Kepner Tregoe's SA, PA, DA, PPA on case vodafone marketing communications

1. Situation analysis?

2. Problem Analysis?

3. Decision Analysis?

4. Potential Problem Analysis?

Vodafone has been extremely successful, from the beginning, in capturing the mind share of Indian consumers with their attractive advertisements; adorable mascots - "Hutch" pug, zoozoo's; the story telling behind the changes in the logo; the brand name. As per the data available on the customer base growth, Vodafone has been quite successful in its marketing communication strategy. But the dilemma of Marten Pieters, CEO, Vodafone Essar Ltd, is that despite this, the usage rate is low. Customers happily purchase the connection but are very stringent as far as using the services are concerned. Vodafone, therefore, needs to rethink and redefine the marketing communication approach. Company background Vodafone Essar formerly known as Hutchison Essar, is a Mumbai-based Indian subsidiary of Vodafone group. The company has operations in India with over 152.664 million customers (Boneless Research, 2012). It is the second largest mobile operator in terms of revenue share, after Bharti Airtel, holding a revenue market share of 20.6 percent, and the second largest in terms of subscribers' base (Boneless Research, 2012). Vodafone started its Indian operations in 1994 with the brand name Max Touch which was renamed to Orange in the year 2000, followed by "Hutch" in 2006. The company initially established its business in the major metropolitan cities, namely Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. Soon it was able to establish a robust network, well-known brand and large distribution network in these densely populated urban areas, targeting business users and high-end post-paid customers. In February 2007, Hutchison Telecom announced that it had entered into a binding agreement with a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc to sell its 67 percent direct and indirect equity and loan interests in Hutchison Essar Limited for a total cash consideration (before costs, expenses and interests) of approximately $11.1 billion. On September 20, 2007, the marketing brand of Hutch was officially changed to Vodafone. All through the journey of its growth in India, Vodafone Essar, has followed a well thought and carefully crafted communication propositions. The regular changes in the brand were beautifully integrated in all its communication, thus enhancing the personality of the brand. Launch of Max Touch in India The story of Vodafone began in 1995 when it was launched in India by the name Max Touch. This was the year when mobile services were introduced in the Indian market. As a result Max Touch launched itself using the tagline "Hello Bombay" - the idea was to develop an international brand personality (Rai, 2006). It was able to communicate this by using celebrities from various backgrounds to endorse it. Until then mobile just meant carrying cordless phones within the specified area. It became all the more necessary to educate the