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Brand: Idea Cellular
Agency: Lowe Lintas
Budget: Rs 15-20 crore
Idea Cellular is back to doing what it is best at - offering its subscribers ideas that could help bring in the desired 'change' and help them make their lives better. To leverage the nationwide rollout of mobile number portability (MNP) in the country in July 2015, Idea, India's third largest mobile operator has launched a new campaign, titled, 'No Idea, Get Idea.' The campaign highlights the benefits offered by the Idea Cellular network and encourages users to switch to the operator's network for better connectivity and enhanced consumer experience.
The new campaign was launched ahead of Independence Day, on August 12, 2015, through a television commercial (TVC), in addition to Idea's YouTube channel and is now being amplified across television, digital and social media. One of the TVCs in the campaign opens with a young man landing in a new city - from Kolkata to Kochi. As the young man deboards the train, he realises that his mobile phone has no connectivity. As the young man looks around helplessly, a bunch of locals greet him with a collective chant of 'Get Idea'. Clearly, the new campaign is built on and takes forward, Idea's brand promise: an idea can change your life. The campaign reinforces brand's core advertising philosophy of offering users innovative yet simple ideas to solve their daily problems.
In a way, the latest campaign from Idea is the second leg of its first MNP campaign launched way back in 2011, at the time of the limited rollout of MNP. The new campaign once again focuses on Idea's network capabilities and hassle free billing.
Talking about the operator's move to bring back the MNP campaign, Sashi Shankar, chief marketing officer, Idea Cellular, says, "Idea has been the top choice of mobile users opting to switch network, ever since the MNP service was introduced in 2011 at an intra-circle level. Idea recorded the highest net gain in the industry, with over 14 million subscribers added to the network till end of July 2015. The 'No Idea, Get Idea' campaign was one of the major drivers for Idea's MNP leadership." He adds, "Through our latest campaign, we are targeting mobile users shifting from one city to another and looking to switch to a better network. The campaign highlights Idea's pan-India presence, customer service, access and product portfolio."
According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, in the month of May, 2015, 3.24 million subscribers submitted their requests for MNP. With this, the total number of MNP requests since the launch of MNP in 2011 stands at 160.25 million as of May, 2015. Given that the country's telecom subscriber base stands at 1,002.05 million, the number of MNP requests does not make for a significant number. In such a scenario, it's worth exploring whether it is prudent for a brand to base its campaign on MNP when the service has not met with the expected success?
Idea's Shankar has a different take on the matter; he says, "As per industry data, over 160.25 million subscribers have switched network over the last four years ever since MNP service was launched. This is in line with global trends wherever MNP services have been launched in the past. Even though overall the number of mobile users opting to change networks has been a relatively small percentage of the total telecom base, Idea has been the consistent gainer from this exercise, with over 14 million net additions so far. We expect the same trend to continue with the national MNP service as well."
The campaign has been conceptualised by Idea's creative agency Lowe Lintas. Talking about the key message being conveyed by the campaign, Arun Iyer, national creative director, Lowe Lintas, says, "The key message behind the campaign is simple: if a person is looking for better network, services, product convenience, brand, then one should get Idea."
Apart from the MNP TVC, one of the TVCs also talks about the single billing feature which has been highlighted by other operators earlier. Would the clubbing of two ideas under an umbrella campaign dilute the fundamental message around MNP? Iyer counters the argument: "Idea has always believed in category building than product advertising. Single bill handling is just one example being used in the story narration while giving out a larger message. Here we are talking about several day-to-day problems people face when they switch cities. The multiple bills issue is just one of the instances shown in one of the TVCs. There are other issues - such as bad network, poor customer care and so on - that will get highlighted in the new campaign."
According to industry estimates, the total budget of the campaign is around Rs 15-20 crore.
Following MNP, what's going to be the next big pitch for the brand 'Idea'? Iyer concludes, "Idea's marketing and advertising strategy is based on continuous research that the company does to understand consumer behaviour and demand. These insights form the base of all Idea communication."
