Telco giant Vodafone through its attempts in the experiential domain has managed to win up to a million customers. May it be the look walkers or their presence in form of the Internet fest at the rath yatra, they have experienced it all. Vodafone like other brands have come to the fact that experiential is the new king and therefore it is of utmost importance for them to explore and invest in the experiential sphere of marketing.



Moving further in their experiential journey Vodafone launched the Vodafone Red campaign which was  an all-in-one integrated worry-free solutions, an industry first Designed with tangible layers of voice and data offerings that offer pooling capability, hassle free billing, service differentiation, security and loyalty ‘RED4Business’ proposition for corporate and enterprise. For the same they had painted the Belvedere Rapid Metro Station in Gurgaon in red and branded for Vodafone and also placed huge helium balloons atop Vodafone Stores in 7 key cities – Ahmedabad, Baroda, Pune, Chennai , Bangalore, Hyderabad & Vizag.



This is just one of the recent campaigns by Vodafone, whereas the telecom brand has been doing many more such activations. In conversation with EE, Suresh Rangarajan, Corporate Communication Head, Vodafone India speaks about the brand’s experiential approach and strategies.



EE: Being one of the largest telecommunications company, how do you engage your target audience experientially?



At Vodafone, we use various mediums like TV, print, radio, OOH, social media and experiential marketing amongst others to connect with our customers, depending on the broad objective and target group.



Experiential Marketing is a very important part of Vodafone’s marketing strategy as it is appealing to a variety of senses.  A successful experiential marketing campaign needs to have a 360 degree approach to be memorable and remain in a customer mind long enough to affect purchasing behavior.



The experiential marketing strategy designed by Vodafone weaves in a marketing mix of mass media, social media and PR depending on our target audience.  Customer engagement plays a very important role in our campaigns to create awareness and educate customers about new products and services.



Some of the recent experiential marketing campaign executed by Vodafone include Mobile Internet Bus- to drive adoption of mobile internet and instill desire to purchase the internet trial pack of Rs 25, ‘Vodafone Mobile Trucks’ equipped with mobile phone charging points, recharge vouchers and free calling facilities to help the Warkaris stay in touch with their loved ones, Vodafone IPL campaign that engaged the younger audience with selfie contests, SuperFan etc.



EE: What has been the most popular Vodafone event and how did it add value to the brand?



One of the most popular experiential marketing campaign executed by Vodafone is the Mobile Internet Bus which was a part of Vodafone’s strategy to drive adoption of mobile internet. The objective of this campaign was to build awareness and affinity amongst customers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities on the life enhancing offerings of mobile internet, in the process, breaking down existing barriers like fear of cost implications and getting them to try out Vodafone’s 2G/3G data plans.



Vodafone Mobile Internet Bus was a planned 45 day bus journey across key telecom markets in India. As part of the campaign, 5 buses equipped with 5 smartphones each travelled to 130 cities (tier2 & tier3) in West Bengal, UP, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Our promoters on the bus were trained to hand hold customers and help them experience internet on the mobile.



This initiative helped us educate customers on the power of mobile internet and how it could benefit them. The campaign instilled desire by giving customers an opportunity to experience mobile internet.



EE: Vodafone was the title sponsor for Delhi Half Marathon for three years, what lead to the retraction of this association?



Vodafone has a strong association with sports in India. We have associated with Indian Badminton League which is the birth year for the series.



We have had a successful cycling event in Bangalore last year- Vodafone Cycling Marathon which is Vodafone’s annual cycling event. Last year over 10,000 cyclists including 150 professional cyclists from across India participated in the event.



Vodafone has always sported a cycling culture but it has got diluted over the years. There is a need for people to take to cycling to cope up with heavy traffic and pollution. We have undertaken this initiative to create awareness in the society for adapting eco-friendly lifestyle and aim to encourage all age groups to take up cycling.



We also support other sporting events like Football through Vodafone GFDC Football Fiesta- a joint initiative of Vodafone and GFDC (Goa Football Development Centre), aimed at celebrating the spirit of football around the World Cup in Goa.



EE: How do you feel you can level up the experiential activities executed by Vodafone for a much wider reach?



With almost 10 brands vying for mind space and market share, the challenge of retaining customer interest, engagement, loyalty, continues unabated. Hence, at Vodafone, we believe in adopting a 360 degree strategy with a marketing mix keeping in mind the target audience.



For experiential marketing to be successful, it is essential to magnify the impact through mass media, digital and PR.



EE: How do you foresee the idea of experientially connecting and engaging with one’s target audience in the future?



Experiential Marketing is a very important part of Vodafone’s marketing strategy as it is appealing to a variety of senses. It helps the brand to connect with the target audience and communicate the product/ offering to them in a more personalized and practical manner.  It has the innate ability to cut through the clutter and engage with customers to educate them and create awareness.



For Vodafone India, it’s always been about the customer first. Experientially connecting with our target audience helps us build an emotional bond with our customers. It helps us talk to our customers on a whole different level. Talking of experiential connect, we recently executed an OOH Campaign for Prepaid voice where we had mobile vans with actual trophies (to convey the brand communication of ‘everybody wins’) and actors pretending to box were utilized, along with LED displays, etc. Innovation is key for all our communication campaigns.



With available technology, media integration and easy access to specific audience segments, there is simply no excuse for a brand to neglect experiential marketing. However, with the rise of social media, it is essential for companies to plan their campaigns smartly in order to ensure the brand stands out of clutter and makes a mark. Over the years, there has been an increase in the number of brands that are willing to invest and explore experiential marketing.