1)Examine the circumstances in which Bharti launched Airtel and trace the brands initial days in the backdrop

of the emerging cellular telephony market in India. In the light of the leadership campaign! analy"e why Airtel and other cell phone brands were seen as premium#end offerings. $unil Bharti %itlal was a &ew 'elhi based Business man who started small bicycle#parts business in 1()*s first he entered the telecom business by establishing Bharti +elecom ,imited -B+,) that manufactured +elephonic e.uipment. /0er the years it entered into other business related to telecom industry. +he main ser0ices of the bharti group included Airtel -cellular)! %antra -Internet $er0ices) and beetel -telephone instruments).In 1((1!Bharti entered the cellular market launching ser0ices in 'elhi.Airtel was launched when 2*3 of the people didnt e0en heard the term 4cellular $er0ices5. +hat was only confined to the premium class people. In the early 1***s bharti in0ested hea0ily in the ac.uisitions and the alliances to expand its cellular market in India. As a part of this! Bharti ac.uired I+ %obile -A6 7 8arnataka)! skycell -9hennai) and $pice 9ell -8okata).It also collaborated with B6, to gain seamless access in %umbai! %aharastra! 9hennai! 'elhi! 8erala! +amil &adu !A6 and 8arnataka. Bharti launched Airtel as a postpaid

cellular ser0ice in 'elhi in &o0ember 1((:. +he company redefined the way cellular ser0ice were being marketed in the country. Airtel was the first cellular operator to set up cellular showrooms. It opened its first showroom 4Airtel 9onnect5 in 'elhi! in late 1((:. Bharti was also the first cellular company to install a second mobile switching center. +he company was first to pro0ide roaming cellular ser0ices and other 0alue added ser0ices such as smart mail! fax! call hold! cal waiting and information ser0ices. It was also the first company to launch an online e#commerce portal that enabled customers to make online payments. +he tariff rates charged by the go0ernment were .uite high. Air time charges were as high as ;s1< per minute as against ;s.1.1* for land line communication. +hus! all players targeted the premium sector! which could afford the rates. Airtel was also positioned for the elite class. Airtel launched the ,eadership $er0ices campaign which featured successful men and women with their deluxe cars! carrying laptops and using cell phones. $o people started thinking that Airtel was an aspirational brand! which was meant for leaders and celebrities. 6eople began associating three core benefits with the Airtel brand =leadership! performance and dynamism. /ther supporti0e 0alues associated with the brand included courtsy! politness

and efficiency. $o Airtel and other brands were treated as premium#class brands. 1)Explain the reasons behind the leadership campaign being replaced by the +ouch +omorrow campaign. Also critically comment on the campaigns decision to replace +ouch +omorrow with li0e e0ery moment. +hough the ,eadership ser0ices campaign was successful and resettled in a marginal impro0ement in Airtel performance! it failed to attract more customers as it failed to add an emotional dimension to the brand. Analysis percei0ed the brand to be distant! effecti0e and cold. +he sur0eys also re0ealed that the concept of leadership was itself undergoing a transformation. +he public percei0ed the campaign as leaders are people who worked with a team to achie0e common ob>ecti0es rather than those who dictated terms to their subordinates. +he sur0eys also indicated that :*3 of the new subscribers adopted a cellular ser0ice from the ad0ice of their close ones. $o Airtel reali"ed the fact that customer#relationship was of great importance and lacking an emotional or humani"ed touch was a ma>or weakness. $o in August 1***! bharti launched its new +ouch +omorrow which

aimed at strengthening its relationship with customers. +he new campaign and the positioning was designed to highlight the relationship angle and make the brand softer and more sensiti0e pre0iously Airtel was percei0ed as a premium brand !now the new positioning is intended to add warmth to these attributes. +he new commercial de0eloped for this campaign reflected human! aspirational! family = centric and software brand 0alues while promising easy reach. +he campaign looks into the needs of the tomorrow customer. +he new branding initiati0e takes into cogni"ance the findings that consumers consider Airtel as a brand of the successful people and a preferred address. In early 1**1! Airtel changed its logo and tagline from +ouch +omorrow5 to 4li0e e0ery moment5 to gi0e Airtel a younger look. +he new logo symboli"ed inno0ation! energy and friendliness. +he company reportedly allocated ;s.1 billion for media co0erage and other brand building acti0ities.Airtels brand identity and campaign will now ha0e a new younger and international look and feel that builded on the earlier positioning of 4+ouch +omorrow5! in>ected with renewed energy and heightened optimism. +he shif to 4li0e e0ery moment5 from touch tomorrow had ne0ertheless! pro0ed that Bharti is consistently on the lookout for best marketing strategies for Airtel.

?) 'o u think Bharti has not been gi0ing enough time for one positioning plank to pro0e effecti0e before mo0ing on the next@ Ahat are the merits and demerits of fre.uently changing a brands positioning@ Bharti has been gi0ing enough time for one positioning before shifting to the other one. &ow the technology is growing so fast that the needs and beha0ior of people is changing so rapidly. Ahat people think today is not what they thought yesterday. +heir 0iews and opinions keep changing .uite fre.uently. +oday! anything is reaching the consumers 0ery fastly. $o the time lapse between two different positioning of Airtel is .uite enough for a positioning to pro0e effecti0e. +hat time is enough for that positioning to show impact on the people before they get bored. +he ad0antages are .uite high compared to the disad0antages. %E;I+$B 1. Ci0es a new look to the brand. 1. 9hanges the impact that is created. ?. 9hanges the way that it is percei0ed.

D. If the old campaign has no good response! then the new logo may get good response. :. +his helps in rectifying the mistakes that were done for the old campaign. <. 9an be changed according to changing trends and needs. ). 'ifferent campaigns may reach different segments of people thus reaching all the people.

'E%E;I+$B 1. Ere.uent changing may cause negati0e impact on people. 6eople may not associate themsel0es with any single campaign. 1. Ere.uent changing may create an impact of instability. ?. $um times the new campaign may get introduced before the old one reaches the people. 9/EEEE 6A;,/F;$ I& I&'IA# G/++I&C F6

1)'ifferentiation and the cost leadership are the two generic strategies that a company can adopt to create a competiti0e ad0antage in a market. Ahat are the strategies that Barista! 99' and Hwikys ha0e adopted@ Ahich strategy do you think is suitable for the Indian market@ Ci0e to >ustify your answer. $trategies adopted by BaristaB# Barista established in 1*** in &ew 'elhi was the largest and fastest growing coffee chain in India. Barista positioned itself as a lifestyle brand with Italian neighborhood. Barista was the leader in espresso coffees. Barista was made with top grand Arabica beans and brew masters from Italy were in0ited to create blends. Alliance with +ata coffee would supply food items like baguettes! croissants! cookies! sandwiches! pastries and desserts. E0ery month it introduced and focused on a particular type of coffee. +he idea was to change customers occasional indulgence and make it a habit and educate them about the original coffees. It also de0eloped store#in# store concept by focusing on themes that

compliment coffee! such as music! books and art. Barista entered into marketing tie#ups with planet %! crossword and Ebony to set up it Espressos at the corner. It also wanted to enter into co#branded marketing tie#ups with se0eral banks for credit cards. +he company also entered branded merchandising with caps! coasters! cos and cups. Barista entered home brew segment with freshly grounded coffee. +he company extended its product portfolio from roasted coffee range to single origin coffee. Baristas single origin coffee powder has a status symbol. It was planning to enter the international market. Barista planned to tie#up with AB& amro for opening 4Banlafes5. +his concept helps to bank at leisure5 enabling customers to 0isit the bank after banking hours on any day in an informal and friendly en0ironment. It e0en tied up with B69, to open coffee kiosks. $trategies adopted by 99'B# 99' offered an informal ambience with bright and eye#catching interiors. Iisitors could sip coffee! browse the internet! conduct business meetings or >ust while away time with friends. 99' was well looked as a cool#

hangout for college crowed and teenagers. +his promoted young artists and displayed their paintings on their walls. In 1**1! a new logo was chosen lea0ing the old one which was bit old fashioned. +he interior were redesigned and new menu was also introduced along with the new crockery. +he baseline also changed to 4A lot can happen o0er coffee5. %usical e0ents were organi"ed to attract youth. 49afJ >ockey5 was introduced which selected children abo0e 1:yrs and ga0e them 1 week training. In addition to the commercial and residential clusters in metros! 99's also targeted other locations like corporate houses! airport! hospitals and shopping malls. 99' priced its products 1*3 lower than its competitors. 99' positioned itself as a mass market brand! mini# metros were also added to its list. Qwikys Strategies:Hwikys strategy was that to make their customers make them feel comfortable and ha0e fun. +he staff at Hwikys was trained to understand body language. +hey were 0ery frankly with the customers. Hwikys ob>ecti0e was to target the 4young at heart5 that were

looking for fun and relaxatation. +hey offered different 0arieties of coffee. 9ustomers were gi0en a choice of drinks that were not common in India. It had a separate 0ending area for chocolate products. Hwikys coffee pubs were located at strategic points which were fre.uented by youth. Hwikys pubs were located at intersection of roads in a corner were two side of cafJ were made of glasses and faced the road. It e0en had coffee making machines for sale and also a trainer to teach how to make perfect espresso. It also planned to launch ready to drink coffee sachets. +heir prices were based on the real#estate prices in that particular area. +he strategy adopted by Barista would suit the Indian market. Barista came up with uni.ueness in its interior with Indian neighborhood. It also offered se0eral ser0ices along with ser0ing coffee. $e0eral international 0arieties of coffees are ser0ed in Barista. +he ambience was great. +he perfect Italian 0arieties of coffees were ser0ed with brew masters from Italy. +hey came up with single origin coffees and attracted with the niche set of consumers. %any 0arieties of coffees are ser0ed in Barista people feel 0ery comfortable. It also ser0es food items like pastries! sandwiches. 6eople started thinking

that Barista has become a status symbol. $o they wanted to associate themsel0es with Barista. Its planning to go international into many countries. Its e0en planning to co brand with se0eral banks for credit cards. 6eople of India always wanted something new and different. $o Baristas strategy perfectly suits the Indian market. 1)Barista! 99' and Hwikys target different segments. Ahat is the segmentation strategy adopted by the three players@ Also comment on the potential of each segment. Baristas adopted a strategy on which it segmented itself to the elite class. +his class has high potential because these people associate with anything that is of status symbol. +hey spend 0ery high. $o Barista choose this segment contains people with big designations like %'s! 'octors! 9E/s and people belonging to elite class. +hey like to be in a place which is classy and luxurious like Barista. +his segment has high potential. 99' positioned itself in the mass market. It targeted the middle class! upper

middle class! house wi0es and students. +he prices are less compared to the other two. +his segment has high potential and great buying power and has great market share. Hwikys positioned itself as a place were people can come for fun and relaxatation it targeted people who ha0ing fun and young at heart. 6eople who were .uite interacti0e and friendly were appointed as staff to make their customers feel comfortable and while away their time. It was a place to hangout. ?)star bucks is planning to enter the Indian coffee retailing market. /f the three players discussed in the case! who do u think is competiti0ely better placed to face the competition from star bucks and maintain their growth Barista is competiti0ely better placed to face the competition from star bucks. Barista is the leader in the coffee retailing business. +he 0alue added ser0ices and ambience offered in Barista helps it! maintain its growth. $tar bucks are an international player and it may gi0e tough competition to the

local players. But Barista with its ambience and ser0ices would maintain its growth. D)'o u think that the intense competition in the coffee retailing business is likely to cause consolidation@ Explain with reasons. +he coffee retailing business in India is highly growing. It may cause intense competition between the players. Cenerally we see two nearby competitors merging to become market leader and capture great market share. +his may e0en happen in coffee retailing business in India. 9onsolidation may take place to create their strong presence in the Indian market and expand their chain globally and become an international player. %any international players are lining up big expansion plans in India. $o to gi0e the international players a tough competition! local players may merge to create their impact.