Results and Effectiveness

The power of ‘change’ was overwhelming, quickly achieving Aircel’s initial goals: • Within a month, Aircel awareness went up to 33%. • Leading to increased purchase behavior, Aircel gained 1.5 million subscribers during the launch month alone. • 57% new add-ons were accrued by Aircel during the launch month, while market leaders Airtel and Vodafone got 34% and 20% respectively. • Overall, Aircel became the fastest growing telecom player in India, with a 30% Growth from Mar-June’09 (compared to an industry Growth of 17%) Aircel launch has been termed the most successful brand launch in India, in recent times.

Creative Execution

Starting on the first day of launch, Aircel integrated itself into key media interactions across the average consumer’s day, bringing ‘change’ to life, highlighting its value. For example, on March 19th 2009: • Early Morning – The 170 year-old and still today’s leading newspaper Times of India masthead read as “Move on India” - a never-before-seen innovation. • Going to Work – Red FM, a leading radio channel, was coded as “Aircel Red FM”, with Aircel the only brand advertised across programs. • At Work – Never-before-seen Voice Message Application on Facebook by Aircel was now available. • Lunch – Food courts/malls & restaurants were surrounded with Aircel branding. • Coming Home – Throughout almost every market driven by, exactly 3 Lit-billboards positioned one after another at never-before-used prominent locations. • Relaxing at Home – lead protagonists from the Top 5 Star Plus GEC shows welcomed and celebrated Aircel’s launch in never-done-before customized promos.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

In India’s fiercely contested cellular service category, Aircel is fighting to be heard. Ranked 7th overall, Aircel faces tough competition from the category leads, Vodafone & Airtel and their dominating +57% market share. Focusing on Delhi, Aircel needed to drive perception that they were a viable option to the two market leaders. With awareness (20%), subscriber (1 million) and add-on connections (15% of total share) goals, Aircel needed to find a way to stand out – a complicated challenge for a tightly regulated category that makes most offerings look quite identical. Insight: In an undifferentiated category, sometimes ‘change’ itself is the exclusivity and differentiation needed. Our idea for Aircel was to Offer Change – in the form of distinctive, disruptive and at times first-of-its-kind use of every media/contact point to build unparalleled expectations of the brand.