About Vodafone Vodafone is a British mobile network operator, with its headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire, England, UK.

It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover, and has a market value of about 75 billion (August 2008). Vodafone currently has operations in 31 countries and partner networks in a further 40 countries. The name Vodafone comes from voice data fone, chosen by the company to "reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones". As of 2009, Vodafone had an estimated 303 million customers in 31 markets across 5 continents.[3] On this measure, it is the second largest mobile telecom group in the world behind China Mobile. Vodafone owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, based on number of subscribers. Products Products promoted by the Group include Vodafone live!, Vodafone Mobile Connect USB Modem, Vodafone Connect to Friends, Vodafone Passport, Vodafone Freedom Packs, Vodafone at Home, Vodafone 710 and Amobee Media Systems. Between June and August 2009, Vodafone have abolished roaming charges within 35 different countries, allowing their customers to take their standard UK price plan abroad.

Mobile service revenue market share

Vodafone Bharti Airtel BSNL Idea Reliance TATA Aircel Other

Vodafone's ZooZoos, stars of IPL ad breaks Vodafone has given birth to ZooZoo a special character created specifically to convey value added service (VAS).Meet the Zoo zoos, the stick-like figures with egg-like heads that appear in TV ads for Vodafone and have become all the rage in India. So much so that the Vodafone plans to air 25 to 30 different commercials featuring the Zoo zoos during the Indian Premier Leagues (IPL) Twenty20 cricket series seems like a strategic masterstroke, although it is likely to come as a surprise to viewers that the ads arent animatedthere are really people inside those Zoo zoo costumes. But this much is known: Zoo zoo is definitely anthropomorphic, and was created by the creative team at Ogilvy and Mather (O&M) India. The ads, 13 of which have been aired until now, have become popular with viewers. So much so that one of them, an ad for beauty tips over the phone, was viewed 13,000 times last week on YouTube. The Zoo zoos have also

taken Facebook by storm. They have nearly 35,000 friends. With approximately 300 seconds of media being spent each day (on IPL), we had to figure out a way to communicate as many services as possible in a way that would not cheese off the customer, said Harit Nagpal, director (marketing and new business) at Vodafone Essar Ltd. History In 1980, Sir Ernest Harrison OBE, the then chairman of Racal Electronics plc. agreed a deal with Lord Weinstock of General Electric Company plc to allow Racal to access some of GEC's tactical battle field radio technology. The head of Racal's military radio division Gerry Whent was briefed by Ernest Harrison to drive the company into commercial mobile radio. Whent visited GEs mobile radio factory in Virginia, USA the same year to understand the commercial use of military radio technology. In 1982, Racal's newly formed Racal Strategic Radio Ltd subsidiary won one of two UK cellular telephone network licences, with the other going to British TelecomThe network, known as Racal Vodafone, was a joint venture 80% owned by Racal, with Millicomholding 15% and Hambros Technology Trust 5%. Vodafone was launched on 1 January 1985 with its first office based in the Courtyard in Newbury, Berkshire, and shorty thereafter Racal Strategic Radio was renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited. On 29 December 1986, Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for GB110 million; and Vodafone became a fully owned brand of Racal. In September 1988, the company was again renamed Racal Telecom. On 26 October 1988, Racal Telecom, majority held by Racal Electronics; went public on the London Stock Exchange with 20% of its stock floated. The successful flotation led to a situation where the Racal's stake in Racal Telecom was valued more than the whole of Racal Electronics. Under stock market pressure to realise full value for shareholders of Racal, Harrison decides in 1991 to demerge Racal Telecom. On 16 September 1991, Racal Telecom was demerged from Racal Electronics as Vodafone Group, with Gerry Whent as its CEO. 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. In January 1997, Gerald Whent retired and Christopher Gent took over as the CEO. The same year, Vodafone introduced itsSpeechmark logo, composed of a quotation mark in a circle, with the O's in the Vodafone logotype representing opening and closing quotation marks and suggesting conversation. On 29 June 1999, Vodafone completed its purchase of AirTouch Communications, Inc. and changed its name to Vodafone Airtouch plc. The merged company commenced trading on 30 June 1999. In order to gain anti-trust approval for the merger, Vodafone sold its 17.2% stake in E-Plus Mobilfunk. The acquisition gave Vodafone a 35% share of Mannesmann, owner of the largest German mobile network.

On 21 September 1999, Vodafone agreed to merge its U.S. wireless assets with those of Bell Atlantic Corp to form Verizon Wireless. The merger was completed on 4 April 2000, just a few months prior to Bell Atlantic's merger with GTE to form Verizon Communications, Inc. In November 1999, Vodafone made an unsolicited bid for Mannesmann, which was rejected. Vodafone's interest in Mannesmann had been increased by the latter purchase of Orange, the UK mobile operator. Chris Gent would later say Mannesmann's move into the UK broke a "gentleman's agreement" not to compete in each other's home territory. The hostile takeover provoked strong protest in Germany, and a "titanic struggle" which saw Mannesmann resist Vodafone's efforts. However, on 3 February 2000, the Mannesmann board agreed to an increased offer of 112 billion, then the largest corporate merger ever. The EU approved the merger in April 2000 when Vodafone agreed to divest the 'Orange' brand, which was acquired in May 2000 by France Telecom. The conglomerate was subsequently broken up and all manufacturing related operations sold off. On 28 July 2000, the Company reverted to its former name, Vodafone Group plc. In 2001, the Company acquired Eircell, the largest wireless communications company in Ireland, from eircom. Eircell was subsequently rebranded as Vodafone Ireland. Vodafone then went on to acquire Japan's third-largest mobile operator J-Phone, which had introduced camera phones first in Japan. On 17 December 2001, Vodafone introduced the concept of "Partner Networks", by signing TDCMobil of Denmark. The new concept involved the introduction of Vodafone international services to the local market, without the need of investment by Vodafone. The concept would be used to extend the Vodafone brand and services into markets where it does not have stakes in local operators. Vodafone services would be marketed under the dual-brand scheme, where the Vodafone brand is added at the end of the local brand. (i.e., TDC Mobil-Vodafone etc.). In 2007, Vodafone entered into a title sponsorship deal with the McLaren Formula One team, which has since traded as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. In May 2011, Vodafone Group Plc bought the rest of the shares of Vodafone Essar from Essar Group Ltd with value of $5 billion and became a solely owned of Vodafone Essar. On 1 December 2011, it acquired the Reading based Bluefish Communications Ltd an ICTconsultancy company. The acquired operations formed the nucleus of a new Unified Communications and Collaboration practice within its subsidiary Vodafone Global Enterprise, which will focus on implementing strategies and solutions in cloud computing, and strengthen its professional services offering. In April 2012, Vodafone announced an agreement to acquire Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) for 1.04 billion. Vodafone was advised by UBS AG, while Barclays and Rothschild advised Cable & Wireless. The acquisition will give Vodafone access to CWW'sfibre network for businesses, enabling it to take unified communications solutions to large enterprises in UK and globally; and expand its enterprise service offerings in emerging markets. On 18 June 2012, Cable & Wireless' shareholders voted in favour of the Vodafone offer, exceeding the 75% of shares necessary for the deal to go ahead. Financial results

Vodafone reports its results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Vodafone has some large minority stakes, which are not included in its consolidated turnover. In order to provide additional information on the overall scale and growth trends of its business, it publishes "proportionate turnover" figures, and these are included in the tables below. For example, if a business in which it owns a 45% stake has turnover of 10 billion, that equals 4.5 billion of proportionate turnover for Vodafone. Proportionate turnover is not an official accounting measure, and Vodafone's proportionate turnover should not be compared with other companies' statutory turnover. Vodafone also produces proportionate customer number figures on a similar basis, e.g. if an operator in which it has a 30% stake has 10 million customers that equals 3 million proportionate Vodafone customers. Year ended 31 March Turnover m Profit before tax m Profit for the year m Basic eps(pence) Proportionate customers (m)

2012

46,417

9,549

7,003

13.74

446.5

2011

45,884

9,498

7,870

15.20

347.7

2010

44,472

8,674

8,618

16.44

341.1

2009

41,017

4,189

3,080

5.81

302.6

2008

35,478

9,001

6,756

12.56

260

2007

31,104

(2,383)

(5,297)

(8.94)

206.4

2006*

29,350

(14,835)

(21,821)

(35.01)

170.6

2005

34,073

7,951

6,518

9.68

154.8

2004

36,492

9,013

6,112

8.70

133.4

*Losses for year to 31 March 2006 reflect write downs of assets, principally in relation to the Mannesmann acquisition. Proportionate turnover includes 7,100 million from discontinued operations.

SERVICES OF VODAFONE

Vodafone Prepaid Cell phone connection Go mobile with a Vodafone Prepaid cell mobile phone and control how much you spend with the best Prepaid cell phone tariff plan. Buy a special Prepaid mobile handset for your Vodafone Prepaid cellphone connection with our Prepaid mobile handset offers. To keep talking without any talktime or validity hassles make use of our flexible recharging options for your Vodafone Prepaid SIM cards: Prepaid recharge cards, eTopUp and Direct Top-Up. Its easy to find a Prepaid recharge top up too: weve got Prepaid outlets everywhere, so that you can stay connected wherever you are. And thats not all you can also subscribe to our unique Prepaid cellphone services and Prepaid mobilephone offers and make the most of your Vodafone Prepaid SIM cards in India. Prepaid mobile phone tariff plan Reach out to the world with a Vodafone Prepaid SIM card without worrying about mobile Prepaid recharge minutes and Prepaid phone rates. Select a Prepaid mobile phone tariff plan that works for you. Choose your Prepaid mobile phone tariff plan Prepaid phone services Subscribe to Vodafones unique Prepaid cellphone services and make the most of your Vodafone mobile phone. For our Prepaid cellular services. Bonus Cards Charge your Prepaid phone and enjoy slashed Prepaid phone rates with Bonus Cards for your Vodafone Prepaid cellphone tariff plans. Vodafone Postpaid Go Vodafone with a new Vodafone Postpaid connection and talk without worrying about your bill. Become a Vodafone Postpaid user with a Postpaid mobile handset for your SIM by making use of Vodafones mobile handset offers. Make the most out of every penny you spend by choosing the right Vodafone Postpaid talkplan. And if you want to know which plan suits your usage best, ask us well be happy to help. Whats more you can also subscribe to our Vodafone Postpaid offers and reduce expenses even more. Take a look at the various services we have for you and use your phone for many more than just making calls. And when it comes to paying you bill thats easy too! Weve got a wide variety of Vodafone Postpaid bill payment options. Choose the payment option that works best for you. World Calling Cards Save up to 30% on your ISD & STD calls with World Calling Card from Vodafone for your Vodafone mobile phones. World Calling Card from Vodafone is a Prepaid long distance calling card that you can use with your Vodafone Prepaid and Postpaid mobile phones to make ISD & STD calls. Thats right you dont need individual ISD calling cards and STD calling cards anymore. With the help of this Prepaid World Calling Card, you can keep a tab on your long-distance call expenses. Plus no security deposit. Its easy to buy World Calling Cards in India. World Calling Cards are available at your nearest Vodafone Store, Vodafone Mini Store or at any shop that displays the World Calling Card sign. World Calling Card rates Make the most of your Vodafone mobile phone while making long distance calls with the special World Calling Card rates meant to help you save money. Check out World Calling Card rates International Prepaid calling cards Scratch the silver foil on the cell phone calling card for India to get your secret 12-digit PIN. Dial the toll free number on the back or 50118 / 50218 and enter the PIN from your Prepaid World Calling Card. To make an STD call with your Prepaid mobile phone card, dial 0

followed by the STD code and then the phone number. Gulf Calling Card Now you can call the Gulf at the lowest possible calling card rates with the best Prepaid phone card for the Gulf. Vodafone Home Calling Card Heres a way you can save on your international roaming bill while calling home use the Prepaid Home Calling Cards from Vodafone to call to India to anywhere else in the world while travelling abroad. Vodafone Home Calling Card is a Prepaid calling card that allows you to make calls from landlines, PCOs & mobile phones from over 100 countries. And helps you save up to 90% as compared to International Roaming charges! So talk more, spend less and always stay connected. Home Calling Card rates Make the most of your Vodafone Prepaid & Postpaid cellphone while making long distance calls with the unique Home Calling Card rates and save money. Check out the Home Calling Card rates Need help with your Vodafone Prepaid Home Calling Card for India? Vodafone PCO Want to start making some money? Install a Vodafone PCO in your house or shop, and start earning today with fixed cellular terminals. Its easy to install, maintain and use and provides uninterrupted service. It doesnt even take up that much space! Vodafone Handy phone Introducing the landline thats loaded with all the features of a cell phone - including low call rates. And Vodafone Handyphone arent that expensive either. You can make one yours for as little as Rs 1999. Key features: Calls to any 3 Vodafone numbers @ 20p / min Calls to all local mobile phones @ 40p / min Free local & STD calls every month Services of Vodafone Callertunes Put a smile on your callers face even before you take the call. With Vodafone Callertunes service, you can play your favourite song for all your callers instead of the normal tring tring. Choose your mobile Callertune from a wide variety of genres. Set Cricket Callertunes to play live cricket scores. If youre busy with something, let the world know by setting a Busy Callertune. You can also copy a friends Callertune by pressing * while the song is playing. Find out more about Vodafone Caller tunes Go to Vodafone Callertune selection and Callertune activation song codes lists Vodafone Music Station Now your Vodafone mobile phone can replace your favourite FM Radio Station with Vodafone Music Station - your personal mobile music world! Find out more about Vodafone Music Station Ringtones Make your phone sing your favourite tunes for you every time it rings with Vodafone Ringtones for your mobile phone. Take your pick from monophonic Ringtones, mobile polyphonic Ringtones, latest Bollywood MP3 Ringtones, funny Ringtones, Hindi music Ringtones, true tones Ringtones, real tones Ringtones, devotional

Ringtones and lots more. Themes, Wallpapers & More Create your own mobile wallpapers, just the way you want them. You can also download mobile wallpapers, themes and more by choosing from a wide range of categories. Full Song Download Your Vodafone mobile phone can also be used for cool music downloads. Just download full songs - from the latest chartbusters to your favourite golden oldies. Find out more about Vodafone mobile music downloads SMS Tones Ring in every message you get with a message alert tune of your choice. Find out more about SMS Ringtones for your mobile Background Music Make your conversations more interesting. Let music play in the background that suits the mood, the occasion or simply the person you are. Find out more 3D Wallpapers Have fun in 3D. Download lifelike wallpapers for your phone. Find out more Logos & Picture Messages Jazz up your phone with some super cool logos and picture messages. Find out more about downloading logo icons & picture messages Videotones Dont just hear your favourite song every time your phone rings; watch it too. Find out more about downloading Videotones Astrology Demanding, chilled out, auspicious or fun-filled? Your Vodafone mobile phone knows how your day is going to be. Find out more daily forecasts on your Vodafone mobile phone Live astrology on your Vodafone mobile phone Get in touch with the astrologer of the new age. Call him for an instant appointment through your Vodafone mobile phone. Wondering which way the door should face? Log on to m-Guru on Vodafone live! for vaastu and feng shui tips. Rahukal & shubhkal Find out if this very moment is auspicious or not, with your Vodafone mobile phone. Just SMS. Panchang Match your best times ahead of time according to ancient Vedic astrology with your Vodafone mobile phone. Chogadia Be successful in everything you do. And ensure you do it at the right time, with your phone. Bill info You can get your Vodafone bill in your inbox. Or hear it on your phone. You can even choose the language it comes in. And do a lot more, all through your phone.

EBill Get your Vodafone bill in your inbox, every month. Find out more about Vodafone EBill Itemised billing Keep an eye on your phone usage with a detailed billing statement. Find out more about itemised billing My Vodafone bill Got questions about your bill? Get the answers anytime you need. Vernacular bills Get your Vodafone bills in your language. Duplicate bill Log on to My Vodafone to request a Vodafone duplicate bill. Payment centres Find out which Vodafone payment centre is closest to you. Devotional Bible in mobile Read the Bible on your Vodafone mobile phone whenever you like. Just send an SMS and get to read inspiring verses right on your phone screen Find out more about Bible in your Vodafone mobile phone. Gurbaani Turn your mobile phone into a virtual Gurdwara. Just dial 390 and listen to the Gurbani live anytime, anywhere. Devotional - Pope Get the daily quotes from His Holiness Pope Benedict XVIs on your mobile phone. Bhaktisagar Chasing materialistic dreams in this fast-paced world? Snatch a moment of peace dial 389 for Bhaktisagar on your Vodafone mobile phone. Osho Know more about Oshos life and teachings on your Vodafone mobile phone. Vodafone Devotional Alerts Log on to Vodafone live! and click on the Spiritual link from the Vodafone live menu to access a host of services. Dial-in services Everything you need is just a call away, when you have Dial-in services from Vodafone by your side. Live Counseling Get counseling on studies, business & more. Find out more about personal counselling on your Vodafone mobile phone Dial-a-bouquet Theres no better way to say you care than with flowers. And no easier way to do it, than through Vodafone. Find out more about dial-a-bouquet Live astrology Hear it first hand from an astrologer. Find out more live astrology on your Vodafone

mobile phone. Dial-a-pizza services Forget those lengthy pizzeria numbers. All you need is your Vodafone mobile phone. Find out more about Dial-a-pizza services Music Card A new way to dedicate a song to your friends. Ask me Got a question? Ask us. Airlines Travelling by air? Get all your flight information on flight scheduling on your Vodafone mobile phone. Entertainment Movies Catch the latest blockbuster in town with friends. Get latest movie reviews, movie tickets and showtimes on your Vodafone mobile phone. Music This one is for all us music lovers. Get the latest music videos, right from movies to rock, mobile karaoke and much more, all on Vodafone live! Humour Get rib-tickling jokes on your mobile and SMS joke messages to your friends to brighten up their day. Read more about jokes on your mobile Dating "Do you know whatd look good on you? Me." Forget those lame pick-up lines. SMS Chat to 52428. Register your nickname and enter the chat room of your choice and make new friends. Chat Service Find a friend with Chat Service on your Vodafone mobile phone. EDGE on Vodafone Experience the next level of technology on your Vodafone mobile phone with Vodafone EDGE services. Get ready for rich videos, clear and crisp audio and faster downloads. Find out more about Games Challenge yourself with over 400 Java games for mobiles phone on Vodafone live! Television Staying home on a lazy day? Get the latest TV listings on your Vodafone mobile phone. Or watch your favourite programs right on your phone. Vodafone Contests Play mega-size mobile contests or easy SMS-based fun mobile contests and win loads of prizes! Only on Contest Zone. Find out more about Vodafone Contests Visual Radio Tune into Visual Radio for a completely new radio experience. Vodafone Alerts - Entertainment Get all the masala from Bollywood, interesting facts, beauty and health tips, latest updates on music and lots more. Finance

Stock, forex & bullion Keep a tab on the ups and downs of the markets with stock quotes, market news on your Vodafone mobile phone. Vodafone mobile banking Need to visit your bank? Switch on your Vodafone mobile phone. Mail Messaging BlackBerry from Vodafone Get your hands on the BlackBerry smartphone the worlds most desired integrated communication device with the Vodafone advantage. Subscribe to the BlackBerry Enterprise solution and move your work out of your office. Use the BlackBerry Internet Service and stay in touch with colleagues, family and friends from anywhere, anytime. Vodafone Mail Want to check your mails on mobile from wherever you are? Vodafone will make it possible for you. Yahoo! Mail & Messenger on mobile Never lose touch with your Yahoo! buddies even while youre on the move. MSN @ Vodafone Stay connected with MSN 24/7, only with MSN Messenger on your Vodafone mobile phone. Rediff & Indiatimes Check your Rediff & Indiatimes mail on your Vodafone mobile phone. SMS Send short and sweet SMS text messages from your Vodafone mobile phone to your friends. SMS Chat Chat non-stop with your friends on your Vodafone mobile phone. Vernacular SMS Reach out to your friends and loved ones with an SMS in your language. Group messaging on mobile Want to send festival greetings to all your friends at one go? Find out more about group messaging on your Miscellaneous Help To get a list of services available on 56789, SMS HELP to 56789 (Rs 3 / SMS) Dictionary services on your Vodafone mobile phone SMS DICT < your word> to 56789 (Rs 3 / SMS) Or log on to Vodafone live! on your Vodafone GPRS mobile phone, go to Info services section and click on Dictionary. STD / ISD codes on your Vodafone mobile phone To find an STD code, SMS STD < place in India > to 56789, Eg: STD Mumbai To find an ISD code, SMS ISD < country > to 56789, Eg: ISD Singapore Charges: Rs 3 / SMS News and updates News How did Sachin do in his latest match? Is the market bullish? Whats the weather update for your city? Stay up-to-date with your Vodafone mobile phone.

Finance Keep up with the fast changing world of finance with business and finance news while youre on the move. Vodafone FLASH! Have non-stop fun with news, live cricket score, Bollywood quizzes, trivia and lots more. All live on your Vodafone mobile phone. Vodafone Alerts Get live breaking news, business news, stocks, astro alerts, sports news, tech news & lots more on your Vodafone mobile phone. Sports Get the latest sports scores, match schedules, sports updates, player profiles, videos, pictures, Ringtones and much more - all on your Vodafone GPRS mobile phone. Sports Cricket Alerts on your Vodafone mobile phone News from the cricket arena Live cricket updates on your Vodafone mobile phone Trivia Little known facts about people and places that makes cricket your sport of choice Games Strike a six in your personal cricket stadium. Download cricket games and play a gentlemans game or two Ask the Expert Browse through fascinating Q&A sessions on the message board or tack up a few queries and comments yourself. Go on, prove youre an expert yourself to the world. Football Get all the football news on your Vodafone mobile phone from both, on and off the football field. Stay informed about the most popular sport in the world. TARIFF STRUCTURE Airtel Prepaid Ready Cellular Card and Recharge Cards are available, all over the city at over retail outlets including 24-hour outlets. Airtel Prepaid Ready Cellular Card and Recharge Cards are available, all over the city at over retail outlets including 24hour outlets. PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY Vodafone to Touch Tomorrow with a new brand vision The Hutch Mobile promoted Vodafone cellular service will go in for repositioning of its brand image. The new brand ethos is portrayed in two distinct fashions - the tag line "Touch Tomorrow", which underscores the leading theme for the new brand vision, followed by "The Good Life", which underscores a more caring, more customer centric organization. Aimed at re-engineering its image as just simply a cellular service provider to an all out information communications services provider, Touch Tomorrow is meant to embrace the new generation of mobile communication services and the changing scope of customer needs and aspirations that come along with it The new communication is about a new dimension in the cellular category that goes beyond the Internet, SMS, roaming, IVRS, etc but which engulfs the whole gamut of wireless digital broadband services that will constitute tomorrows cellular services. The new campaign is in two phases - the first of which will communicate overall brand philosophy and the second products and services. According to Mr. Jagdish Kini, Chief Operating Officer, Hutch Mobile Limited, Karnataka "We are adopting a new brand- platform - Touch Tomorrow - not only to reflect our corporate ethos but

also business strategy". The new identity will have the logo in Red, Black and White colours along with lower case typography to convey warmth. Vodafone will incorporate the latest branding in all of its communication and will soon be going in for an enhanced promotional drive to establish the brand's presence. LIFE TIME PLAN PRE-PAID card users need not worry anymore about recharging their coupons every month. Company has launched a plan that allows users to take a pre-paid connection with lifetime validity for a one time payment of Rs. 999. Subscribers availing themselves of this scheme will also get full talk time for the recharge coupon they purchase and also have the option to buy Taiwanese manufactured Bird mobile handsets for as low as Rs. 1,399. The move is aimed at stopping the churn in the pre-paid subscriber base. Once a subscriber takes this plan, he will always be an Vodafone subscriber whether the mobile is being used or not. MARKET SITUATION At the time of launch The first mover in the market was Vodafone which launched its services in Delhi in Aug 1995 (Informal launch). Essar Cell phone followed by launching its services Informally in Oct 95. At this point of time, the market was at a nascent stage, Awareness level was low and both operators independently tried to spread awareness and educate the people. Once the networks were commercially launched, it became a number game with a multitude of schemes being offered to woo customers Initially the cellphone was perceived as a status symbol and utility took a back seat The target segment in Delhi were corporate and the high income group. The average capacity installed was for 1.5 lakh subscribers. This coupled with the steep license fee paid to DOT put pressure on the operators to break-even by rapidly expanding their markets. In the first two years, this led to a number of schemes being offered and prices crashing. The "Value Added Services" provided from Vodafone are:-i) Voice Mail service This system is similar to the answering machine - if the user is not able to answer a call for some reason the caller can leave messages in the voice mail box which can be later retrieved by the user. ii) Short Message Service The short message service is like a two-way pager. It gives an option of sending and receiving text messages directly from one mobile phone to another without the intervention of an operator. iii) Mobile Fax 1 Data Service This service helps the subscriber to send and receive Faxes, access E-mail, download computer files from other systems and remotely log on to another computer and surf the Internet. iv) Cash Card The cash card is a pre-paid and pre-activated card which allows the buyers to buy air time in advance. All it requires is the payment of an initial amount. This is a useful service for people who travel to Delhi often and those who want to control the expenses on their calls.

v) Caller ID Displays calling person's number. vi) Outgoing call restriction To prevent or limit outgoing calls, for example, in peak hours. Also possible to exclude one or several countries or any geographical region, to permit only local calls, or to limit the outgoing calls to a listed number. vii) Call forward Incoming calls can be forwarded to another fixed or mobile phone. Besides these some other services provided by Vodafone are - Call conferencing, Call broadcast et cetera. It is in the operators -Interest that they not only get many subscribers but also get them to use the mobile facility frequently. In the early stages getting increases to subscribe may be easier than getting them to talk since they will find it costlier to use the mobile phone as compared to a conventional phone [if is believed that initially cell phones would be used buy. viii) Roaming Facility Roaming facility is available while the subscriber is travelling. The billing is done in the home network (Delhi). Roaming facility is available manually* as well as semi-automatically. Once a subscriber is In any other city or country, where a GSM network is available, simply insert the SIM card of the local operator Into your handset and start talking. * ** Manual Roaming means a separate SIM card is provided for each city Semi automatic roaming means one card has the facility for different cities.

MARKETING STRATEGYADOPTED BY VODAFONE Hutch has spent a considerable amount on advertising its mobile phone service, Vodafone. Besides print advertising, the company had put up large no of hoardings and kiosks in and around Delhi. The objective behind designing a promotion campaign for the Vodafone services is to promote the brand awareness and to build brand preferences. It is trying to set up a thematic campaign to build a stronger brand equity for Vodafone. Since the cellular phone category itself is too restricted, also the fact that a Cellular phone is a high involvement product, price doesn't qualify as an effective differentiator. The image of the service provider counts a great deal. Given the Cell phone category, it is the network efficiency and the quality of service that becomes important. What now the buyer is looking at is to get the optimum price-performance package. This also serves as an effective differentiator Brand awareness is spread through the' campaigns and brand preference through brand

stature. Vodafone's campaign in the capital began with a series of 'teaser' hoardings across the city,' bearing just the company's name and without explaining what Vodafone was. In the next phase the campaign associated Vodafone with Cellular only thereafter was the Hutch Cellular connection brought up. Vans with Vodafone logos roamed the city, handing out brochures about the company and its services to all consumers. About 50,000 direct callers were sent out. When the name was well entrenched in the Delhiitess mind, the Vodafone campaign began to focus on the utility of Cell phone. In the first four months alone Airtel's advertisement spends exceeded Rs. 4 crore. As of today the awareness level Is 60% unaided. This implies that if potential or knowledgeable consumers are asked to name a Cellular phone service provider that is on the top of his/her mind 60% of them would name Vodafone. As for aided it -is 100% (by giving clues and hints etc.). Brand strength of a product or the health of a brand is measured by the percentage score of the brand on the above aided and the unaided tests. The figures show that Vodafone is a healthy and a thriving brand. Every company has a goal, which might comprise a sales target and a game plan with due regard to Its competitor. Vodafone 's campaign strategy is designed keeping in mind its marketing strategy. The tone, tenor and the stance of the visual ads are designed to convey the image of a market leader in terms of its market share. It tries to portray the image of being a "first mover every time" and that of a "market leader". The status of the product in terms of its life cycle has just reached the maturity stage in India. It is still on the rising part of the product life cycle curve in the maturity stage. The diagram on the left hand side shows the percentage of the users classified into heavy, medium and low categories. The right hand side shows the revenue share earned from the three types of users. Vodafone, keeping in mind the importance of the customer retention, values its heavy users the most and constantly indulges in service innovation. But, since heavy users comprise only 15 - 20% of the population the other segment cannot be neglected. The population which has just realised the importance of cellular phones has to be roped in. It is for this reason that the service provider offers a plethora of incentives and discounts. Concerts like the "Freedom concert" are being organised by Vodafone in order to promote sales. The media channel is chosen with economy in mind. The target segment is not very concrete but, there is an attempt to focus on those who can afford. The print advertisements and hoarding are placed in those strategic areas which most likely to catch the attention of those who need a cellular phone. The product promise (which might cost different 1 higher)

is an important variable in determining the target audience. Besides this, other promotional strategies that Vodafone has adopted are . (i) People who have booked Vodafone services have been treated to exclusive premiers

of blockbuster movies. Vodafone has tied up with Lufthansa to offer customer bonus miles on the German airlines frequent flier's programs. (ii) There have been educational campaigns, image campaigns, pre launch

advertisements, launch advertisements, congratulatory advertisements, promotional advertisements, attacking advertisements and tactical advertisements. Strategies Product Offer a basic Offer value services added Increase in of value number added

product/ service.

services. Price Charge cost- plus Price to market Distribution Build selective distribution Build Intensive penetrate Price to match or

best competitors Build intensive distribution. more

distribution.

Advertising

Build awareness early dealers.

product Build

awareness Stress in the differences benefits.

brand and

among and interest

adopters and mass market

Sales Promotion

Use

heavy

sales Increase and

to

build Increase

to brand-

promotion to entice people to subscribe.

maintain encourage with switching.

relationships customers.

Q1) Do you have a mobile phone? O Yes O No Q2) Are you aware about telecommunications service?

O Yes O No If yes, then which operators Service do you use? O Vodafone O Airtel O Idea O Reliance O BSNL O Tata Indicom (If not Vodafone then go to Q12) Q3) Are you aware about Vodafone? O Yes O No (If No, then go to Q11) Q4) from which source you came to know about Vodafone? O Advertisement O Hoardings O Newspapers O Mouth Publicity Q5) since how long you are using Vodafone services? O Less than 1 month O 2-6 months O 6-12 months O More than 1 year Q6) which of the following services do you use of Vodafone? O Pre-paid O Post-paid Q7) which services are more helpful to you while using Vodafone services? O Call rates O SMS service O Network O Value Added Services Q8) Dou you call at customer care? O Yes O No If yes, how often you call at customer care? O Daily O Once a week O Once a month O Occasionally Q9) for what reason you call at customer care? O Value added services O Information regarding new schemes O Other queries O Complaining

Q10) Rate the following services on the basis of your satisfaction.

Q11) what makes you unaware about Vodafone? O Less Advertisements O Less Publicity O Others (If others then mention ________________________) Q12) why you are not using Vodafone services? O Lack of awareness O High Prices O Poor Services O Poor network Q13) would you like to recommend Vodafone to others? O Yes O No Q14) Give your suggestions to help in serve you better. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________