Fully Explained – Idea’s Marketing Strategy with Complete Company Overview

Introduction

This article will elaborate on the marketing strategy of Vodafone Idea, one of the top telephonic companies in India and the world.

Our objective in creating a Vodafone marketing strategy blog is to help you gain insights into how Vodafone went from being a single company to merging with Idea, one of the most recognised and respected brands in India.

In this blog, we will cover the entire Vodafone Idea marketing strategy (VI). But before we deep dive into this case study, let us start by learning how both companies merged and what is the current state.

About Vodafone-Idea

Source: Google

Vodafone-Idea, formed in August 2018 through a merger between Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, is India’s largest telecom company. With over 379 million active users globally as of May 2022, the company provides a wide range of services including 2G, 4G, 4G+, VoLTE, and VoWiFi.

Headquartered in Mumbai and Gandhinagar, the merger symbolized as V! aims to enhance network connectivity and digital services, ensuring customer satisfaction and bridging the digital divide in India. The merger, approved in July 2018, resulted in Vodafone Group owning 45.2%, the Aditya Birla Group 26%, with the remaining shares held by the public.

Relevant Updated Statistics

• As of 2023, Vodafone-Idea has a subscriber base of approximately 250 million【source: TRAI】.
• The company reported a revenue of ₹44,011 crore for the fiscal year 2022-2023【source: Vodafone-Idea Annual Report 2023】.
• Vodafone-Idea’s 4G network covers over 1 billion Indians across 500,000 towns and villages【source: Vodafone-Idea Investor Relations】.

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But for now, let us continue with our case study on the marketing strategy of Vodafone-Idea.

What’s New With Vodafone-Idea?

Business News

Vodafone-Idea is reportedly in talks with global investors to raise funds to improve its network infrastructure and reduce debt.

Product Launch

In early 2023, Vodafone-Idea launched’”Vi Max,’ a premium service offering enhanced data speeds and exclusive content partnerships.

Marketing News

Vodafone-Idea launched a new campaign, ‘Together for Tomorrow,’ highlighting their efforts to provide robust network coverage and support digital education in rural areas.

Celebrity News

Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has become the brand ambassador for Vodafone-Idea, promoting their latest digital services and network capabilities.

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Buyer Persona

Vodafone-Idea strategically leverages data analytics to tailor its approach, exemplifying how insights from buyer personas drive effective strategies and innovations.

Vodafone-Idea caters to tech-savvy consumers, ensuring seamless connectivity and enriched digital experiences. They prioritize staying connected and engaged with their passions, reflecting a persona seeking growth through industry knowledge and skill development.

Marketing Strategies of Vodafone-Idea

Source: Google

Before getting into the details of the marketing strategy of Vodafone Idea, let’s go through its STP Analysis

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

The segmentation services offered by Vodafone Idea encompass mobile network services, enterprise services, and broadband services, utilising geographical, demographical, and psychographic segmentation effectively.

The Vi strategy of targeting its audience involves concentrating on different sections of societies with their different offerings. It uses a selective and differentiated targeting strategy. Vodafone Idea is positioned as the fastest 4G network in India.

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Digital Marketing Strategies

SEO Strategy: Vodafone-Idea optimizes its website content with relevant keywords, high-quality blogs, and user-friendly design to improve search engine rankings. By the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) standards, organic keywords (natural search engine query terms) of less than 500 are bad, more than 1000 are good and more than 10,000 are amazing. And as seen in the image above VI has 278K+ organic keywords which is impressive.

VI has a monthly traffic of around 6.2M. This is considered to be amazing as above 20,000 is good.

SMM Strategy: This marketing strategy of Vodafone Idea involves actively engaging with customers on social media platforms through targeted ads, interactive content, and customer support. From Facebook (now Meta) to Twitter (now X). Vodafone Idea uses all its social media platforms. r. They use widely searched keywords in their blog to increase the view count and traffic on their website as well as blogs.

E-commerce Strategy: Vodafone-Idea’s online store provides a seamless shopping experience. The company has a website through which one can select the pack or offer they want.

Mobile App: One can do several things through the ‘Vi’ mobile app such as charge their phone, pay their bills and get exclusive content access. This goes a long way in enhancing customer convenience and loyalty. It intends to grow its use of data analytics for designing more personalised experiences for individual users. My Vodafone App and digital marketing channels will become the main customer acquisition and management platform.
My Vodafone App has a rating of 4.1 and 10Cr+ downloads on the Play Store.

Influencer Marketing Strategy: By collaborating with tech influencers and celebrities, Vodafone-Idea has no problem reaching a broader audience and creating a buzz around their new product launches and services. For example, in the year 2009. Idea collaborated with Abhishek Bachchan for their advertisement. The same turned out to be a success as their ad campaign won an award.

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Marketing Campaigns

1. The Data Strong Network

A campaign in 2019 stated new towers getting added every hour in crowded places thereby strengthening Vodafone SuperNet 4G- The Data strong network. Seamless network experience even in crowded places because a tower is being added every hour.

Source: Google

2. OOH Campaign

This campaign was launched to highlight the 4G experience provided by VI. Hoardings were installed all over Delhi/NCR to promote this campaign. The success of this campaign is best described by Dipankar Sanyal, the CEO, of Platinum Outdoor and MRP, who stated, “Vi checks all the boxes for a stellar outdoor campaign. It has been an exciting experience for our teams to plan and execute such a large campaign. The campaign has already had a tremendous impact on the brand.”

Source: Google

Social Media Marketing
Instagram – 20.5K followers
Facebook – 22K followers
LinkedIn – 2L+ followers
Twitter – 11.4K followers

For the most part, VI posts about the offers they provide and campaigns they launch.

Source – Ubersuggest

Digital Marketing Strategies

SEO Strategy: One of the most important marketing strategies of Vodafone-Idea is to optimize its website content with relevant keywords, high-quality blogs, and user-friendly design to improve search engine rankings. By the SEO standards, organic keywords less than 500 are bad, more than 1000 are good and more than 10,000 are amazing. And as seen in the image above VI has 278K+ organic keywords which is impressive. The marketing strategy of Vodafone Idea is to use widely searched keywords in their blogs to increase the view count and traffic on their website as well as blogs.

VI has a monthly traffic of around 6.2M. This is considered to be amazing as anything above 20,000 is good.

SMM Strategy: Vodafone Idea employs a strong marketing strategy across various social media platforms, leveraging its substantial following: Instagram (20.5K followers), Facebook (22K followers), LinkedIn (2L+ followers), and Twitter (11.4K followers). The brand actively engages with customers through targeted ads, interactive content, and customer support, focusing heavily on promoting offers and campaign launches.

E-commerce Strategy: Vodafone-Idea’s online store provides a seamless shopping experience for SIM cards, recharge plans, and digital services. The VI strategy includes having its website where all packs and offers are made available through which we can recharge our mobile.

Mobile App: The “Vi” mobile app offers features like mobile recharge, bill payments, and exclusive content access, enhancing customer convenience and loyalty. Vodafone Idea intends to integrate these functionalities into its marketing strategy of Vodafone Idea, using data analytics to design more personalized experiences for individual users. My Vodafone App and digital marketing channels will become the main customer acquisition and management platform.

My Vodafone App has a rating of 4.1 and has 10Cr+ downloads on the Play Store.

Influencer Marketing Strategy: By collaborating with tech influencers and celebrities, Vodafone Idea strategically expands its reach to a broader audience, generating excitement around new product launches and services. In 2009, Idea successfully partnered with Abhishek Bachchan for an award-winning ad campaign, demonstrating its effective use of celebrity endorsements.

Recently, Vodafone Idea launched a campaign featuring Shankar Mahadevan to promote the Vodafone Play app. This platform has curated a diverse portfolio of Bollywood, Hollywood, and regional content through partnerships with major creators and platforms like ZEE5, SonyLiv, Hungama Play, SunNXT, ShemarooMe, HoiChoi, Lionsgate Play, and others, showcasing a key element of its Vodafone marketing strategy.

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Marketing and Advertising Campaigns

Vodafone-Idea employs various marketing strategies to enhance its market positioning, including strategic partnerships, customer-centric campaigns, and leveraging digital platforms for broader reach. Their recent ‘Together for Tomorrow’ campaign, is a key aspect of the Vodafone marketing strategy. The company rolled out the “Together for Tomorrow” campaign to highlight its commitment to digital transformation and connectivity for all. They launched this campaign across various social media platforms, including Instagram, where they posted images showcasing community support, technological advancements, and initiatives aimed at bridging the digital divide.

The ‘Together for Tomorrow’ campaign effectively highlights Vodafone-Idea’s commitment to social causes and network expansion, creating a positive brand image and increasing customer engagement. One of Vodafone-Idea’s most famous campaigns is “Happy to Help,” which emphasises their commitment to customer service and plays a crucial role in the marketing strategy of Vodafone Idea.

The campaign reinforced the brand’s image as a customer-centric company and significantly improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Top Competitors

• Airtel: Maintains a robust network across India, especially in urban areas. They continue to innovate with digital services beyond just mobile connectivity.
• Reliance Jio: A key player with affordable data plans, Jio keeps pushing boundaries with its expanding digital ecosystem.
• BSNL: Backed by the government, BSNL offers reliable and widespread coverage, particularly valuable in rural areas where private players might have limited reach.
• Tata Communications: A leader in business-focused solutions, Tata Communications provides high-quality services for enterprises and organizations.
• MTNL: Primarily focused on metro cities, MTNL offers competitive broadband and telecom services, making them a strong choice for urban residents.

Failed Campaigns

Vodafone Zoozoos Campaign

The Vodafone Zoozoos Campaign featured animated characters called Zoozoos to humorously and effectively showcase various Vodafone services and offers.

Issue: While initially successful, the Zoozoos campaign became repetitive and failed to evolve with changing consumer preferences.

Backlash: Customers found the ads monotonous and lacking innovation, leading to decreased engagement.

Response: Vodafone phased out the Zoozoos campaign and shifted focus to more contemporary and relevant advertising themes.

While the engagement level of Vodafone’s promotional activities has remained high, the zoo-zoo ads run the longest. They were the most popular of the lot and became social media, television, and even newspaper sensations.

They became famous because they closely related to real-life situations and featured several funny and comical scenes.

During the sports season, zoo-zoo ads were used during television ads as well to drive engagement and brand recall. These entertain well and engage like nothing else.

This brings us to the end of the case study of the marketing strategy of Vodafone Idea.

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