TATA Indicom to take the Hutch way to build brand

TATA Teleservices Ltd (TTSL), which unveiled its national brand TATA Indicom during the launch of its basic services in the Tamil Nadu circle last week, is planning to go the Hutch way. Its brand building efforts, to be rolled out nationally, will be spearheaded by a "friendly front face" - a mnemonic to represent the host of services it plans to offer. These services include basic fixed landline phone connections, CDMA mobile, PCO booths, Centrex, leased lines, Internet services, ISDN and DSL and integrated telecom solutions and virtual private networks.

Speaking to agencyfaqs! Ajay Sachdeva, chief marketing officer, TTSL, says, "As a run-up to the launch we had introduced a huge teaser campaign where this character, who represented all our brand values, urged the reader, ‘Meet a friend who understands, who listens'. This was done on all major outdoor points. Now a bigger print and outdoor campaign will be unveiled to establish the brand and build the character."

To make an instant connect with the audience in Tamil Nadu, the company plans to use media that specifically addresses the local audience. Television is out for the moment because, as Sachdeva explains, it makes more sense for a brand to go on to television once it is ready to reach a wider sphere of users.

The TTSL campaign and all its below-the-line activities are being handled by RKSwamy/BBDO and the budget allocated for the effort - including publicity and related activities - over the next one year is Rs 25 crore. This is significant as TTSL has just about rolled out its Tamil Nadu operations with Chennai as its first stopover. The other cities that will be covered in the initial phase are Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, Madurai and Trichy, with the rest of the state to be covered in a phased manner. The company hopes to reach over 25 markets in the state by mid-2003.

After completion of the Tamil Nadu launch, the company plans to roll out its services across three other circles, namely, Karnataka, Gujarat and New Delhi. The acquisition of the fifth basic circle of Maharashtra (including Goa) from Hughes Telecom India Ltd, is a big deal for the company as it gives TTSL access to a running operation with 1,80,000 subscribers. The company has already made investments to the tune of $320 million in developing the Andhra Pradesh circle and has a base of 2,00,000 customers in the state. The company is looking at an investment of nearly Rs 7,500 crore over the next few years to establish itself in all the new circles with a network supported on OFC (optical fibre communication) backbone and other advanced support facilities.

In view of these huge plans, where TTSL already claims to be the leading player in private basic services, its plans to build a national brand assumes significance. "Brand building is key as we have just about rolled out our services. The "friendly face" character we have chosen embodies friendship, trust and reliability; he is savvy, smart and approachable. At a time when technology has ceased to be the prime differentiator in the market, the need is to create differentiation through services and efficiency. That is why we have such high hopes on the character and we want it to personify all the values we stand for," says Sachdeva. © 2002 agencyfaqs!