Staying connected

Through its latest ad campaign, Tata Indicom strives to expand its customer base and shatter myths surrounding CDMA technology.

The mobile telephony market invariably has had a rippling affect, as far as advertising is concerned. If one brand talks about the network, the other follows suit.

If one talks about cheaper rental plans, the others join the bandwagon. But the latest entrant Tata Indicom (it entered the market about three years ago) has planned a different campaign to break out of the clutter.

Says Abdul Khan, vice president and head marketing, Tata Tele Services, "We wanted an ad campaign which talks about the basic benefits of our brand which are incorporated with day-to-day events in a common man's life."

The company has planned a media blitzkrieg with the launch of four new television commercials (TVCs), which would focus on problems people face while using mobile phones.

One TVC focuses on how in a lift the network drops and causes problems and how using Tata Indicom helps in avoiding such troubles. The other refers to a situation where network fails right in middle of an important business conversation and how a Tata Indicom saves the day and the deal!

While Khan admits that there have been only a few differentiation points as far as advertising is concerned, "but it is down to this being a service and benefit driven industry," he insists.

Apart from the launch of new TVCs, which will be broadcast in regional languages as well, the company would be looking at outdoor and print advertising in a big way. And though the company refuses to divulge a specific figure for the total ad spends, Khan said that it would run into "multi-crore figure".

"The idea behind launching this campaign was to tell people to switch to Tata Indicom." He says. Khan believes that there are a lot of perceptions and myths surrounding CDMA phones.

"A lot of people still think that using CDMA phones means using lower-end phones and probably don't know that it is a technology available across all category of phones," he says.

To shatter this misconception, the company has stressed on revamping their retail outlets and creating more awareness about the technology. Currently, the company has about 3,000 outlets and intends to reach about 5,000 in the next two years.

While the subscriber base for Tata Indicom is over 16 million right now, the company is looking at an ambitious target of 100 million by 2011. "The way the market is growing, it is quite a realistic target," says Khan.