BackAirtel Open Network ad campaign looks to temper call drop ire
Airtel Open Network campaign a good brand move; call drops still an issue
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New Delhi: “All networks are the same." The lament by a young woman in Airtel’s new television commercial sounds a bit jarring, especially after a sustained campaign by India’s largest telco in which another girl extolled the virtues of its network.
The new commercial, in a way, owns up to network issues common to all telcos, including Airtel. It features a bunch of customers complaining about poor phone networks and call drops. Then, it moves on to how Airtel customers can now check the location of mobile towers and signal strength in their vicinity through a mobile app or a website and tell the company about network problems.
In the last two days, Bharti Airtel Ltd has released full-page ads in national newspapers promoting its so-called Open Network initiative, along with the television commercial which will run for eight weeks. The outdoor promotion, part of Airtel’s Project Leap, will start from 20 June in more than 100 towns of the country. The company has partnered with Dentsu’s creative agency Taproot and media agency GroupM to promote the initiative. An Airtel spokesperson declined to comment on the marketing budget of the campaign.
“We are making no claims. This is an honest measure to improve our network and we want our consumers to be a part of it, “said Rajiv Mathrani, chief brand officer, Airtel, adding that Open Network is testimony that “as brands we must appreciate that this is an era of transparency where we need to interact with the consumers."
Airtel has classified network strength into four categories: Excellent, good, moderate and no coverage. Consumers can suggest a site on a particular location and the company will review the request. A new site request will typically take 3-6 months to be executed. Currently, the Open Network portal shows areas that require new sites based on internal assessment.
However, experts said the initiative is more of a public relations exercise as telcos face flak from consumers and the government on call drops. “A large number of call drops have hurt mobile operator brands. Airtel’s initiative will help undo some of this damage to its brand. The initiative is a positive and pro-active way of responding to the challenge. As a market leader, Airtel seems to want to differentiate and protect its brand. This is a clever and wholesome way to do it. There is an indirect advantage as it will crowd-source one of its challenges, namely, timely reporting of network problems," said Mahesh Uppal, telecom analyst and director at New Delhi-based consultancy Com First.
However, one can’t automatically assume that this will improve the call drop situation, he noted. “This initiative is more about sharing information and probably contesting the allegation that Airtel is not investing enough in the infrastructure," he added.
According to him, reducing call drops will take much more investment and increase in the number of towers. It also depends on the availability of sufficient mobile spectrum, which is not entirely within the operator’s control.
Harish Bijoor, brand expert and founder of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc., said Airtel has taken the proverbial first step in this space. “The timing is just right, as Jio takes its baby steps in offering blazing speed connectivity. As consumers grapple with poor connectivity issues looking at every telecom service provider with the same suspicious eyes, this campaign will focus positive attention to Airtel. The brand has climbed a peg down with this piece of communication. It is emotive, joins the issue rather than denying it, and then offers transparency. That’s a big step. I like it for its honesty and so will the consumer," said Bijoor.
However, he adds while the initiative is positive, Airtel needs to respond actively to consumer complaints. The campaign, he notes, needs the backing of an active customer service response system that not only listens but solves issues.
Airtel has over 250 million subscribers and says it has allowed itself a maximum drop of 1.5% of all calls made on its network, compared with the present 2% limit prescribed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
In a bid to check the call drop menace, Trai has approached the Department of Telecom (DoT) to amend the Trai Act to empower it to impose a fine of ₹ 10 crore on operators as well jail term of up to two years to company executives for any violation of regulatory framework. Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has, however, ruled out giving penal powers to Trai.
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