To advertise Airtel 5G Plus, the brand name under which it provides 5G services, Bharti Airtel has started a multi-media campaign. The campaign, which is primarily digital, television, and out-of-home, stresses the benefits of Airtel’s next-generation telecom service.
Since Airtel and Reliance Jio started rolling out 5G network services, this is the first significant marketing campaign a telecommunications company has launched. The DDB Mudra-created campaign will be made available in 12 different languages.
The speed, handset compatibility, and environmental impact of Airtel 5G Plus were all characteristics that we wanted to highlight in the ad, according to Sashwat Sharma, chief marketing officer of Bharti Airtel.
A young woman who utilizes 5G services from Airtel is the focal point of the advertising campaign. When she uses her phone to access the service, a red wave (which represents airwaves) knocks her off her feet and drags her around while she explores Airtel 5G Plus’s features. Although Sasha Chhetri, the “4G girl,” who served as the face of the brand’s 4G marketing, is the protagonist, she is a young female.
Sharma clarified that they chose a different persona because they wanted the campaign’s protagonist to reflect the target audience, in this case, the aspiring young of the nation.
Harish Bijoor, a brand expert, reportedly told ET that firms would avoid bringing back their former mascots or endorsers since doing so would undermine the novelty that 5G brings, despite how well-known and recognizably they may be. The brand uses a variety of marketing touchpoints, with digital for engagement, TV and out-of-home for reach, and its stores for experiential outreach. The brand will leverage the Indian Premier League as a marketing platform as part of its strategy to expand its reach through television, though Sharma did not provide specifics on how.
For the 2018 IPL, telecoms are expected to spend between Rs 240 and Rs 280 crore on marketing across TV and digital channels, driven by a 5G push. Airtel will begin developing digital engagement touchpoints for the customer’s purchasing process, and for the upcoming year, its retail locations will host 5G demo centers. Now, Airtel operates 1200 outlets across the nation.
The campaign incorporates brand visual components, including the color red and the “Airtel Wave” in addition to target audience representation. A red swirl known as “the Airtel Wave” has replaced the previous visual cue, which included the word “Airtel” in red, as part of an ongoing brand update. In terms of the development of our brand, it’s a declaration of a somewhat confident step forward, he explained.
Adding more detail, he added that when the company expanded its offerings beyond only providing telecom connectivity, it saw the need to employ a visual cue that appeals to people rather than using complex names for a business unit. Hence, the unit’s name is the only thing that appears under the new brand, and the red wave is used to symbolize the Airtel umbrella brand. The visual mnemonic was first introduced on the Airtel Thanks app, and it eventually extended to other consumer touchpoints.
