But will number 13 prove lucky for Videocon ?

The Videocon Group launched GSM services in Chennai on Thursday. The company plans to roll out services in 100 cities and towns in the next 100 days and be a pan-India player by the end of September.

One interesting thing that i noticed is that the main website www.videocon.com is totally dedicated to the mobile services.For durables the site has been changed to videoconworld.com.This shows the amount of attention its getting.

Now what is new in this new GSM service ?

I went on the site to check out plans.The plans look simple as of now.Videocon offers 1 paisa/sec tarrif rates as all the others are doing.

The TV commercial has started too.The commercial is simple and has an interesting tagline.But it fails to establish any clear cut differentiation.

So Does Videocon turns out to be another member in the crowd or it really gets the attention and acceptance from the customers.

What Say ?

© 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

It is in a form of simple but effective story.A cub is being shown alone waiting for its mother who might just not return from the forest.The number 1411 in the end leaves a mark.

Tiger is our national animal.It has been my favorite animal from the time i remember.Recently i went to Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai and saw 3 4 tigers.When i saw them i just kept looking at them,such was their aura.But now i feel saddened by the fact that just 1411 are left in India,which has this animal as its national symbol.

The site SaveOurTigers is well made.It has used Social Media to the fullest.Facebook,twitter,blogs have been effectively used.

You can also join the roar as i have done already.When i saw their ad,it said speak up,blog,share in the end.What better purpose can my blog serve ?

Many big stars like Mahendra Singh dhoni,Baichung Bhutia are supporting the cause.

Still i am a bit skeptic of how can spreading awareness to people like us save the tigers when hunters,poachers and killers are still roaming around in the forest killing them ?

I hope i am wrong.

What Say ?

© 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

Now the consumer is not restricted to just an Airtel or a Vodafone but he/she has choices.In recent past many new players have entered the market with a bang.

TATA Docomo,Aircel,Virgin,MTS entered the market in recent past (2008-2009) and gave a consumer the ‘choice’.The price wars started.1p/sec,1/2p/sec etc etc were terms used in daily conversations.

Now yet again a new player has entered the market named ‘Uninor’.

The new GSM service provider is the result of a joint venture of real estate major, Unitech and Norway-based Telenor Group.They have started their campaigns in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Eastern and Western Uttar Pradesh.

For any new player to get noticed in the current Indian scenario is to market and position their brand well.They have to market it aggressively to get noticed in the telecom jungle.

With number portability just around the corner,brands and service would matter even more.

So what is Uninor doing ?

Are they going for the regular offensive strategy ? Is the price their talking point as Docomo did ?

“We chose to go beyond the immediate functionalities of prices, plans and schemes and offers. There’s something much bigger going on in India. An entire generation is breaking free and reaching out to get what it wants. We hope to be able to serve as a tool in their hands to do this,” explains David Meneghello, executive vice-president, marketing, Uninor.

“Our positioning statement, ‘Ab mera number hai’, is the voice of a young Indian who is restless to succeed; who knows that his or her time has come and it is now. We at Uninor believe that heroes need not necessarily be celebrities and stars. The real heroes are out there — succeeding every day in their own lives, making it on their own and wanting more. And these are the faces you see in our TVCs and on our billboards,” adds Meneghello.(source : Afaqs)

They have started with 15 sec teasers to introduce the brand with the tagline “Ab Mera Number Hai ”

I found 2 full TV commercials for it which set the Positioning straight.

Father and Son

Flatmates

Both ads have similar positioning and similar setup.Both ads are trying to connect to today’s successful ambitious youth.But they have kept getting a job as the base in both ads.But still the ads are fresh,realistic,connects well.

They are not shouting per sec billing,low sms charges etc etc etc,but yes they are important too because they are gonna get you the acquire the customers.

Their plans are different and not at per sec billing.You can check out their website here.They have less plan choices as of now.

Lets wait to see how does this new player backed by strong parentage fight the competition ?

What Say ?

© 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

So whats the offering ? Is it just another ‘me-too’ touch phone in the market or is it THE phone we had been waiting for ?
If it has Google’s name attached to it,it ought to be good.The initial reviews are good.



Analysts say the phone(to be sold directly to consumers) is not expected to dramatically alter the carrier-hardware vendor relationship the industry relies on, nor is it likely to yield a revenue windfall in the short term, though executives said it could be profitable.

Google plans to use what it calls a “superphone” (the first of many types of smartphones that it will make) to expand its reach from the PC to the mobile world and ensure its online products and ads get prominent placement on a new breed of wireless Internet devices.

The highly anticipated Nexus One, which marks the first time the 11-year-old Internet search titan has designed and sold its own consumer hardware device, could provide Google with a viable challenge to the iPhone and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry.

After iPhone came into the market,it witnessed many of its touch clones(not cousins) bombard the market.Each and every cell phone manufacturer(even Nokia) came up with their own ‘iPhone’.

All phones without keypads,rectangular in shape,with normally one (or max 2-3) button were common in the market.

Now the next question is Whats the price and Where is it available ?

The Nexus One is available “in large quantities”  at Google.com/phone. An unlocked GSM version of the phone that will work in most countries is $529.

Google is also offering a subsidized version of the phone – also unlocked – through T-Mobile for $179. The service plan offered by Google is 500 minutes/unlimited SMS/unlimited data for $80/month. T-Mobile’s termination fee is $200, and some users might be tempted to buy the T-Mobile version and terminate immediately, paying just $379 for the unlocked phone. Google says that users terminating too soon will be charged the full price of the phone, however. But even the T-Mobile version of the phone can be used overseas on trips by slipping in a different SIM.

Google will ship the unlocked version of the phone to customers in the U.S., U.K., Hong Kong and Singapore. In the Spring they say they’ll add a CDMA version of the phone through Verizon, and set up a European store with a carrier plan via Vodafone.

U.S. users can also use the unlocked phone with AT&T, although the phone’s radio isn’t able to use AT&T’s 3G network.

The bad news for India right now is that its not available in India.

The Nexus One is an important milestone in the smartphone market. This is a software company, frustrated with making compromises with hardware manufacturers, that has taken the product bull by the horns. HTC makes the phone, but the branding is mostly Google and it’s clear that they directed every aspect of the development of this phone. It’s Google’s vision of the perfect Android device, from the huge and beautiful screen and massively fast Snapdragon processor to the software elegance of Google Navigation, Live Wallpaper and the Voice Keyboard. When combined with Google Voice there is no phone on the market today that can touch the Nexus One.(Source : TechCrunch)

After reading and researching about Nexus,it seems to come up as the biggest competitor for iPhone.The “smartphone” market which was witnessing a battle of sorts between iPhone and Blackberry is set for a War now.

So how would Nexus One fair in the market ? Would it bite Apple or RIM where it would hurt them the most ? Is Microsoft observing from the flanks ?

Lets wait and watch.

What Say ?

© 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

Vodafone and Shopper Stop have launched the all new ZooZoo merchandise.We were not seeing much of ZooZoos ads from some time but this is a new campaign involving them.

The price of the merchandise has been kept very nominal.E.g.The price of a ZooZoo T-shirt is Rs 299.A discount of 10% is also offered to existing Vodafone customers.

This is an excellent way to connect to the customers and increase brand loyalty.The campaign is also highly innovative and fresh.People were tired of Telecom wars on TV and radio.The character merchandise concept is new in India and should do well.
Vodafone has gone for a flank attack on other players.Instead of frontal attacks on TV and other common media,they have launched this new concept in a new way least expected by others. There are many non -Vodafone customers who love ZooZoos a lot.By giving them an option to get more closer to it,Vodafone also increases the probability of converting non vodafone customers to vodafone customers.
A Non-Vodafone customer who would buy a ZooZoo merchandize might just switch from an Airtel or a TATA to a Vodafone to further enhance his connect with ZooZoo.The switching costs are minimum these days.The only issue is change in number.With number portability around the corner,it just might be the case.

Vodafone has started a new trend in the market.Lets see how well it picks up with the Customer and how the competitors respond to it.

What Say ?

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

Look at the ad above.It clearly says ‘End of counting minutes.Keep Talking’, I was very impressed by the plan on the first look.I thought TATA is creating waves in the telecom sector,first TATA Docomo pay per second,now pay per call by TATA Indicom.

Then things changed when i was asked by one of my friends to visit TATA Indicom website.I selected Delhi/NCR as the circle as the plan is not available in Mumbai/Maharashtra.

I found this

On tariff rates its mentioned per 10 mins,I didn’t get it.I thought to myself when they say time duration doesn’t matter,why are they mentioning tariff per 10 minutes.Then i read more and found these lines in the bottom of the table.

Note :
1. Each local call to be charged at Rs 1 for 10 minutes & each STD call to be charged at Rs 3 for 10 Minutes
2. Pulse for Local & STD call will be 600 secs
3. Pulse for Roaming calls will be 60 secs
4. This new starter kit allows keep talking benefit only with the purchase of a new handset on the tata indicom network , if sim is used with old & used handsets , the default tariffs of Rs 1/min for Local calls & 1.5/min for STD Calls . Local SMS @ Rs1 & National SMS @ Rs 1.5
5. As a special promotion , customers will enjoy an extended pulse of 24 hours for all local calls for first 15 days from date of activation
6. Daily rental to be charged at Rs 1 per day
7. Keep talking plan is a stand alone plan & can not be coupled with any other special offers which has free talk time or free minutes built in.

Just the point No. 5 mentions that charges are irrespective of duration you talk and that too is valid just for 15 days.For this plan you need to buy a new handset.If you don’t buy it,then no such plan would exist on your old tata handset.And the most important thing is that the pulse is there Its 600 secs(or 10 minutes).

The plan doesn’t mean that i can talk non stop to my parents on a single call without bothering about the money.If i cross 10 minutes mark i would be billed for next call.

In last post about TATA Tion i had mentioned that in India TATA stands for trust but in this case it seems to be a bit fuzzy.

The plan of 10 minutes pulse is actually amazing.10 mins is a long pulse rate.Majority of the calls are withing the 10 min window.TATA would have gained a lot more customers if they would have said the truth as such.If they would have claimed the 10 mins pulse in their communications then still the response would have been the same or even better.

in the TV commercial They say ‘Ab Ghadi ka atyachar band aur minute ginna band(the atrocities of clock have come to an end,stop counting minutes,just talk)’.This positioning is far from truth.

With 10 minutes pulse,still people will have to watch the time else their bills would double.It does matter how long your call duration is. 10 mins or 11 mins makes a difference.

TATA indicom could have come up with a better communication strategy in which nothing is hidden from the potential customer.

Many of my friends have already expressed concern on this.One of my  family members has a TATA Indicom connection.Even he was upset when he learnt about the actual plan.

TATA Indicom should be a lot more careful in the future as they have a big brand to rely on.

What Say ?

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

The TV commercial was great.

The name Marine and the TV commercial sets the positioning straight and positions it as a waterproof phone.Shock Proof and Dust Proof were the additional qualities associated with it.The name Marine seemed apt.The whole ad was shot in  rafting boat.In the end of the commercial the phone is shown in water too.

Water Proofing is a major issue with phones.Many of my friends have lost their phones due to this problem.In Mumbai people carry their phones in plastic bags to avoid water seepage in rains.I nearly lost my cell phone to rains but somehow revived it luckily.

Samsung Marine seemed to have the answer to these problems.

Dust and shock(free falling phone not the electrical shock ) related problems are not that much prominent but water related are.

But Today i saw this new ad.I kept on waiting for the ad to refer to the waterproofing thing but it didn’t.

The main point in this ad was the shock proof attribute.First thing that came to my mind was that the name of the phone is Samsung Marine and there is no sign of water or water proofing in the ad.

The name is the first marketing tool.Many a times the name positions your product.

In Cell Phone industry,the names are not that prominent.More or less cell phones are referred by model numbers.

Nokia 3230,5210,3610 or Sony Erickson p200 etc.So you can chose any positioning as per the features offered in the phone.

Samsung normally keep names for their products and justify them properly.Duo(two sim cards),Omnia(high end) or generic names like Star etc were well kept names and  justified by the product well

Even Samsung Marine is a good name with a good tagline,”planet proof”.But the new  ad doesn’t go with the name as such.The tagline has also been changed to ‘Girega to bhi chalega(will work even after a fall)’The ad highlights the secondary attributes of the product and no signs of water,waterproofing etc as the name suggests.

The first thing that comes into mind when you hear the word marine is water(or Sea),which is not highlighted in the ad.If it would have been US ,then the word marine could have been used to show any of the three attributes,water,shock,dust equally as Marine is commonly used for a US Navy Soldier.In India the word Marine in that context is not that popular(Indian Navy does have a Marine Commando Force)

In the same ad if instead of dropping the cell on stairs if the model would have dropped it in a pool or something similar then the ad,name and positioning all three would have been in sync.

I saw the product demo video of the product.Even in that the product manager puts the phone in a water glass and proves that it is waterproof and highlights that fact well.

The ad is good if the viewer knows about the product already and has seen the last commercial(of which chances are high) otherwise there is a lot of mismatch between the name and the ad.

I know it will not cause much of a problem to Samsung but its interesting to see the whole campaign as a Marketing or an Advertising Case.

What Say ?

Update 1 : There is a new ad of Samsung Marine which should be on TV soon.It is just perfect.It shows a girl stuck in rain as her Scooty stops but phone doesn’t so she calls her dad and he comes to take her.In whole ad the phone is shown to get wet but doesn’t stop working.

The Video :

I don’t know whether this ad has come on TV or not yet but this ad is perfect.Instead of the ‘Boss’ ad Samsung should have preferred this.

If i would have seen this ad before i would not have written the whole post on the first place

but still i think Samsung could have done away with the Boss Ad or modified it a bit to justify the product well.

What Say?

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

While driving, I could not give full attention to it,On the first instant i thought Vodafone has come up with some kind of second phase of ZooZoo campaign,but why are the ZooZoos Yellow.Other instant i had a re-look at the hoarding again.There were humans with ZooZoo like yellow faces and whole background was blackish and in red color (very similar to Vodafone),it was written,”Lets Go Phoenixing”.

This is the only image i could manage from the internet.

A typical ZooZoo Ad

I wish i could have taken a photograph right there by stopping my bike.

But if you happen to go to Bandra by road towards Mahim or Lower Parel(or even if Bandra),you will not happen to miss those hoardings.I think i saw 3 hoardings of the campaign.

There was a a couple with such ZooZoo like faces smiling with red colored Phoenix written on side.

I dont know but yes the whole campaign looks very similar to Vodafone ZooZoo campaign ( not positioning wise but look wise definitely).

Afaqs.com has a full story on it.

“The campaign is created by RMG Connect, the agency that handles the creative duties for High Street Phoenix, the objective of the campaign, called Let’s go Phoenixing, is two pronged.

Alex Coutinho, head, marketing, High Street Phoenix, explains the arrival of the creative thought. He says that according to the lingo today, most nouns are converted into verbs by adding ‘ing’. Thus, the word ‘phoenixing’ was born to encapsulate all that one can do and experience at the mall. As the company wanted to create a buzz, this seemed like a good route to do so.

The campaign makes use of outdoor and print. Radio is also a part of the media mix. “The aim is to make ‘phoenixing’ a part of everyday lingo,” says Sadanand Parulekar, head, servicing, RMG Connect. Television isn’t a part of the media mix (as is the case with most mall advertising) as the company wants to concentrate more on the local target group. Billboards have been placed at important locations between Bandra and Colaba.(source Afaqs.com)”

The positioning is good but what about the visuals.The first thing that comes to mind after seeing them is ZooZoo or ZooZoo like or something similar.

I am assuming it that even the people involved with the campaign would(or should) have noticed it.I am damn sure about that.(If not no comments).

Now the point is whether its a deliberate attempt to attract people to such an OOH ad instantly ?

I may have missed a run of mill ad showing a couple dining and laughing with a line praising the mall below,but i didnt miss it due to its striking resemblance with something already in my mind.

I don’t know whats the exact strategy,but it might just increase the footfall at the Phoenix mall where people come for ‘Phoenixing’ as they call it.

What say ?

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

I couldn’t really figure that out but found this .

Vodafone Won the First PETA India Glitterbox Award for its Animal-Friendly ‘Zoozoo’ Ad in May 2009.

And the news release was :

Mumbai – For leaving the competition in the dust with its “ZooZoo” ad, Vodafone has won the first of PETA’s 2009 Glitterbox Awards, which are given to businesses that take advantage of humane alternatives to the use of real animals in their ads.

“ZooZoo” is part of the latest Vodafone ad campaign, which has replaced the company’s “Pug” ad campaign. PETA has raised objections in the past to the use of animals (including a parakeet and a dog) in Vodafone’s (Hutch) ad campaigns.

Vodafone’s (Hutch) first “Pug” ad was bad news for real-life pugs. Many people who saw the ad later purchased pugs, and breeders cranked out as many of the animals as they could. Later, when their appeal wore off, many dogs ended up in animal shelters or were simply abandoned.

Pugs face unique health challenges. Their unnaturally short faces and upturned noses lead to breathing difficulties and make them susceptible to heatstroke. Their compromised respiratory systems make anesthetising them a risk. Most of the females can’t even give birth without the help of a veterinarian. Their large, shallow-set eyes are extremely vulnerable to injury and infection. Pugs are also prone to serious brain disease, joint problems and skin and allergy problems.

In response to PETA’s objection to the unregulated use of animals in films, the Bombay High Court issued a judgment which required the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC) to ask applicants to furnish a no-objection certificate from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) before certifying any film in which animals have been used.

“The latest ZooZoo ads are a refreshing change from the earlier Vodafone (Hutch) ad campaigns”, says PETA Chief Functionary Anuradha Sawhney. “The popularity of this ad campaign proves that there are many creative ways to convey a message without using animals. Animals used in films are often treated as little more than props, and many suffer terribly behind the scenes.”

(Source : http://www.petaindia.com)

I could not stop laughing when i saw it.PETA gave Vodafone the award only because Vodafone had replaced a pug(an animal) with ZooZoos(humane alternatives) .PETA is now witnessing the return of the Pug.

I am amazed that on the front page of their site www.petaindia.com,the vodafone award news is displayed in style.(even after the return of Pug )

Now what can we say ?

Is PETA seeing or listening or reading ? or is just waiting ?

but one thing is certain,Vodafone is in a Win-Win situation literally .

Comments !

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

Major segments are GSM and CDMA which were well contested within boundaries.Airtel,Vodafone and Idea fighting it out in GSM domain whereas Reliance and TATA Indicom in CDMA.

Few days back Reliance entered the GSM market with Hritik Roshan leading the campaigns.So how could have TATA laid back and just played in the CDMA market.

Just today i got a glimpse of what they are coming up with on a TV channel TATA DoCoMo is what they are calling their new baby.

Docomo is not actually a baby.Its a giant in Japanese market.Check it out on Wiki.

So TATA has tied up with them to take on Indian Market.

I went to their site.The site looks good and it seems TATA DoCoMo would be introducing many new things in India.They have both Prepaid and Postpaid( this is not new i am coming to it).

1) one second pulse

2) One Paisa Per Second rate

3) Savings Alert

All other things seem to be in place.

The first impression about Positioning from their website seems to be of an Affordable and Savings oriented GSM service.

TATA is a brand which always keeps on evolving and coming to market with new products and services. This time they have to take on all the big and established players like Airtel,Vodafone,Reliance.

One more thing is that it may cannibalize its own market(TATA Indicom) but thats just a thought.Reliance has successfully maintained success in both GSM and CDMA so even TATA can.

Just before leaving listen to this tone which is gonna be played many times in front of you on TV and other media.

The TATA DoCoMo signature tune : 

UPDATE : TATA DOCOMO is already launched in few states like TN and Kerala in its initial phase.

UPDATE 2 : Comment from TATA DOCOMO Marketing
We have finally launched our unlimited GPRS plan and we will be introducing it in 2 packages. The first package will be the ‘Rs. 15 GPRS Pack’. This is a pre paid pack wherein a customer can recharge with Rs.15, and thereafter the customer will be allowed to access unlimited data for next 3 days by selecting Docomo internet APN on their handsets. The second package will be the ‘Rs. 95 GPRS Pack’. In this pack, the customer can recharge with Rs. 95, and thereafter the customer will be allowed to access unlimited data for the next 30 days. These packages will be applicable to TATADOCOMO home and roaming network only.For further information please visit the Unlimited GPRS URL: http://www.tatadocomo.com/gprs-edge-faqs.aspx

Update 3 Comment from TATA DOCOMO Marketing

This Diwali we want to ‘do the new’ with the animators! Not only are we holding the Animation Contest, we are now giving it a cracking Diwali twist! So all you animator’s out there here’s your chance to earn a nice Diwali Bonus! We are offering a special reward of Rs. 1 Lakh for the best animation celebrating the theme of Diwali, using D, O, C, O, M and O and of course our brand signature tune!
The last date of submission for the unique Diwali Contest is October 7th, 2009. The name of all the entries must start with ‘DIWALI_(title of your clip)’.
The Diwali Twist Competition is over and above the on-going contest and the same terms of DO apply.
This Diwali we want to DO the New, so its time for you to show your DO!

The Diwali twist contest details can be found at ‘create.tatadocomo.com/ what-to-do.aspx’

Warm Regards,

TATA DOCOMO

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.