ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Preparing a project of this nature is an arduous task and I was fortune enough to get Support from a large number of persons . I wish to my express my deep sense of Gratitude to all those who generously helped successful completion of this report By sharing their invaluable time and knowledge . It is my proud and privilege to express my deep regards to respected Mr ANAND TIWARI ( HOD) , Department of business. Management Govt. Girls P.G. College of Excellence , Sagar , for allowing me to undertake this project I feel extremely exhilarated to have completed this project under the able and inspiring guidance of Miss DIPTI PATEL , Mrs. SHIKHA URMIL KHAN & Mr. SHAILENDRA PATEL. They render me all possible help and guidance while reviewing the manuscript in finalizing the report . I also extend my deep regard to my teachers, family members , friends and all those whose encouragement has infused courage in me to complete the work successfully.

DECLARATION BY CANDIDATE

Date:

I declare that the project report tittle ADVERTISING STRATEGY OF VODAFONE is my own work conducted under the supervision of Mr.SHAILENDRA PATEL (Guest-Lecturer), Department of Business Management , Govt. Girls P.G Collage Of Excellence , Sagar . To the best of my knowledge the report does not contain any work , which has been submitted for the award of any degree, anywhere.

Sheetal patel BBA 4th sem 2nd year

CERTIFICATE

The project report titled ADVERTISING STRATEGY OF VODAFONE has been prepared by Sheetal patel , BBA 4th sem under the guidance and supervision of Mr.SHAILENDRA PATEL for the partial fulfillment of the degree of BBA.

Signature of the Signature of the the head Supervision of the Department

Signature of Examiner

ABSTRACT
In the year 2007, the world's largest telecom company in terms of revenue, Vodafone Plc (Vodafone) made a major foray into the Indian telecom market by acquiring a 67 percent stake in the Indian telecom company, Hutchison Essar Ltd, through a deal with the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunication International Ltd. It was the biggest deal in the Indian telecom market. Vodafone's main motive of going in for the deal was its strategy of expanding into emerging and high growth markets like India. In 2007, India had emerged as the fastest growing telecom market in the world outpacing China. But it still had low penetration rates, making it the most lucrative market for global telecom companies. Though Hutchison Essar was one of the established players in this market, Hutchinson Telecommunication International Ltd. had exited India as the urban markets in the country had become saturated.

This brand management project aims to track Vodafone success in the Indian market right through its launch on 21st September 2007.

The report is divided into three parts: Introduction, Analysis and Conclusion. The introduction section mainly gives an overview of the Indian Telecom industry, and about the company - Vodafone. The Analysis section deals with competitors of Vodafone, and also giving an outline of the competitive growth of the telecom companies. It also discusses the various re-branding strategies adopted by Vodafone in order to successfully penetrate into the Indian market. purpose of the study. A detailed analysis of the telecom brand Vodafone is done for the

WHAT IS TELECOMUNICATION
Telecommunication is the transmissions of signals over a distance for the purpose of communication. In modern times this process almost always involves the sending of electro magnetic waves by electronic transmitters but in earlier years it may have involved the use of smoke signals drums or semaphore lines.

HISTORY OF TELECOMMUNICATION:
The history of telecommunication began with the use of smoke signals & drums in Africa the America & parts of Asia. Smoke signals In the 1790s the first fixed semaphore systems emerged in Europe however it was not until the 1830s that electrical telecommunication systems started to appear. This article

details the history of telecommunication & the individuals who helped make telecommunication systems what they are today. Early telecommunication included smoke signals & drums. Drums were used in natives like Africa, New Guinea & South America & smoke signals in North America & China. In 1792 a French engineer Claude Chappe built the first visual telegraphy for semaphore system between Chile & Paris. This was followed by a line from Strasburg to Paris. SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR TELECOM

COMPANIES IN INDIA: A.P TELECOM A.P.-telecom officer's service telephone numbers can be viewed by clicking the concerned telecom district. A.P. telecom circle is serving the whole state of Andhra Pradesh including the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secundrabad. ASC ENTERPRISES LIMITED (ASCEL) Ascel is a multi venture corporate heralding the

"convergence" era in our country, focusing on nationwide

retailing of time (telecom, information & learning, media, entertainment) products & services, satellite and digital wireless initiatives. AIRCEL Popular provider in Tamil Nadu BANGALORE TELECOM Bangalore telecom system is a communications window to the rest of the world. Offer a wide range of telecom services from basic telephone service to high speed data circuits. BHARTI ENTERPRISES Established in 1985, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom sector with many firsts and innovations to its credit, ranging from being the first mobile service in Delhi, first private basic telephone service provider in the country, first Indian company to provide comprehensive telecom services outside India. COMMSOUTH communication services ventures and for provision among of infrastructure, solutions other

Commsouth was founded in Chennai, in the mid nineties; Commsouth has grown steadily and established sound positions in the mobile telephony and telecom management software market. CELLEBRUM Cellebrum is a company of M Corp global group with interests in the field of telecom solutions, office automation and information technology and value added services. Asias leading value-added mobile services and solutions provider on platforms like sms / ivrs / wap / gprs / ussd etc. CRICKET COMMUNICATIONS Cricket is the a operating subsidiary of leap wireless providing

international,

customer-focused

company

innovative mobile wireless services targeted to meet the needs of customers who are under-served by traditional communications companies. ESSAR GROUP The Essar group is one of Indias largest corporate houses with interests spanning the manufacturing and service

sectors in both old and new economies: steel, power, shipping, constructions, oil & gas and telecom. IDEA CELLULAR India's leading GSM mobile services operator, idea cellular has licenses to operate in 11 circles. With a customer base of over 17 million, idea cellular has operations in Delhi, Maharashtra, Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya UP-west, Chattisgarh, Uttaranchal,

Himachal Pradesh and Kerala. Idea acquired spice telecom which was operating in Karnataka and Punjab. Idea cellular footprint currently covers approximately 45% of Indias population and over 50% of the potential telecom-market. As a leader in value added services, innovation is central to idea's vas factory. It is the first cellular company to launch music messaging with 'cellular jockey', 'background tones', 'group talk', a voice portal with 'say idea' and a complete suite of mobile email services.

INTRODUCTION
Vodafone, the British mobile company that entered India after buying Hutchs share and by creating Vodafone Essar in July 2007, has embarked on a major rebranding exercise in the country. The history of Indian mobile industry is not very old, not to mention the industry as a whole in itself is very new to the whole world. Telephones have been serving mankind for quite a long now and can boast of the world largest redundant legacy system. Thousands of miles of underground cables run through oceans to connect all the continents. Telecommunication industry as a whole has not seen a major

revolution for a long time with the exception of a few new innovations in the type of services and call rated. The advent of wireless communication has brought about a slew of path breaking technological advancements in the way people use and see telephones. From being an equipment kept on the side table for talking, it has walked to occupy every persons pocket for all his information needs. Furthermore, the revolution has not ceased and it promises to bring even more of comfort and connectivity while on the move. Recognizing the crucial role that can be played by the telecommunication in the sector in Indias development, and the Government of India in 1999 initiated a number of changes telecommunication and regulatory policy framework. Through these the Government hoped to facilitate an increase in telecommunication penetration, which stood at 1.3% in 1995. The reforms, with an eye on a telecommunication penetration of 15% by 2010, resulted in a flurry of private operators entering the market breaking the monopoly of the incumbent operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Indias 1.1 billion population currently boasts a mobile telephone penetration rate of just 13 per cent. But it is growing by more than six million subscribers every month,

making

it

the

fastest

growing

market

in the world and the focus of the industry. At the start of the decade, India was pretty much a telecom backwater. But now, Indias tele-density has grown by about 100 per cent to 17.16 per cent over the past two years. Last year it actually grew at a faster rate than China for the first time in new mobile phone connections. Even as the mobile telephony market in India is booming, the number of fixed line telephone subscribers dropped, suggesting that first-time users of telephones are opting for mobile phones. The number of fixed line subscribers was down to 40.43 million in December as compared to 48.43 million a year ago. Mobile penetration in India is growing rapidly and it is becoming increasingly rare to see anyone without a 'handphone' as they are known, whereas growth of internet access at home is much slower. Rather than listing a web address, many billboard ads offer an SMS short-code which people can text to get more information. There are expected to be somewhere around 200 million subscribers by the end of the year, with around six million customers being added every month, so the Indian market is certainly a growth one, with increased mobile internet access expected to push up average revenues per user.

Although the average Indian mobile user remains costconscious because of low-income living and huge size of mobile subscriber in India uses only SMS or voice services; new and more multifunctional handset with features like cameras, FM radio and mobile video. Also, India is the largest untapped market where the 20% of the total world's population lives. The Indian telecom industry recently witnessed its biggest deal - Vodafone bidding for 67% stake in Hutch-Essar. The telecom market is at a stake with $22 billion which is expected to double by 2010. The dramatis personae include leading names of India IncSunil Bharti Mittal, Anil Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Ratan Tata and A K Sinha (of BSNL) not to mention the 51-year-old Arun Sarin of Vodafone, whom the Hutch puppy will follow dutifully henceforth. But for a nation of 1.3 billion people, Indias tele-density of 17% is dreadful. And therein lies both the opportunity and the challenge.

About Vodafone

Vodafone

is

the

world's

leading

international

mobile

communications company. It presently has operations in 25 countries across 5 continents and 40 partner networks with over 200 million customers worldwide. Vodafone has partnered with the Essar Group as its principal joint venture partner for the Indian market. The Essar Group is a diversified business corporation with interests spanning the manufacturing and service sectors like Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping & Logistics and Construction. The Group has an asset base of over Rs.400 billion and employs over 20,000 people.

Launch of Vodafone Essar

Vodafone Essar was launched in India on 21st September 2007. Vodafone was welcomed in India with the Hutch is

now Vodafone campaign. The popular and endearing brand Hutch was transitioned to Vodafone across India. This marked a significant chapter in the evolution of Vodafone as a dynamic and ever-growing brand. This brand unveiled nationally through a high profile campaign covering all important media. Vodafone, the worlds leading mobile telecommunication company, completed the acquisition of Hutchison Essar in May 2007 and the company was formally renamed Vodafone Essar in July 2007. The transition from Hutch to Vodafone is probably the largest brand change ever undertaken in this country and arguably as big as any in the world. It is even larger than Hutchs own previous brand transitions. The migration from Hutch to Vodafone was one of the fastest and most comprehensive brand transitions in the history of the Vodafone Group, with 400,000 multi brand outlets, over 350 Vodafone stores, over 1,000 mini stores, over 35 mobile stores and over 3,000 touch-points rebranded in two months, with 60% completed within 48 hours of the launch. The Vodafone mission is to be the communications leader in an increasingly connected world enriching customers lives, helping individuals, businesses and communities be more connected delivering their total communication needs. by

HISTORY

Original Corporate Logo of Vodafone. Vodafone itself was formed in 1982 as a joint venture between Racal Electronics plc's subsidiary Racal Strategic Radio Ltd (who won one of two UK cellular telephone network licences) along with Millicom and the Hambros Technology Trust. In this arrangement Racal owned 80%, Millicom 15% and Hambros 5%. The network was known as Racal Vodafone, with the Vodafone name being derived from the firm's goal of establishing a voice and data services over cellular telecommunication networks. Hence VO represented voice and DA symbolized data yielding the name Vodafone. Vodafone was launched on 1 January 1985 and later that year Racal Strategic Radio was renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited in 1985. A year later, on 29 December 1986 Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for GB110 million. In September 1988 the company was again renamed Racal Telecom and on 26 October 1988 Racal Electronics floated 20% of the company a flotation that valued Racal Telecom at GB1.7 billion. On 16 September 1991 Racal Telecom was demerged from Racal Electronics as Vodafone Group and the mobile telephony giant was born.

During the mix 1990s Vodafone began to consolidate itself on the British high-street. In July 1996 Vodafone acquired the two thirds of Talkland it did not already own for 30.6 million. On 19 November 1996, in a defensive move, Vodafone purchased Peoples Phone for 77 million, a 181 store chain whose customers were overwhelmingly using Vodafone's network. In a similar move the company acquired the 80% of Astec Communications that it did not own, a service provider with 21 stores. This made Vodafone a very visible presence on the British high street and significantly increased the company's share of UK mobile customers.

New Corporate Logo of Vodafone as of 1997. In 1997 Vodafone introduced its new corporate Speechmark logo. This represents a quotation mark within a circle. With the 'O's in the Vodafone logotype being opening and closing quotation marks, suggesting conversation.

VODAFONE The Brand!

Brand Name Brand Person Brand Delivery Brand Presence Madhya, Bihar, Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, M.P., U.P., Andhra Delhi, etc. Brand Colour Significances * The White background : * Red Colour * Red Colour Text * The VODAFONE Brand Launch A media spent ::::of :Youth & Energy Energy Solidarity Innovation 22th August, 2007 Rs. 40-42 crores in T.V Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, :::VODAFONE Ltd. ARUN SARIN World class Cellular Telephony :In the state of Gujarat,

with value Added Services

advertisements, Print ads, Murals, brand launch

parties, P.R.Campaigns, in all a high decibel and Discussed launch.

Overview

Name of the company Size of the unit Form of organization Web site :

: : :

Vodafone ltd. Large Scale Unit Multinational co.

www.vodafone.in 1984 in England Maturity : Post paid cards

Year of establishment : Stage of product Name of the service :

Prepaid cards Short Message Service Voice mail services Vodafone power service

Through continuous innovation, VODAFONE promises to liberate, stimulate customers from the shackles of time and spaces

SWOT ANALYSIS OF VODAFONE

Strengths: The main strength of Vodafone within the telecommunications market lies in its brand image and recognition. Vodafone, having established a global presence and having invested highly in marketing a differentiated image by promoting a Vodafone life style, currently enjoys a differentiating advantage that, if exploited properly, can offer a lead in competition. The presence of Vodafone in numerous countries within Europe as well as in all part of the world enhances this image. It allows customers to travel and enjoy easily the services of their home country operator. In the few countries that Vodafone is not physically present (e.g. Norway) it has well established strategic alliances which allow for a better service of mobile clients. Weaknesses: The expansion of Vodafone has been completed at the expense of direct control of its operations. The company grew through a process of acquisitions of national telecommunications companies (e.g. the acquisition of the third biggest Czech mobile phone operator, Cesky mobile) rather than organic growth. This increased its subscribers base quickly, offering direct market knowledge and immediate additions of customer bases at the expense of

direct effective control of the subsidiaries. At the same time though, it implicitly imposed a centralized operational structure for the group, nominating the UK headquarters as the leading business unit running a much centralised marketing and handset procurement at group level. This has resulted in the neglect of local markets and local differences, allowing market share to be gained by smaller local competitors. Due to the highly saturated Western European market this has resulted in an increase in the price elasticity of demand, with consumers becoming continuously price oriented. This has resulted in high customer churn rates reaching the level of 32.8% in the UK compared to O2s 24%. Opportunities: The telecommunications market, even though highly saturated in some regions offers great potential due to the ageing population and the sophistication of the consumers. It offers great opportunities through a careful market segmentation and exploitation of particular profitable segments. Different strategies should be pursued simple phones and simplified pricing plans to the ageing population and more updated, sophisticated solutions for younger generations. The expanding Boundaries of the market could provide further opportunities by allowing Vodafone to enter more aggressively into fixedline service and to better enjoy

the benefits of its high investment in 3G technology. Moreover the company has undertaken its first steps in establishing strategic alliances to develop customized solutions for endusers: Vodafone recently announced two new partnerships, one with supermarket group ASDA to launch an ASDA branded mobile service in the UK, and another with electrical retailer DSG International to provide mobile solutions to small businesses. This could further be enhanced to avoid being a lateentrant in this new method of distribution which offers access to a wide potential customer base. Threats: The European part of Vodafones market is characterized by existing high levels of competition. Major brands such as O2 and TMobile are exploiting the price sensitivity of customers and in this way they are building a stronger image and presence in the market. Indirect competition is also increasing further, through the presence of Skype and other related (not only voice) Internetbased services. This combined with the upcoming European legislative measures is expected to limit further the tariffs for the network providers imposing further need for price cuts which could harm the bottom line profitability of the company.

Advertising Strategy
An advertising strategy is a campaign developed to communicate ideas about products and services to potential consumers in the hopes of convincing them to buy those products and services. This strategy, when built in a rational and intelligent manner, will reflect other business considerations (overall budget, brand recognition efforts) and objectives (public image enhancement, market share growth) as well. As Portable MBA in Marketing authors Alexander Hiam and Charles D. Schewe stated, a business's advertising strategy "determines the character of the company's public face." Even though a small business has limited capital and is unable to devote as much money to advertising as a large corporation, it can still develop a highly effective advertising campaign. The key is creative and flexible planning, based on an indepth knowledge of the target consumer and the avenues that can be utilized to reach that consumer.

Today, most advertising strategies focus on achieving three general indicated stimulate goals, in as the Small Your and Business Business: "attract Administration 1) promote Advertising directly

awareness of a business and its product or services; 2) sales competitors' customers"; and 3) establish or modify a business' image. In other words, advertising seeks to inform, persuade, and remind the consumer. With these aims in mind, most businesses follow a general process which ties advertising into the other promotional efforts and overall marketing objectives of the business.

STAGES OF ADVERTISING STRATEGY

As a business begins, one of the major goals of advertising must be to generate awareness of the business and its products. Once the business' reputation is established and its products are positioned within the market, the amount of resources used for advertising will decrease as the consumer develops a kind of loyalty to the product. Ideally, this established and ever-growing consumer base will eventually aid the company in its efforts to carry their advertising message out into the market, both through its purchasing actions and its testimonials on behalf of the product or service. Essential to this rather abstract process is the development of a "positioning statement," as defined by Gerald E. Hills in

"Marketing Option and Marketing" in The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship: "A 'positioning statement' explains how a company's product (or service) is differentiated from those of key competitors." With this statement, the business owner turns intellectual objectives into concrete plans. In addition, this statement acts as the foundation for the development of a selling proposal, which is composed of the elements that will make up the advertising message's "copy platform." This platform delineates the images, copy, and art work that the business owner believes will sell the product. With these concrete objectives, the following elements of the advertising strategy need to be considered: target audience, product concept, communication media, and advertising message. These elements are at the core of an advertising strategy, and are often referred to as the "creative mix." Again, what most advertisers stress from the beginning is clear planning and flexibility. And key to these aims is creativity, and the ability to adapt to new market trends. A rigid advertising strategy often leads to a loss of market share. Therefore, the core elements of the advertising strategy need to mix in a way that allows the message to envelope the target consumer, providing ample opportunity for this consumer to become acquainted with the advertising message.

TARGET CONSUMER The target consumer is a complex combination of persons. It includes the person who ultimately buys the product, as well as those who decide what product will be bought (but don't physically buy it), and those who influence product purchases, such as children, spouse, and friends. In order to identify the target consumer, and the forces acting upon any purchasing decision, it is important to define three general criteria in relation to that consumer, as discussed by the Small Business Administration: Demographicsge, gender, job, income, ethnicity, and hobbies. Behaviorshen considering the consumers' behavior an advertiser needs to examine the consumers' awareness of the business and its competition, the type of vendors and services the consumer currently uses, and the types of appeals that are likely to convince the consumer to give the advertiser's product or service a chance. Needs and Desiresere an advertiser must determine the consumer needsoth in practical terms and in terms of self-image, etc.nd the kind of pitch/message that will convince the consumer that the advertiser's services or products can fulfill those needs.

PRODUCT CONCEPT The product concept grows out of the guidelines established in the "positioning statement." How the product is positioned within the market will dictate the kind of values the product represents, and thus how the target consumer will receive that product. Therefore, it is important to remember that no product is just itself, but, as Courtland L. Bovee and William F. Arens stated in Contemporary Advertising, a "bundle of values" that the consumer needs to be able to identify with. Whether couched in presentations that emphasize sex, humor, romance, science, masculinity, or femininity, the consumer must be able to believe in the product's representation. COMMUNICATION MEDIA The communication media is the means by which the advertising message is transmitted to the consumer. In addition to marketing objectives and budgetary restraints, the characteristics of the target consumer need to be considered as an advertiser decides what media to use. The types of media categories from which advertisers can choose include the following:

Printrimarily newspapers (both weekly and daily) and magazines. AudioM and AM radio. Videoromotional videos, infomercials. World Wide Web.

 Direct mail. Outdoor advertisingillboards, advertisements on public transportation (cabs, buses). After deciding on the medium that is 1) financially in reach, and 2) most likely to reach the target audience, an advertiser needs to schedule the broadcasting of that advertising. The media schedule, as defined by Hills, is "the combination of specific times (for example, by day, week, month) when advertisements are inserted into media vehicles and delivered to target audiences." ADVERTISING MESSAGE An advertising message is guided by the "advertising or copy platform," which is a combination of the marketing objectives, copy, art, and production values. This combination is best realized after the target consumer has been analyzed, the product concept has been established, and the media and vehicles have been chosen. At this point, the advertising message can be directed at a very concrete audience to achieve very specific goals. Hiam and Schewe listed three major areas that an advertiser should consider when endeavoring to develop an effective "advertising platform": What are the product's unique features? How do consumers evaluate the product? What is likely to persuade them to purchase the product?

 How do competitors rank in the eyes of the consumer? Are there any weaknesses in their positions? What are their strengths? Most business consultants recommend employing an

advertising agency to create the art work and write the copy. However, many small businesses don't have the upfront capital to hire such an agency, and therefore need to create their own advertising pieces. When doing this a business owner needs to follow a few important guidelines. COPY When composing advertising copy it is crucial to remember that the primary aim is to communicate information about the business and its products and services. The "selling proposal" can act as a blueprint here, ensuring that the advertising fits the overall marketing objectives. Many companies utilize a theme or a slogan as the centerpiece of such efforts, emphasizing major attributes of the business's products or services in the process. But as Hiam and Schewe caution, while "something must be used to animate the theme are must be taken not to lose the underlying message in the pursuit of memorable advertising." When writing the copy, direct language (saying exactly what you mean in a positive, rather than negative manner) has been shown to be the most effective. The theory here is that the less the audience has to interpret, or unravel the message, the easier the message will be to read,

understand, and act upon. As Jerry Fisher observed in Entrepreneur, "Two-syllable phrases like 'free book,' 'fast help,' and 'lose weight' are the kind of advertising messages that don't need to be read to be effective. By that I mean they are so easy for the brain to interpret as a whole thought that they're 'read' in an eye blink rather than as linear verbiage. So for an advertiser trying to get attention in a world awash in advertising images, it makes sense to try this message-in-an-eye-blink route to the public consciousnesse it for a sales slogan or even a product name." The copy content needs to be clearly written, following conventional grammatical guidelines. Of course, effective headings allow the reader to get a sense of the advertisement's central theme without having to read much of the copy. An advertisement that has "50% Off" in bold black letters is not just easy to read, but it is also easy to understand. ART WORK AND LAYOUT Small business owners also need to consider the visual rhetoric of the advertisement, which simply means that the entire advertisement, including blank space, should have meaning and logic. Most industry experts recommend that advertisers use short paragraphs, lists, and catchy illustrations and graphics to break up and supplement the text and make the document both visually

inviting

and

easy

to

understand.

Remember,

an

advertisement has to capture the reader's attention quickly. ADVERTISING BUDGET The advertising budget can be written before or after a business owner has developed the advertising strategy. When to make a budget decision depends on the importance of advertising and the resources available to the business. If, for instance, a business knows that they only have a certain amount of money for advertising then the budget will tend to dictate what advertising is developed and what the overall marketing objectives will be. On the other hand, if a business has the resources available, the advertising strategy can be developed to meet predetermined marketing objectives. For small businesses, it is usually best to put together an advertising budget early in the advertising process. The following approaches are the most common methods of developing an effective budget. All the methods listed are progressive ones that look to perpetuate growth: Percentage of future or past sales Competitive approach Market share All available funds The task or objective approach

The easiest approachnd thus the one that is most often useds the percentage of future or past sales method. Most industry experts recommend basing spending on anticipated sales, in order to ensure growth. But for a small business, where survival may be a bigger concern than growth, basing the advertising budget on past sales is often a more sensible approach to take.

METHODS OF ADVERTISING
Small business owners can choose from two opposite philosophies when preparing their advertising strategy. The first of these, sometimes called the push method, is a stance wherein an advertiser targets retail establishments in order to establish or broaden a market presence. The second option, sometimes called the pull method, targets end-users (consumers), who are expected to ask retailers for the product and thus help "pull" it through the channel of distribution. Of course, many businesses employ some hybrid of the two when putting together their advertising strategy. PUSH METHOD The aim of the push method is to convince retailers, salespersons, or dealers to carry and promote the advertiser's product. This relationship is achieved by offering inducements, such as providing advertising kits to

help the retailer sell the product, offering incentives to carry stock, and developing trade promotions. PULL METHOD The aim of the pull method is to convince the target consumer to try, purchase, and ultimately repurchase the product. This process is achieved by directly appealing to the target consumer with coupons, in-store displays, and sweepstakes. ANALYZING ADVERTISING RESULTS Many small businesses are distressingly lax in taking steps to monitor whether their advertising efforts are having the desired effect. Instead, they simply throw a campaign out there and hope for the best, relying on a general sense of company health when determining whether to continue, terminate, or make adjustments to advertising campaigns. These small business owners do not seem to recognize that myriad factors can influence a business's fortunes (regional economic straits, arrival of new competition, seasonal buying fluctuations, etc.). The small business owner who does not bother to adequately analyze his or her advertising efforts runs the danger of throwing away a perfectly good advertising strategy (or retaining a dreadful one) if he or she is unable to determine whether business upturns or downturns are due to advertising or some other factor. The only way to know with any accuracy how your advertising strategy is working is to ask the consumer, the

opinions of whom can be gathered in several ways. Although many of the tracking alternatives are quite specialized, requiring either a large budget or extensive advertising research expertise, even small businesses can take steps to measure the effectiveness of their advertising strategies. The direct response survey is one of the most accurate means of measuring the effectiveness of a company's advertising for the simple reason that it measures actual responses to a business's advertisements. Other inexpensive options, such as use of redeemable coupons, can also prove helpful in determining the effectiveness of an advertising campaign.

ADVERTISING AGENCIES
The decision whether or not to use an advertising agency depends both on a company's advertising strategy and its financial resources. An agency has professionals who can organize, create, and place advertising so that it will meet established objectives better than most small businesses can do on their own, but of course the expense associated with soliciting such talent is often prohibitive for smaller companies. Still, some small- and mid-sized businesses have

found

that agencies

can

be helpful in

shaping

and

monitoring advertising strategies. Because of their resources and expertise, agencies are useful when a business is planning a broad advertising campaign that will require a large amount of resources. An advertising agency can also help track and analyze the effectiveness of the advertising. Some criteria to consider when choosing an agency include size of the agency, size of their clients (small so companies that they should are avoid allying as themselves with agencies with a large stable of big corporate with the clients agency, not treated afterthoughts), length of time that the principals have been the agency's general advertising philosophy, and the primary nature of the agency's accounts (are they familiar with your industry and the challenges involved in differentiating your company's products or services from others in that industry?).

Vodafones Marketing Strategies: Hutch to Vodafone

Vodafones new advertising campaign in India carried on with the same popular pug that has become a brand

ambassador for Hutch. Where ever you go, our network follows, was the previous slogan with the pug following the child wherever he goes. Now, with Hutchison Essar becoming part of the Vodafone Group, the new campaign had started with Vodafone Essar earmarking Rs. 2.5 billion on the transition from Hutch to Vodafone. The main message of the brand transition exercise: The new Vodafone is the same old Hutch. In the advertisement, the pug sees a new home when it returns after an outing and feels the change is better. The new catch phrase will be Make the most of now. Vodafone had tied up with Star India to run a complete roadblock of its fresh campaign on the entire network by unveiling the 24-hour nationwide rebranding campaign. Vodafone used all of the commercial airtime across all 13 channels in five languages (Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi and English) from 9 pm on 20 September to 9 pm on September 21. This exercise included TV commercials, transition bumpers and contest spots to promote the Vodafone Essar brand. Commercial spots had also been purchased on Sony. Conventionally awareness for a new brand takes some time to build. However, Vodafone wanted to achieve this task at the shortest possible time. Hence, Maxus and Star Network worked closely to address this challenge and came up with the idea wherein during the day of the launch a complete

roadblock on the Star Network channels was conceptualized. Considering that the Star Network is the lead network in India, this was the most apt platform for Vodafone launch. This strategy helped not only in achieving build rapid brand awareness but also breaks the clutter during such an important launch in the most happening category telecom. This is a first of its kind mega media initiative in India by any brand. While the campaign was heavy on television, it also included all other media vehicles. The print campaign kicked off on 21 September, a day after the television splash. While the brand campaign had been addressing the transformation, the Company, on the other hand was swiftly preparing for a price war in the Indian telecom space. Indeed, it was preparing to provide mobile handsets to new subscribers at ultra-cheap prices, ranging from about $19 to $25. Vodafone Essar launched low priced cell phones in India under the Vodafone brand, and also co-branded handsets sourced from major global vendors. By bringing in millions of low-cost handsets from across the globe into India, Vodafone Essar distributed bundled handsets through its existing 400,000 distribution outlets. By flooding the market with its low-cost handsets, Vodafone also became a mass mobile phone brand like Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson in addition to continuing as telecom services provider.

Previously, similar handset-driven expansion strategies to grow subscriber bases were adopted by CDMA players, like RCOM and Tata Teleservices. Vodafone is the first GSM operator to follow suit. The Vodafone mission is to be the communications leader in an increasingly connected world enriching customers lives, helping individuals, businesses and communities be more connected by delivering their total communication needs. Vodafones logo is a representation of that belief The start of a new conversation, a trigger, a catalyst, a mark of true pioneering.

Vodafones Advertising Strategies: Hutch to Vodafone

Advertising is probably one of the most frequently used vehicles for Rebranding, as it is fairly easy, flexible and quick to change. It is a powerful way of reaching a broad or targeted audience quickly and is effective at signalling a change in positioning, however real or broad that may be. There are many examples of where advertising has either repositioned or strengthened brands, other good examples of where advertising has built a new position for a brand or built a strong emotional link with the public are where companies have created a sort of soap opera out of their advertising. The Advertising agency of Hutch and now Vodafone, Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), had a two-fold task to achieve: announce the entry of Vodafone into India and highlight the metamorphosis of Hutch into Vodafone. O&M realised that they had a fantastic property in the Hutch pug, which they had been using for about five years. Therefore, to show the transition from Hutch to Vodafone, O&M launched a rather direct, thematic ad showing the trademark pug in a garden, moving out of a pink coloured kennel which symbolised Hutch making his way into a red one that is the Vodafone colour. A more energetic, chirpier version of the You and I tune associated with Hutch was played towards the end,

and it concludes with Change is good. Hutch is now Vodafone. O&M has also rolled out four Commercials featuring Hutchs animated boy and girl, introducing the new brands logo to consumers. The four creatives which were of five seconds each included the duo peeping over a wall to see the logo; parasailing with the logo flying high behind them; releasing a rocket bomb wherein the explosion reveals the logo; and lastly, drawing curtains aside to show the logo. Four other ads with the pug did the rounds of telly screens. These five and 10 second spots cast the dog in situations where he, literally, saw red, using the colour as a visual mnemonic to remember the brand by. The pug was shown in a red basket, popping up from a red cart, drying himself on a red mat, and hiding in a red blanket. Each of these made use of the Hutch is now Vodafone tagline. The print ads, in all major languages in several leading dailies, were kept unbelievably simple: a still shot of the pug inside a red kennel. The same creative was used in outdoor hoardings as well, in all the 16 circles in which Vodafone now operates. It wasnt easy integrating Vodafone with Hutch; the latter, as is known, is a subtle, understated brand, while globally, Vodafone represents high energy, dynamism and young vitality all represented by its bright red speech mark logo.

And so they put in elements such as a more energetic tune and feel to the ads. A few advertisements include: Hutch is now Vodafone: If you watch any of the star channels or tuned into 20-20 world cup, you would have seen this ad. On 11 February 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67% held by Cheung Kong Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion and now had to rebrand itself so it has decided to run a new ad series which piggy banked on Hutchs dog mascot and the theme Change is Good. This required nearly 250 crores of spending by Vodafone but they have successfully painted the town red. An interesting part of this campaign was on the opening day roadblock where they made a deal with Star India so that besides them no other commercials were aired (apart from in-channel promos) on the Star Indias channels for 24 hours. Vodafone Valentine Day Special Ads: Vodafone had released a simple and sweet ad for musical greetings targeted at couples during the valentine week the feature of this campaign is its simplicity and believability and is quite well received. It uses the positioning Make the most of now enjoy the video Vodafone Chota Credit Ink Ad: This new ad had come as refreshing change and more so that this ad takes a very

refreshing look at school and at fountain pens. This ad creates a wonderfully subtle message which really puts the point of chota (small) credit across.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
WHAT IS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY? It is the science that tells the method of doing research .It mainly consists of following steps; Developing research design Determining the data collection method Developing sampling plan Conducting field work

Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. One can also define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. The word research has been derived from French word Researcher means to search.

DEFINITION OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Research may be defined as "a careful investigation or enquiry specially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge "in a technical sense research comprise defining &redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting ,organizing &evaluating data; making deductions & reaching conclusion & at last carefully testing the conclusion to determine weather they fit the formulating hypothesis. RESEARCH DESIGN: Research Design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted. It constitutes the blueprint for collection, measurement and analysis of data. The design used for carrying out this research is Descriptive. RESEARCH DESIGN USED IN THE SURVEY: Considering the objectives of the study and also the importance of the decision it was decided to undertake an exploratory survey. DATA COLLECTION: Types of data: 1. Primary data- primary data are those which are fresh and collected for the first time and thus happen to be original characters. 2. Secondary data - It is the data that is already been collected by someone else. In this survey I used both primary and secondary data. All information collected through questionnaire.

DATA SOURCE: The sources of collection of secondary data are: Questionnaire Books Websites Magazine Brochure

SUGGESTIONS

1. SMS bones card rates should be minimized.

2. The company should go for increasing the users of GPRS.

3. The company should make attention on the users between age of 18-27 who are students.

4. The company should make efforts for increasing the new connection users, who earns more than 20000.

5. The company should improve the service of 55655 and minimized its tariff.

6. The company should make attention on Caller tunes and SMS users.

7. The company should concentrate on the customers who are students because there are very few customers below 18 years and should maintain the customers above 40 years because they cover a large area of consumption.

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Sales promotion technique should be used to survive in the market and to increase the sales of new customers.

2. Advertising media should be meaningful and able to persuade the customers.

3. Vodafone should make attention on the young age generation and on those customers who expend a large amount on calls and earners more than 20000.

4. Vodafone should provide the facility which the customers want after buying the new connections.

5. The company should make their calls easy so that the customers can gain knowledge of the services like 55655.

6. The company should concentrate for satisfying their customers. Vodafone should provide the charming schemes for maintaining their old costumers and for attracting new age generation.

7. Advertisement media should be like that the costumers can receive the knowledge and information about Vodafone so that they can trust on it.

LIMITATIONS

1. The responses collected are perception based so the nature variant can be biasing factor.

2. The result of the study may not be universally applicable due to regional constraint.

3. I was not able to cover the whole Rohtak city.

4. The time for research was limited.

5. The sample size was small.

6. Language constraints were encountered the project sometimes when the questions had to transmitted to Hindi for response

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT: - By Philip Kotler 2. Web site: www.vodafone.in www.vodafone.com