Brief Explanation

How do you launch a new technology as a mass brand when your core users aren’t technologically savvy? And succeed when there are bigger brands, with larger marketing budgets trying to do the exact same thing simultaneously, with greater credentials in high-end offerings. This was the challenge we were up against for IDEA Cellular, the #3 player in the Indian telecom market, when we were tasked with launching their 3G services. There were simultaneous multi-million dollar campaigns being run by every telco in the country, each trying to out-shout the other as the pioneers of 3G technology. Most campaigns around 3G focused on data speeds and messages around lightning-fast internet speeds. We set aggressive targets for IDEA 3G • Match the market leader brand on ‘association with 3G’ • Add 1 Million 3G subscribers • Increase revenue from 3G by 30% As a mass-brand, our average user doesn’t know too much about technology, and definitely doesn’t care. So with IDEA 3G, we decided to focus on communicating what- 3G-can-do-for-you, interpreted in his everyday-life-context. And since the whole category was talking about 3G, we decided to change the conversations FROM – amazing data speeds and bandwidths TO – Your phone can now entertain you like never before We then brought it to life in IDEA’s signature-style of communication. IDEA tells stories that are painted on the canvas of a social-issue facing the nation, where we offer a light-hearted solution to them through mobile telephony. In case of 3G, we took up the issue of over-population in the country, coupled with the fact that for many heart-land Indians, sex remains the major form of entertainment that’s readily available. Our proposition, your phone, powered by IDEA 3G, can be more entertaining (than sex) Creative expression: India is busy with 3G (Bijee with three-gee) - Spoken in Indian-heartland tones where busy is pronounced as ‘bijee’ We told everyday-stories of common Indian house-holds with people so absorbed in their IDEA 3G phones that there wasn’t any sex going on. The executions involved multiple touch-points in broadcast, OOH, retail and interactive environments Results - From # 3 in telephony to #1 brand of 3G (measured by association of 3G with brand vs. competitors) - Added 2 Million 3G subscribers (measured through company sales data) - Revenue growth of over 100% (measured through company sales data)