Marketing mix of Airtel

Bharti Airtel Limited (Bharti Airtel) is one of Indias most popular providers of integrated
telecommunication services and is based in India and headquartered in New Delhi. Basically, the
company is tasked with the work of operating telecommunication services in the larger Indian
subcontinent. The companys business services include mobile services, enterprise services and
Telemedia services. The mobile services comprise of fixed wireless services and mobile services
which use GSM network technology across major telecommunication circles in the country.

Marketing mix of Airtel

With a Pan-India presence, Airtel an established player in providing 3G services is now planning
aggressively to roll out its 4G services in a phased manner. These services are now available in
metros and big cities like Bangalore and Mumbai. The company also provides world class
landline telephone and broadband services and the enterprise unit across 95 cities in India. Some
of Bharti Airtel competitors include the following:

1. Idea
2. Tata Docomo.
3. Reliance Communications Limited
4. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
5. Vodafone (strongest competitor)

Products in the marketing mix of Airtel

The company provides a wide array of products and services. In order to retain the maximum
number of customers, Airtel has tried to provide as many products and services as possible in
order to keep the customers. The following is a list of its products:

1. Airtel Pre-paid services

2. Blackberry Wireless Handheld
3. Airtel Post-paid services

Value added services like instant balance inquiry, caller line identification, 24 hour recharge
facility, multimedia messaging service, call wait & call Hold, Caller divert, Airtel Live portal
 1. SMS based information services
2. Voice mail services
3. Hello tunes, Ring tones,
4. Ringtones and hello tunes offers
5. Easy post-pay bill payment solutions
6. Enterprise Solutions

Place in the marketing mix of Airtel

Airtels penetration in India is quite impressive because the services and networks can be found
even in Indias remotest regions. Currently, gross subscriber base has pass the 200 million mark
while the total wireless subscriber base for CDMA, GSM and WLL is about 162 million. Clearly,
the customer base of Airtel is strong in India. It is also worth mentioning that millions of the
networks lines are added per year.

Airtel enjoys a well distributed network of distributors including even businesses like groceries
and chemist outlets. One of the things that have made Bharti Airtel a force to reckon in
telecommunication industry in India and Africa is that it has the strategy of making the first
moves and emerging as a winner. It has managed to buy Kuwaits Zain and Tata steel in the past,
making it a top 5 wireless carrier in the world by subscription.

1. Wider distribution network as compared to competitors

2. Network is widespread bringing many customers daily to Airtel
3. Fourth largest mobile operator in the world with presence in 20 countries

Promotion in the Marketing mix of Airtel

Airtel engages in aggressive marketing strategy ranging from traditional print media to social
network marketing. However, the companys recent rebranding efforts bombed in the market and
were not received positively. The company also engages in large scale TV and print advertising.
The company frequently uses big celebrities who endorse the services. The company also
managed to create its signature tune from Oscar winning musician A.R.Rahman which has
become one of the most downloaded tunes in India.

It is also interesting to note that even such seemingly redundant activities like providing
wallpapers and screensavers to computer users has proved a very effective marketing strategy.
The company also offers special discounts and offers to its subscribers.
Apart from that Airtel has been hiring several figures from Bollywood right from the legendary
Amitabh Bachhan to Vidya Balan as their brand ambassadors. The God of cricket, Sachin
Tendulkar too has been a part of their advertisement campaigns too. The advantage of Airtel is
that I goes regional with its advertisement efforts.

Some salient points about the promotions of Airtel are

1. Uses ATL and BTL activities

2. Makes an effort to go regional
3. Recent rebranding effort has failed in the market
4. Has good word of mouth and a good brand image second only to Vodafone.
5. Price in the marketing mix of Airtel

The company uses competitive pricing strategy just like any other network providers because of
the competition which is present in this sector. However, Airtel also provides flexible pricing
mechanism depending on the prevailing market conditions. For instance, when the company
relaxes taxation, it also reduces its prices across all affected products. The make my plan
introduced by Airtel was a smart strategy as customers could now modify their plan as they see
fit.

Above the line Below the line

Segment Undifferentiated segment Targeted segment
Commonly Known as Mass Marketing Direct Marketing
Message Message needs to be targeted Message is highly targeted
Media Vehicles TV, Print, Radio, Cinema Out of home, Internet marketing,
Sales promotions, Trade
discounts, Many others.
Investment Investment is very high Investment is low
Communication One way communication Two way communication in BTL
(ex Social media)
Brand equity Brand equity developed is high Not as high as in Above the line
marketing
ROI Difficult to be measured Easier to be measured especially
in case of Internet marketing.
Majorly used by Large corporates Large corporate as well as small
businesses

As can be seen from the above distinguishing characteristics of Above the line vs below the line
marketing, we observe that above the line marketing is expensive, involves a lot of budget and
the ROI is difficult to be measured. It mainly involves the media vehicles like Television, Radio,
Print and magazines and cinema. If the ROI cannot be measured, then why do corporates use
above the line marketing?

They use it because they want to target the mass segment. Once they use emotional ads to target
to the mass market, they create enough hype for their brand to become famous. Brand building is
one of the major benefits of Above the line marketing. There are various benefits and features of
ATL marketing mentioned here.