rs. 4 crores.


Commercialization of Airtel

Aimed at the non-interested customers, perceiving unanticipated needs Entered into strategic tie-up with ICICI Bank to offer recharge facility for Magic users at

the ATMs Established easy accessibility and availability by providing recharge cards at

departmental stores, gift shops, retail outlets, telephone booths and also ‘kirana’ stores Airtel started talking to new segments by positively positioning and establishing itself as

a brand that improved the quality of life

The battle for customer’s mind

Focus on distribution base in all circles Availability of Magic cards in the remotest parts of operating circles Positioned the brand against competing ones on several value added service features Emphasized on one-on-one relationship with the customers Communicated with vibrant colors, local language and simplicity that captured

customers minds

Pricing Strategy

Revamped pricing strategy Varied call charges based on the time when the call was made E.g. – Delhi users were charged Rs. 1.35(per 30 secs) and Rs 0.99 (per 30 secs) for

incoming calls in the time slot of 8.00 A.M – 10.00 P.M. The rates were lowered at nights to Rs. 0.67 and Rs. 0.49 respectively

Magic was also made available in Rs 290 as against Rs 300 previously Launched special offers – free talk time worth Rs 290 to new subscribers, Free voice mail service for a period of three months also offered

VALUE PROPOSITION OF AIRTEL


A value proposition is an offer that describes the quantifiable benefits that individuals or organizations making an offer promise to deliver. Its development is based on a review and analysis of the benefits, costs and value that an organization can deliver to its customers, prospective customers, and other constituent groups within and outside the organization. It is also a positioning of value, where Value = Benefits / Cost (cost includes risk).The value proposition for Airtel is:

Easy Usage Easy to acquire connection Pre-activated SIM Instant connectivity No rental hassles No security deposits

Easy Recharge International ‘scratch system’ for Magic Cards

Effective Distribution Easily available in departmental stores, gift shops, ‘kirana’ shops, retail outlets,

telephone booths etc Doorstep delivery in 2002

Customer Satisfaction Affordable Easily accessible Strong customer relationship

Features STD/ISD Facility Voice Mail Short Message Services Free CLIP Balance Enquiry

BRAND EQUITY


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost-benefit_analysis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_(marketing)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Part_(disambiguation)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_(marketing)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_cost

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost-benefit_analysis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Review

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tender_offer

Brand equity is the value built-up in a brand. It is measured based on how much a customer is aware of the brand. The value of a company's brand equity can be calculated by comparing the expected future revenue from the branded product with the expected future revenue from an equivalent non-branded product.

The concept of brand equity has been put forward as means to focus marketing efforts. The business that wins in the twenty first century will be those that have marketers who successfully brand building, measure and manage brand equity. Now, what is brand equity? David A. Aaker has defined it as “Brand equity is a set of assets (and liabilities) linked to a brand’s name and symbol that adds to (or subtracts from) the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firm’s customer”.

In spite of its many definitions, brands equity can be ultimately grouped into two basic concepts: the cognitive associations relating to the perceived added value consumers credit to a brand, and a financial measure of a brand’s demonstrated marketplace value. For this project, however, only the consumer-perceived value of the brand is being studied.

Brand equity ten Measures

The Brand Equity Ten (BET) are ten sets of measures, grouped into five categories, which attempt to gauge the strength of the brand. These are qualitative measures, whose credibility is based upon empirical evidence and a track record. The first four categories represent customer perceptions of the brand along the four dimensions of brand equity - loyalty, perceived quality, associations and awareness. The fifth includes two sets of market behavior measures.

This project, which intends to study the drivers of Brand Equity in Telecommunication industry with special reference to AirTel is based on the brand equity ten.

Loyalty Measures

(1) Price Premium: A basic indicator of loyalty is the amount a customer will pay for a product in comparison to other comparable products. A price premium can be determined by simple asking consumers how much more they would be willing to pay for the brand.

(2) Customer Satisfaction/ Loyalty: Satisfaction or liking is a direct measure of how willing customers are to stick to a brand. It can be applied only to existing customers. The focus can be last use experience or simply the use experience from the customer’s view.

Perceived quality and leadership measures


(3) Perceived Quality: Perceived Quality is one of the key dimensions of brand equity and has been shown to be associated with price premiums, price elasticities, brand usage and stock return. This measure can be applied across product classes and calculated by asking customers to directly compare similar brands.

(4) Leadership and Popularity: It has three dimensions. Firstly, it reflects the “number one” syndrome - the sales leader must have merit. Secondly, leadership taps the dynamics of customer acceptance reflecting that people want to be on the bandwagon are uneasy going against the flow. Third, it can also tap innovation within a product class, that is, a brand moving ahead technologically. This can be measured by asking consumers about the product’s leadership position, its popularity and its innovative qualities.

Association/ Differentiation Measures

(5) Perceived Value: This dimension simply involves determining whether the product provides good value for money and whether there are reasons to buy this brand over competitive brands.

(6) Brand Personality: This element is based on the brand-as-person perspective. For some brands, the brand personality can provide links to he brand’s emotional and self-expressive benefits as well as a basis for customer relationships and differentiation. This will involve a set of specific dimensions unique and relevant to the brand.

(7) Organizational Associations: This dimension considers the type of organization that lies behind the brand especially when brands are similar with respect to attributes, when organization is visible and when a corporate brand is involved.

Awareness Measures

(8) Brand Awareness: Brand Awareness reflects the salience of the product in the consumers mind and involves various levels including recognition, recall, brand dominance, brand knowledge and brand opinion.

Market Behavior Measures


(9) Market Shares: The performance of a brand as measured by the market share often provides a valid and dynamic reflection of the brand’s standing with customers. This is got from secondary data sources.

(10) Market Price & Distribution Coverage: Market share can prove deceptive when it increases of a result of reduced prices or promotions. Calculating market price and distribution coverage can provide a more accurate picture of the product’s true strength. Market share or sales data are also extremely sensitive to distribution Coverage. The gain or loss of a major outlet or a move into another geographical region may dramatically affect sales.

Based on the secondary data, following results were obtained regarding the brand equity of Airtel:

Price PremiumIn terms of price premium, Airtel leads with loyal but dissatisfied customers.

Satisfaction / LoyaltyIn terms of satisfaction, Air Tel leads with both very satisfied as well as satisfied customers. Dissatisfaction level is low.

Perceived QualityHere again, Air Tel edges out any other network in terms of connectivity, network and value added services. But it lacks in terms of clarity of sound and customer service.

Leadership and PopularityThe results showed that majority of respondents chose Air Tel as the company with larger subscriber base. This reflected the “number one” syndrome where the leader must have merit.

Perceived ValueThe consistent responses by Hutch Cellphone users perceive it as a value-for-money service. Air Tel is perceived to be expensive by its customers.

Brand Personality:The brand personality of Air Tel comes across as an exciting and competent brand. Its vibrancy appeals to the customers who relate to the advertising messages.

Organizational AssociationAir Tel’s corporate brand is more visible than Hutch. More respondents recognized the caption of Air Tel - Touch Tomorrow.

Brand AwarenessBrand awareness of the respondents was high with most being aware of both Airtel and Hutch. So the spoils are even for both the operators here.


Market Prices and Distribution CoverageThe market prices of the cellular service given by Air Tel and Hutch are very similar.The difference if any is very marginal and is not considered. Also the distribution coverage is properly established. Therefore, there is not much to choose between the two operators and the spoils are even.

Comparing the overall findings we see that Air Tel leads in five brand equity measures (satisfaction/loyalty, perceived quality, leadership & popularity, organizational associations, market share).

To conclude, the Brand Equity of Air Tel is higher than any other network.

CBBE MODEL


CBBE MODEL OF AIRTEL

1 – Level: Salience


User friendly product

Trusted and reliable

High brand awareness

Salience means awareness. Bharti Airtel has high brand awareness among its customers. This awareness includes information as it is commonly used for by customer of any age group. It is available with various schemes, and tariffs and vouchers along with a reasonable price (Rs. 100, Rs. 400, Rs. 600) for the customers’ convenience.

2 – Level: Performance (Left-hand side) & Imagery (Right-hand side)As far as performance is concerned Airtel is a user friendly product. It has a strong connectivity which helps its users to have touch with their friends and family. Its easy accessibility helps its users to have an Airtel connection anywhere and everywhere at anytime.Bharti Airtel has an image that it is a trusted and reliable brand among its customers. And that it is a consumer-centric product which focuses on the consumers’ specific needs.

3 – Level: Judgments (Left-hand side) & Feelings (Right-hand side)Customers judge Airtel on its quality dimension. They see it is a best telecom service provider available in the market. Second judgment they have that it is an innovative as well as a reliable product. The name of Bharti brings credibility with Airtel. They know that it is a pioneer brand and market leader so they feel the brand superiority in the market. Customers feel that the brand evokes the sense of calmness and peacefulness in them. Also the usage of brand brings the sense of security and comfort.

4 – Level: ResonanceResonance means the ultimate social status of the brand and how much loyal customers the brand has. Bharti Airtel has 40% loyal customers and repeat purchase is near about 65%. As it is a quality symbol in society as a result people have affiliation with it. Feel a sense of community by using Airtel as society is accepting it. At this stage people are in active engagement with the brand.

BRAND VALUATION


There is now widespread acceptance that brands play an important role in generating and

sustaining the financial performance of businesses. With high levels of competition and excess

capacity in virtually every industry, strong brands help companies differentiate themselves in

the market and communicate why their products and services are uniquely able to satisfy

customer needs.

The past 20 years have witnessed a dramatic shift in the sources of value creation from tangible

assets (such as property, plant, equipment and inventory) to intangible assets (such as skilled

employees, patents, business systems and brands). This is reflected in the growing divergence

between the net asset value of companies and their market capitalization.

The most productive approach to brand valuation is to employ an economic use valuation

method, of which there are a number. First there is the price premium or gross margin

approach that considers price premiums or superior margins versus a generic business as the

metric for quantifying the value that the brand contributes. However, the rise of private label

means that it is often hard to identify a generic against which the price or margin differential

should be measured.

The amount being paid for the acquisition of a strongly branded company was increasingly

higher than the value of the company's net tangible assets. This resulted in huge levels of

'goodwill' arising on acquisition. This 'goodwill' actually disguised a mix of intangible assets -

brands, copyrights, patents, customer loyalty, distribution contracts, staff knowledge, etc.

An Interbrand study of acquisitions in the 1980s showed that, whereas in 1981 net tangible

assets represented 82% (on average) of the amount bid for companies, by 1988 this had fallen

to just 56%. It became clear that companies were being acquired less for their tangible assets

and more for their intangible assets.

Why are Brands Valued?


Although public perceptions of brand valuation are often focused on balance sheet valuations,

the reality is that the majority of valuations are now actually carried out to assist with brand

management and strategy. Companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of brand

guardianship and management as key to the successful running of any business.

The values associated with the product or service is communicated through the brand to the

consumer. Consumers no longer want just a service or product but a relationship based on trust

and familiarity. In return businesses will enjoy an earnings stream secured by loyalty of

customers who have 'bought into' the brand.

The Methods of Brand Valuation undertaken by the Group:

There are various methods of valuing a brand. Some of the more popular ones are:

Cost Based Approach: This approach takes into account all the costs involved in building

the brand. All these expenses are added to arrive at the value of the brand.

Book to Market: This method is ideal for single brand companies like Airtel, Vodafone,

etc. In this method the book value of the company is deducted from its market

capitalization, to arrive at the value of the intangible asset, i.e. the brand.

Discounted Cash Flow Method: In this method, the cash flows are estimated and

discounted to come at the Present Value of the firm.

Price Premia Model: This model helps to assess how much premium a particular brand

can charge from the consumers. This is more applicable to products, which are more like

commodities.

The group chose the Book to Market Method to come to an approximate valuation of Brand

Airtel. The model and the methodology adopted are dealt with in details below:


Market Capitalization = No. of issued Shares* Shares

Rationale:

The Book to Market Model has assumed importance due to the Merger & Acquisition deals

which happen regularly these days. This model takes into account the Book Value of the

company. It also considers the Market Capitalization of the company, i.e. what is the current

market price if the company were to be sold today. The difference between the Market

Capitalization of a company and its Book Value is assigned to Intangible Assets. For, a single

brand company, this incremental difference is the value of the Brand.

Methodology:

The group calculated the book value of the company, i.e. Bharti. This was done by adding the

Reserves and Surplus for the year 2008-09 and the Equity of the company.

The formula for calculating the Book Value is given below:

Book Value= Equity + Reserves and Surplus

The group also calculated the Market Capitalization of Bharti. This was done by multiplying the

total number of Issued Shares into the average Share Price of Bharti over the last one year. This

data was obtained from secondary sources. The formula for deriving Market Capitalization is

given below:

Findings:

Average Share Price (in Rs.) 551


2009 2008Equity 18959342000 18938793000Reserves & Surplus 95173342000 54395531000No. of shares 1895934157 1893879304

2009 2008Book Value 114132684000 73334324000

Market Capitalisation1044659720507

1043527496504

The average share price of Airtel over the last one year was Rs. 551. Also, not many shares were

issued in 2009 as compared to 2008. However there has been a major increase in the Reserves

and Surplus of the company. It is on an expansion mode and hence is consolidating its surplus.

The value of the Brand Airtel as derived was Rs. 93052 crores. This has actually come down

since 2008.

CONCLUSION


Value of the Brand 930527036507 970193172504Value of the Brand (in Rs.Cr) 93052 97019

We thank all those people who helped me in this Airtel project. First of all we would like to express our profound gratitude to Ma'am Sufia Khan who gave us this opportunity to do this project. She always remained a wonderful guide and supporter throughout this project.

We sincerely thank Operations of Airtel who have been the constant source of guidance and encouragement.

We would like to thank our Institute IILM also where we got all the knowledge and skill required for this project.

We also thank her for her intellect stimulation, moral support and constant inspiration throughout the project.

Under her guidance, our project has attained the goal reality and success.In the end we wish to thank to all the staff members of the BHARTI AIRTEL for providing all necessary assistance when required!!


pbm - airtel

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