Grameen Phone Before Grameenphones inception, the phone was for a selected urbanized few.

The cell phone was a luxury: a flouting accessory for the select elite. The mass could not contemplate mobile telephony as being part of their lives. Grameenphone started its journey with the Village Phone program: a pioneering initiative to empower rural women of Bangladesh. The name Grameenphone translates to Rural phone. Starting its operations on March 26, 1997, the Independence Day of Bangladesh, Grameenphone has come a long way. Grameenphone pioneered the then breakthrough initiative of mobile to mobile telephony and became the first and only operator to cover 98% of the countrys people with network. Since its inception Grameenphone has built the largest cellular network in the country with over 8000 base stations. Presently, nearly 99 percent of the country's population is within the coverage area of the Grameenphone network.

Promotional Strategy Of Grameen Phone Grameenphone uses promotional strategies that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it. Grameenphone succeeded to acquire more than 10 million customers as of December 2006 not only providing good service but also using high frequency promotional activities. Grameenphone uses most of the promotional tools to give message for its customers on the new product & existing product and product features.

Grameenphone Promotional Tools:

Advertising

Sales Promotion

Public Relation Events Sponsorship

Personal Selling Inside Sales Force

Newspapers/Magazines Price-packs Television Cash refund offers

Advertising The advertising tools that grameenphone uses as a media to communicate with the existing and potential customers are:

Newspaper: Newspaper covers all sorts of information about grameenphones product. It mainly covers the informative and reminder advertising. Television: Television is an effective media for good mass-market coverage. Television telecasts messages about new product and it is mostly used for persuasive advertisement.

Sales promotions Grameenphone uses sales promotions that consist of a diverse collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to simulate quicker or greater purchase of particular products or service by consumers or the trade. They are: Price-packs: Nokia handset festival @ GPCs Grameenphone Ltd. kicked off the first handset bundled promotion at its Grameenphone Centers around the country. Under this promotion free GP connections and bonus talk time, Tk.660 to Tk.2000 depending on handset, were being offered with selected popular Nokia models. Cash Refund Offers: (thank you) thank you is Grameenphone way of expressing their gratitude, because not only has consumer loyalty touched them but has also made grameenphone the preferred mobile operator. Grameenphones (thank you) program provides consumer with a number of rewards that makes consumer mobile phone experience with gramophone even more satisfying.

Public relations:

Public relation is one of the grameenphone strategic promotion tools building good relations with the companys various publics by obtaining favorable publicity, building up a good corporate image. They are: Events: Grameenphone arranges some special event to draw attention to new products or companies activities. Some special events that grameenphone arranges frequently: Seminar. Conference. Trade shows.

Sponsorship: Grameenphone promote their brands and corporate name by sponsoring sport and cultural events and highly regarded causes. Some current sponsorship by grameenphone are: Grameenphone sponsors International Conference on ICT. Grameenphone was official sponsor of Bangladesh Cricket. Grameenphone sponsor International Trade Fair in Khulna.

Personal Selling Process:

Grameenphone personal selling is a good way to communicate the target customers. It focuses on more creative types of selling and the processes of building and managing an effective sale forces. Inside Sales Force: Grameenphone mainly focus on inside sales forces that conduct business from their customer care centre via telephone or visits from prospective buyers.

Banglalink

Banglalink was the last addition to the GSM family of OTH. In September 2004, OTH acquired mobile services company, Sheathe in Bangladesh with a nationwide GSM license valid until 2011. Since then, OTH has installed new management, upgraded the network and re-branded the company as Banglalink. Banglalink has rapidly deployed new network infrastructure, set up a distribution network and points of sale, and designed complete commercial plans to offer high quality voice and data telecommunications services at competitive prices to the people of Bangladesh. It is also worth mentioning that an unprecedented success of sales results followed the Commercial launch of Banglalink on the 10th of Feb 05.The mobile phone market is a part of the consumer service industry. Banglalink, like any other successful company dealing with consumer commodity, has to keep a continual tap with the prevailing and potential subscribers. Due to this reason, Banglalink has to undertake intensive promotional activities to facilitate the attainment of short-term organizational goals and long-term objectives.

Promotional Strategy Of Banglalink Banglalink became a leader in terms of its advertising quality and setting very high standards for competition and others. To campaign their product most effectively, Banglalink uses combination of different media to reach the highest percentage of the customers the combination would include Print-media Television Others Print-Media It is the habit of our people to go through some kind of newspapers or magazines and Banglalinks eye catching newspaper ads has attracted a lot of customers for the company.

Television The corporate TV commercial of (din bodol) based on the theme making a difference in peoples lives touched everyone throughout the country and was adjudged the best TVC of the year according to the leading dailies of the country like Prothom Alo and New Age. This TV Commercial has become a matter of national pride for Bangladesh as it has been nominated for the best TV advertisement of the year with 4 other international television commercials at the GSMA Award 2007. GSMA Award is considered to be the Oscar of mobile industry. Billboards: Billboards are the cheapest and easiest way to catch the attention of the moving people of the city. The billboards of Banglalink are hung beside the busiest of roads and streets of the city. Where people travel frequently such as Gulshan, Banani, Dhanmondi, uttara etc.

Transit Advertising One of the most popular ways of advertising today is transit advertising, which are the ads on body of the big buses as majority of the people of the country uses them for traveling. Health link They provide 24 hours health link service or telemedicine for Banglalink customers by dialing789. Social services Banglalink continues to play an active role in the area of corporate social responsibility. Banglalink has given Dhaka International Airport-the gateway of Bangladesh a completely new look. Provision of high quality passenger trolleys, phone booths, emergency charging station and beautification of the premises is an exemplary initiative which no other multinational has taken. Banglalink also contributed to an important tiger conservation project in the Sundarbans, and continues to support the Coxs Bazaar beach cleaning program.