A PROJECT REPORT ON

Marketing (Acquisition and Branding)

IDEA Cellular Ltd.

SUBMITTED TO:

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Submitted By:Raj Kumar Gupta Roll No: A03 Registration: 11006936 B.Com (H)

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Idea Cellular Ltd.

Type

Public BSE: 532822 NSE: IDEA

Industry:- Telecommunications Founded:- 1995 Headquarters:- Santacruz East, Mumbai, India Key people:- Kumar Mangalam Birla (Chairman) Products:- Mobile telephony, Wireless broadband Revenue:- 15,389.00 crore (US$2.79 billion) (2011) Operating income:- 2,879.33 crore (US$521.16 million) (2011) Net income:- 844.60 crore (US$152.87 million) (2011) Total assets:- US$5.334 billion (2010) Owner(s) Aditya Birla Group Employees:- 6,481 (2010) Parent : Aditya Birla Group (49.05%) Axiata Group Berhad (15%) Providence Equity (10.6%)

Idea Business Domains

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Voice Services

Fixed Cellular Terminals GSM PRI Gateway Call Conference

GPRS Application

Internet On Mobile Idea NetSetter USB

Business Application

Remote Energy Work Force Tracking Solution Vehicle Tracking Solution

Customized Solutions

SMS/GPRS Based Solutions

Introduction
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Telecom Industry in India:

The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India has nearly 200 million telephone lines making it the third largest network in the world after China and USA. With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest growth rate in the world. Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication Market is spurred by the growth in demand in countries like India and China. Indias mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%.China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base of 48% of the total subscribers in Asia Pacific. Compared to that Indias share in Asia Pacific Mobile Phone market is 6.4%.Considering the fact that India and China has almost comparable populations, Indias low mobile penetration offers huge scope for Growth

History of Indian Telecommunications:

Started in 1851 when the first operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat of British power). Telephone services were introduced in India in 1881. In 1883 telephone services were merged with the postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT) was formed in 1923.After independence in 1947, all the foreign telecommunication companies were nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry of Communications. Telecom sector was considered as a strategic service and the government considered it best to bring under state's control. The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to flow in 1980s when the private sector was allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department of Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an exclusive provider of domestic and long-distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postal system). In 1986, two wholly government-owned companies were created the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas. In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general opening up of the economy. Also, examples of telecom revolution in many other countries, which resulted in better quality of service and lower tariffs, led Indian policy makers to initiate a change process finally resulting in opening up of telecom services sector for the private sector. National Telecom Policy (NTP) 1994 was the first attempt to gives a comprehensive roadmap for the Indian telecommunications sector. In 1997,
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Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created. TRAI was formed to act as a regulator to facilitate the growth of the telecom sector. New National Telecom Policy was adopted in 1999 and cellular services were also launched in the same year. Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into two segments: Fixed Service Provider (FSPs), and Cellular Services. Fixed line services consist of basic services, national or domestic long distance and international long distance services. The state operators (BSNL and MTNL), account for almost 90 per cent of revenues from basic services. Private sector services are presently available in selective urban areas, and collectively account for less than 5 per cent of subscriptions. However, private services focus on the business/corporate sector, and offer reliable, high-end services, such as leased lines, ISDN, closed user group and video conferencing. Cellular services can be further divided into two categories: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The GSM sector is dominated by Airtel, Vodafone-Hutch, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA sector is dominated by Reliance and Tata Indicom. Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephonyservices are the major growth drivers for cellular industry.Cellular operators get substantial revenue from these services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs on airtime, which along with rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long distance, international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand.

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INTRODUCTION TO TRAINING
Training Topic:-

Marketing (Acquisition and Branding)

Training is basically the act of imparting knowledge and upgrading the skills. It is basically the technique to improve and develop the skills that may be already been acquired or else to impart new knowledge or to make aware about new developments and technologies. Training is also even given for personal development of the employees and for their growth and advancement. A persons performance is improved by showing him/her how to master a new or established technology. The technology may be a piece of heavy machinery, a computer, a procedure for creating a product, or a method of providing a service. Earlier it was stated that there are four inputs to a system: people, material, technology and time. Training is mainly concerned with the meeting of two of these inputs-people and technology i.e. having people learns to master a given technology. In other words training improves, changes, and moulds the employees knowledge, skill, behavior, aptitude and attitude towards the requirements of the job and organization. Thus training is the acquisition of technology, which permits employees to perform their present job to standards. It improves human performance on the job the employee is presently doing or is being hired to do. Also, it is given when new technology is introduced into the workplace always be fully evaluated. This does not mean that we should abandon development programs, as helping people to grow and develop is what keeps an organization in the cutting edge of competitive environments. Development can be considered the forefront of what many now call Learning Organization.

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Training is one of the most important functions of the human resource, which is taken up in every organization to retain good and competent workforce as its main purpose is to: Improve the efficiency of the employees. To motivate the employees. To make them aware about new developments. For effective utilization of resources. For their personal growth and career development. So, its the process of enhancing the knowledge and skills acquired by an employee to do a particular job.

BRIEF ANALYSIS OF TRAINING ACTIVITIES

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All the training and development activities are look after by HR Department. This is one of the most important activities of PDC department which is being planned, organized and conducted at a regular basis to attain the predetermined objectives of the company starting from determining its budget to evaluation of the results or gains of various trainings as compare to the expenses incurred on these. These programs are often conducted: To increase efficiency of manpower. To improve their effectiveness. To upgrade their skills. To make them compatible with new changes and new technologies. To help them in their personal growth and development. To develop and retain competent work force. To develop a more disciplined work environment.

So that, this can lead to companys growth, higher productivity and can ultimately reach their bottom lines. There is a definite process, which is followed by the company from its planning, organizing, execution to its effectiveness. TYPES OF TRAINING The various trainings being conducted in various organizations are mainly categorized into two categories: ON THE JOB TRAINING OF THE JOB TRAINING ON THE JOB TRAINING - These basically include the program, which are being conducted in the workplace itself. So skills and knowledge are imparted through practical exposure to work that basically include induction training, job rotations, apprenticeship training, internship training etc. These programs are taken up to upgrade the skills and techniques, which are used by the person to do the immediate job in which he is engaged. OFF THE JOB TRAINING - These programs are conducted other than at the actual workplace. These include theoretical concepts and demonstrations that follow the policy of classroom teaching to impart knowledge on the basic concepts.
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It basically includes lectures, seminars, conferences, case studies, role-playing and other management games. These programs are taken up for the growth and development of the personnels where artificial environment is created to learn the basic concepts first and then to implement them in practical work. Typical Reasons for Employee Training and Development: Training and development can be initiated for a variety of reasons for an employee or group of employees, e.g.: a.) When a performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is needed. b.) To "benchmark" the status of improvement so far in a performance improvement effort. c.) As part of an overall professional development program. d.) As part of succession planning to help an employee be eligible for a planned change in role in the organization. e.) To "pilot", or test, the operation of a new performance management system. f.) To train about a specific topic.

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Introduction of Idea Cellular Limited

Idea Cellular is a part of the US $24 billion Aditya Birla Group and a leading GSM mobile services operator with licenses to operate in 13 telecom service areas in India. The company has operations in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (W) & Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh (E), Madhya Pradesh& Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra & Goa, Andhra Pradesh andKerala with the planned expansion into Mumbai; Bihar &Jharkhand. Ideas footprint will cover nearly 70 percent of Indias telephony potential. Idea Cellular had 16.13 Million subscribers as on June30, 2007, and had a market share of 15.4 percent as on June 30, 2007 in its 11 service areas of operation. IDEA Cellular is a publicly listed company, having listed on BSE & NSE in March 2007. It is the 3rd largest mobile services operator in India with wireless revenue market share at 13.9 % in Q1 FY2012. Idea has joined the select global operators club servicing over 100 million subscribers, as of September 2011. Idea is a pan-India integrated GSM operator and has its own NLD and ILD operations, and ISP license. With traffic in excess of a billion minutes a day, Idea ranks among the Top 10 country operators in the world. Idea operates across all 22 service areas with 2G services, and 3G services are being progressively rolled out to cover over 3,000 towns by FY 2012. Idea has a network of over 70,000 cell sites covering the entire length and breadth of the country. Idea has over 3,000 Service Centres servicing Idea subscribers across the country, including 450 special Experience Zones for 3G promotion. Ideas service delivery platform is ISO 9001:2008 certified, making it the only operator in the country to have this standard certification for all 22 service areas and the corporate office. Ideas strong growth in the Indian telephony market comes from its deep penetration in non-urban & rural markets. It has the highest share of rural subscribers as a percentage of total subscribers, amongst other GSM players. In fact, 2 out of every 3 new Idea subscribers come from rural/ semi-urban India. IDEA Cellular is an Aditya Birla Group Company, Indias first truly multinational corporation. The group operates in 33 countries, and is anchored by more than 132,000 employees belonging to 42 nationalities.
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History of Idea Cellular Limited:

Inception and growth:Idea Cellular's history dates back to the year 1995, when it was incorporated as Birla Communications Services The following year, the company entered into a joint venture with Grasim Industries and the global telecom giant AT&T. The same year, its name was changed to Birla AT&T Communications Limited. A merger with Tata Cellular Limited took place in 2000. In 2002, the company created the brand Idea' and changed its name to Idea Cellular Limited. The same year it launched operations in Delhi and crossed the one million subscriber base; in 2005, it crossed the subscriber base of five million. In 2006, the Tata Group transferred all its shares to the Aditya Birla Group and the group became the largest shareholder in the company. In 2007, Idea came with an IPO and got listed on the bourses - the same year it reached the subscriber base of 20million. In 2000, Tata Cellular was a company providing mobile services in Andhra Pradesh. When Birla-AT&T brought Maharashtra and Gujarat to the table, the merger of these two entities was a reality. Thus Birla-Tata-AT&T, popularly known as Batata, was born and was later rebranded as IDEA. Then Idea set sights on RPGs operations in Madhya Pradesh which was successfully acquired, helping Batata have a million subscribers, and the license to be the fourth operator in Delhi was clinched. In 2004, Idea (the company had by then been rechristened) bought over the Escorts groups Escotel gaining Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West) and Kerala and licenses for three more UP (East), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. By the end of that year, four million Indians were on the companys network. In 2005, AT&T sold its investment in Idea, and the year after Tatas also bid good bye to pursue an independent telecom business. And Idea was left only with one promoter, the AV Birla group Rs 2,700 crore adding Punjab and Karnataka circles. Modis joint venture partner, Telekom Malaysia, invested Rs 7,000 crore for a 14.99% stake in Idea. Just around then, Ideas subsidiary, Aditya Birla Telecom sold a 20% stake to US-based Providence Equity Partners for over Rs 2,0000 crore.

Environmental Scanning
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The Marketing environment within which a company operates is dynamic. There are two types of environment. 1. Micro environment 2. Macro environment
1. Micro environment:

The micro environment is the forces close to the company that affects its ability to serve its customers.
2. Macro environment:

The macro environment is the larger societal forces that affects the whole macro environment. The macro environment consist of six types of forces Demographic, Economic, Natural, Technological, Political and Cultural forces. A companys marketing strategy must take into account changes and trends in this environment that can present opportunities or pose threats. A successful firm in one that regularly modifies it marketing mix and strategies to adapt to these changes Political Factors: Neglected area has been non-existence of any guidelines for installation of towers in every nook and corner of the country. In our endeavor to grow, proper attention is missing for safety associated with towers. Lots of towers in India have been installed on roof tops of weak and unsafe buildings. During construction, hardly anybody has planned for towers on roof tops. It is unexpected that the structure feasibility of all buildings is undertaken before towers are installed. There are cases where more than two or even three towers have been installed at a single location

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Higher Management Organizational Architecture:-

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Customer Service
The company has its retail outlets under the "My Idea" banner. The company has also been the first to offer flexible tariff plans for prepaid customers. It also offers GPRS services in urban areas. Idea Cellular won the GSM Association Award for "Best Billing and Customer Care Solution" for 2 consecutive years IDEA Cellular has been recognized as the 'Most Customer Responsive Company' in the Telecom sector, at the prestigious Avaya GlobalConnect Customer Responsiveness Awards 2010

Holding
Initially the Birlas, the Tatas and AT&T Wireless each held one-third equity in the company. But following AT&T Wireless' merger with Cingular Wireless in 2004, Cingular decided to sell its 32.9% stake in Idea. This stake was bought by both the Tatas and Birlas at 16.45% each. Tata's foray into the cellular market with its own subsidiary, Tata Indicom, a CDMA-based mobile provider, cropped differences between the Tatas and the Birlas. This dual holding by the Tatas also became a major reason for the delay in Idea being granted a license to operate in Mumbai. This was because as per Department of Telecommunications (DOT) license norms, one promoter could not have more than 10% stake in two companies operating in the same circle and Tata Indicom was already operating in Mumbai when Idea filed for its licence. The Birlas thus approached the DOT and sought its intervention, and the Tatas replied by saying that they would exit Idea but only for a good price. On 10 April 2006, the Aditya Birla Group announced its acquisition of the 48.18% stake held by the Tatas at Rs. 40.51 a share amounting to Rs. 44.06 billion. While 15% of the 48.14% stake was acquired by Aditya Birla Nuvo, a company in-charge of the Birlas' new business initiatives, the remaining stake was acquired by Birla TMT holdings Private Ltd., an AV Birla family-owned company. Currently, Aditya Birla Group holds 49.1% of the total shares of the company. Malaysia based Axiata controls a 14.99% stake in the company.

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3G
On 19 May 2010, the 3G spectrum auction in India ended. Idea paid 5768.59 crores for spectrum in 11 circles. The circles it will provide 3G in are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & Goa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West).[4] On 28 March 2011, Idea launched 3G services in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.[5] The launch cities were Ahmedabad, Shimla and Indore. This makes Idea the sixth private operator (eighth overall) to launch its 3G services in the country following Tata Docomo, Reliance Communications, Airtel, Aircel and Vodafone. Idea currently supports up to 21.1 Mbit/s over 2G speeds of 256 kbit/s. However, different handsets support different speeds, from 384 kbit/s, 3.6 Mbit/s, 7.2 Mbit/s or 21.1 Mbit/s. Speeds also depend on the 3G plan/recharge that users opt for. The operator announced that IDEA 3G services will be available in 200 towns of 11 3G circles by mid-April 2011, progressively growing at the rate of ten towns per day to cover 750 towns by mid-2011 and 4000 towns by the end of 2012. Idea cellular has announced a cut of 70% in the tariff of its 3G services.

Idea 3G Smartphone
On 23 November 2011 Idea Cellular launched two affordable 3G handsets in India: Idea 3G Smartphone Blades priced at 7,992 and Idea 3G Smartphone priced at 5,850. Both handsets are based on Android 2.2 Froyo. Idea has also launched a Dual-SIM Android smartphone in India on June 15, 2012 named as Idea ID-918 at a price point of Rs.5,994 ($108 approx.) It features Android v2.3 OS, 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, 3G, Wi-Fi and 3.2 MP rear facing camera.

Pan India 3G Coverage

Airtel, Vodafone and Idea have begun collaborating to provide 3G coverage to their customers pan India. The agreement aims to provide for these companies to offer 3G services to their customers in circles where they have not won any spectrum. It is expected that the 3 companies will be able to provide 3G services in all circles in India except orissa where the three have not won any spectrum.
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3G Coverage
Ideas 3G service is currently available in the following cities in 11 telecom circles

Subscriber base
Idea's subscriber base as at the end of August 2011 according to the statistics, is totalling to 98,441,714 or 16.09% (Approx.) of the total mobile connections in India. Idea leads all other telecom operators in India in the MNP (Mobile Number Portability) race, with a net gain of 1031380 subscribers as on 31 August 2011. Idea also leads all other competitors in having the most active subscriber base, scoring highly on the VLR statistics. Visitor Location Register (VLR) is basically a temporary database of the subscribers who have roamed into the particular area, which it serves. Each base station in the network is served by exactly one VLR; hence a subscriber cannot be present in more than one VLR at a time

Economic Factors:
1. Income group: Now a day, lower class people also use mobile phones. And idea simcard is affordable by any class. 2. Price elasticity: Demand of idea sim card is increasing day by day so the price of idea sim card is decreasing.

Social Factors:
Especially idea cellular provides many offers which attracts customer of all age groups. For example, sms offers can easily attract youngsters. And people, who are using idea sim card, can talk at very less call rate. So most of people use this product Idea cellular limited has many big names and good brand image so bulk of the people use idea sim cards. Good advertisement always attracts people & idea cellular limited introduces new and attractive advertisement regularly and have celebrity as their brand ambassador like Abhishek Bachchan, so it is a big factor.
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Technological Factors:
Initially the memory of sim card for contact saving was less, but now a days we can get more memory in that. Now there is facilities of GPRS is also available in Idea simcard.

Demographic Factors:
1. Gender:

This is used by both males and females.

2. Age group:

Mostly we see that mobiles are used by all age group from teenagers to older ones. 3. Population: We know that if the population increases, the use of cell phone will also increase. 4. Occupation: This is used by the entire person. So occupation is not affecting on it. 5. Income: Now a days income factor is not affecting to this. Because it is available at very cheap price now

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Explanation of Marketing Research Process

Step 1: Define the problem The decision alternatives and the research objectives There are many brands available in market like Airtel, Vodafone, Tata, Reliance and Virgin. So, if any of these mobile operators give new schemes in less price then customers easily get attract from the scheme and switch over from our brand. Step 2: Develop the research Plan The second stage of marketing research requires developing the most efficient plan for gathering the required information. This involves decision on the data sources, research approaches, research instruments, sampling plan and contact methods. So the research we will select questioner method i.e. we will prepare questioner and do the research. Sampling plan:
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After deciding on the research approach and instruments, the marketing researcher must design sampling plan. These call for 3 decisions.
1. Sampling Unit: Who should we survey?

In Idea Cellular the target consumer is the consumer of age between 15 to 60 years.
2. Sample Size: How many people should we survey?

In this step marketer decides from which area and number of sample they take for research. For e.g. the researcher decides to take the sample of 200 respondents from the society.
3. Sampling procedure: how should we choose the respondents?

After the researcher has decided the sample unit and sample size they should decide how should be choose the respondents. There are two sampling procedure. Probability sample: It means he gives equal chance to all the respondents. Non probability sample: It means unequal chance to the respondent. And for the researcher non probability sample is easy to reach to the respondents for his research process. Research will choose non probability sample and in this process he will choose convenient sample i.e. the researcher select the most assessable population members. Step 3: Collect the information The data collection phase of marketing research is the most expensive and the most prostrate to error. Today is the era of computer technology and so the researcher will use computer technologies i.e. new researcher software, internet etc. and face to face methods for fill up the questionnaire and gather the information. Step 4: Analyze the information The next step in the process is to extract findings by analyzing the information and developing frequency distribution. The researchers now compute averages and measures of dispersion for the major variables and apply statistical techniques and decision models in the hope of discovering additional findings.

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Step 5: Present the findings As the last step, the researcher presents findings relevant to the major marketing decisions facing management. Researchers increasingly are being asked to play a consulting role in translating data and information into recommendations. They are also considering ways to present research findings in as understandable and compelling a fashion as possible. Step 6: Make the decision The study conducted is a conclusive descriptive statistical study; the researcher comes to the decision which is precise and rational. The study is conclusive because after doing the study the researcher comes to a conclusion regarding the position of the brand in the minds of respondents of different firms groups. The study is statistical because throughout the study all the similar samples are selected and group together. All the similar responses are taken together as one and their percentages are calculated. Thus, this conclusive descriptive statistical study is the best study for this purpose as it provides the necessary information which is utilize to arrive at a concrete decision

Acquisition and Demand

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Forecasting and Estimating Demand One main reason for undertaking marketing research is to identify market opportunities for our product. Once the research is completed, company must forecast size, growth and profit for market opportunities. 1. Measure of Market Demand: Potential Market: Potential market is the set of consumers who acknowledge a sufficient level of interest in a market. So many people use mobile phones and have interest in purchase of new simcard for new mobile phones as well as old mobile phones for experience anew services and schemes. So the potential market of idea cellular is large. Available Market: Available market is the set of consumers who have interest, income, and access to particular offer. The price of idea simcard is reasonable with lower call rates and new schemes. So that customers attract from idea simcard and so the available marker of idea simcard is large. Qualified Available Market: Qualified available market is the set of consumer who have interest, income, access and qualification for the particular product. As the idea simcard does not require any such qualification so there is no need for the idea simcard for this market. Target Market: Target market is the set of qualified available market the company decides to pursue. The Idea Cellular Services might decide to concentrate its marketing and distribution effort on particular area or particular villages where the network of idea cellular is not available. So the Idea Cellular decides to put its effort for Idea Cellular Services in particular areas or villages. Now a day Idea Cellular has started to give a new network towers in small villages for choosing their target market. Penetrated Market:
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Penetrated market is set of consumers who are buying the companys product. As the Idea Cellular made its effort on small villages and some particular areas and in India most of the people especially young generation wants new schemes and less call rates and also new sms schemes and Idea Cellular provides all these facilities in lower cost as compare to other one. So the penetrated market of the Idea Cellular is also large. 2. Estimating Current Demand: Researcher is now ready to examine some of methods for estimating current market demand. Marketing executives want to estimate total market potential, area market potential and total industry sales and market share. Total Market Potential: Total Market Potential is the maximum amount of sales that might be available to all the firms in an industry during a given period, under a given level of industry marketing effort and environment conditions. A common way to estimate total market potential is as follows:Total Market Potential = Potential No. of Buyers X Average Quantity Purchased By a Buyer X Price For e.g.: Total Market Potential = 20000 buyers X 1 simcard X Rs. 30= Rs. 600000 Total Market Potential Area Market Potential: Companies face the problem of selecting the best territories and allocating their marketing budget optimally among these territories. Therefore, they need to estimate the market potential of different districts, towns, cities, states, and nations. Two major methods of assessing area market potential are available: the market builds up method, which is used primarily by business marketers, and the multiplefactor index method, which is used primarily by consumer marketers. The marketer has decided to use Market-Buildup Method as this method gives accurate result. Consumer Buying Behavior Factor Affecting To Product Consumer behavior is the study of how individuals, groups, and organization select, buy, use and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experience to satisfy their needs and wants. A consumers buying behavior is affected by cultural and social factors. Cultural Factors:
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Culture: As in Idea Prepaid Simcards, the cultural factor is not affecting much. Social class: Social class includes lower class, middle class and upper class. This sometimes affects the demand of the Idea Prepaid Simcard, because these all categories people mostly prefer Idea Prepaid Simcard because of lower call rate in reasonable charges. So it affects to the demand of the Idea Prepaid Simcard. Social Factors: Social factors such as reference groups, family, and social roles and statuses affect consumer buying behavior. Reference group: The reference group is that who connected or daily communicate with each other like family, friends, neighborhood, relatives etc. So because of this reference group they provide the information of Idea Prepaid Simcard like services and other facilities, by knowing some of the good features and services by reference group of this product person can easily influenced by them and so that the demand of the product also increase. Family: The family is the most important consumer buying organization in society, and family members constitute the most influential primary reference group. In family if someone using the service of Idea Prepaid Simcard than the other members is influenced by the family members and also uses the service of Idea Prepaid Simcard. Status: One of the advertisement campaigns is Aaj Se Koi Bi Apne Nam Se Nahi Jana Jayega . From this campaign many high level people and also politicians using Idea Prepaid Simcard because of adding value in their status. So status also affect in increasing in demand. Personal Factors: Age and stage in the life cycle: This affects much when a students in their schooling they dont want much services and schemes in prepaid simcards, but after passing their schooling they entered in college and so that at that time they wants more services and schemes in reasonable price for connecting with friends and relatives or increase their contacts. So this factor is much affects on demand of Idea Prepaid Simcard. Occupation and economic circumstances:
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This also affects the demand because in any occupation company has a more contacts with customers, suppliers etc. so that they wants to connected with their suppliers and customers and so that they want less call rate in reasonable price. So occupation and economic circumstances are also affects the demand of the Idea Prepaid Simcard Personality and self concept: This has also affect on the demand of the Idea Prepaid Simcard because a person has its own view point of selecting the product and if does not like the Idea Prepaid Service he may switch over to the other prepaid simcard. Lifestyle and values: It also affects the demand of the Idea Prepaid Simcards because persons lifestyle and its value play a great role in choosing any product. Identify Market Segment of the Product We can segment any product into Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic and Behavioral. So the market segment of Idea Prepaid Simcard is as below. Geographic: Region: Idea GSM services are licensed in 13 circles of India, so that these services are used by people in different circles and also used by different region people. City: Idea Prepaid Simcard is used in metro city, mega city and also in small villages because of reasonable prices and also offered many schemes for people in less monthly rental. Demographic: Age: Idea Prepaid Simcard is used by age group of 15 to 55years. Now-a-days this prepaid service is also used by below this age group Family size: We can also segment our product based on family size because if the family size is large and if they are using more mobile phones in family for connected with each other then they also using prepaid services.

Income:
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Income is not much affects in segmenting the market because price of Idea Prepaid is reasonable and the lower class people also afford it. Occupation: Occupation also affect in segmenting the market because Idea Prepaid simcard is only not used by lower class and middle class people but also used by higher class people who have their own business. Education: Education does not affect the segment of the Idea Prepaid Simcard because Idea Prepaid Simcard has been used by educated people as well as uneducated people. Psychographic:-Lifestyle: Lifestyle also affects in segmenting the market. So the marketer while segmenting the market of Idea Prepaid should keep this in his mind, because high class people also using this service. Personality: Personality does not affect the Idea Prepaid Service in segmenting his market. Behavior: Behavior does not affect in segmenting the market. Select Brand Element for Product There are six main criteria for choosing brand elements. The first three-Memorable, Meaningful, and likeable are brand building. The latter three are Transferable, Adaptable, and Protectable are defensive. Memorable: How easily is the brand element recalled and recognized? Idea Cellular is having a reputed telecommunication Service and having a good logo, Idea Cellular Service has a good punch line An Idea Can Change Your Life and For the People, By the People Which is very easy in recall it.

Meaningful:
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Is the brand element credible and suggestive of the corresponding category? Idea Cellular Service is having a punch line An Idea Can Change Your Life Means new ideas gives you new life for enjoyment and success. Likable: Idea Prepared simcard liked by most of the people and most of the people wants to use it because of good service provide by them in affordable price. Adaptable: Idea Cellular Service is providing two services i.e. prepaid and postpaid. So when people can hear these two services of Idea Cellular then they easily recall the name of Idea Cellular Service.

Introduction:
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In the initial stage Idea Cellular was introduced in all the major cities of India. There were many competitors in the tele-communication business, which provided the line-based. Connection and wireless connection whereas Idea Cellular provided the wireless connections to the customers, So profits are nonexistent because of the heavy expenses on giving schemes of service introduction. In the case of Idea Prepaid Service as it was introduced in the year 1995 so it was the introduction stage. Growth: In the growth stage, the Idea Cellular sales started growing. And the profits also started rising. Idea Prepaid Service growth stage was year 2002 because by the 2002s, Idea Prepaid got the 1 million subscribers, and in 2005 it crossed 5 million subscribers. Maturity: Idea Cellular is right now in the maturity stage, because they have got most of the market share. There has also been an increase in competition; new companies like Reliances, Aircel etc. also enter into the market. The Idea Cellular had made not only the service modification, but also extends their market. So, we can say that Idea Cellular is today on its maturity stage of its product life cycle. Differentiate your Product from Competitors in the market Differentiation is actually differentiating the market offering to create superior customer value, once a company has chosen desired position it must take strong strips to deliver and communicate that position to target consumers. The company entire marketing program should support the chosen positioning strategy. Idea Cellular has differentiation its products by doing different activities as follows: Price affordability Hire famous personalities Only company offers package for ladies Roaming facilities in affordable charges Idea Cellular PCO

Now we can differentiate Idea Cellular from competitors in the market as below.
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Brand Name: As compared with its competitors Idea Cellular is having good brand name in the market and they can easily attract their target customers by their name and which is most important for differentiate brand from competitors. Preferences: As prepaid simcard users uses the simcards as per their convenient. Most of the people want more schemes and less call rates in reasonable prices. So that customer can choose services as per their choice and preference. Promotion: Idea cellular Ltd. is using promotion strategy for increase the sales and demand of the product. They are giving schemes like free sms services, GPRS service, less call rates etc. in reasonable monthly rental so that customer can easily attract from this promotional schemes. Classify the Product Marketers have traditionally classified products on the basis of durability, tangibility and use (consumer or industrial). Each product type has appropriate marketing-mix strategy. Durable and tangibility: Durability: Idea Prepaid Simcard is durable goods because it is not purchased by the buyers on regular basis. Services: Services are intangible, inspirable, variable and perishable products. As a result they normally required more quality control, supplier credibility and adaptability. As in Idea Prepaid Service they provides VAS (Value Added Service), Roaming facilities etc. Consumer Goods Classification: We classify the vast array of goods consumers buy on the basis of shopping habits. We distinguish among convenience, shopping, specialty and unsought goods. Convenience goods: In convenience goods the Idea Prepaid Simcard is impulse goods because it is purchased without any planning and such efforts. Long Term Pricing Strategy
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a) At what stage in the life cycle is the product? Idea Cellular is right now in the maturity stage, because there has also been an increase in competition; new companies like Reliance GSM, Aircel etc. also enter into the market. b) What is its current price? The current price of Idea Prepaid Simcard is Rs. 30. In this price they gave Rs. 10 talk time and life time validity because of more competition in market. c) What price do its competitors charge? The competitors of Idea Prepaid are also giving this all facilities in same price of Rs. 30. Competitor like Vodafone is giving free prepaid simcards with Rs. 10 talk time and lifetime validity for increasing in users of their services. d) What prices will you charge in the remaining stages of the product life cycle? Right now Idea Cellular is in the stage of maturity, but if this fall into decline stage than I have also reduce the price as per the competitors price and give more schemes. Because of this price I will increase my sales and users of our product. e) What objectives will be accomplished this way? How? To increase the market share To achieve high return on capital To increase awareness of the product in market To fight with competitors

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In this channel first manufacture produce the simcards and then they sent to the wholesaler as per the order. Wholesalers send to the retailers and shopkeepers and then lastly retailer sales to customer. PULL Strategy is develop by the Idea Cellular. As Idea Cellular is very known brand and is punch line is For the People, By the People and An Idea Can Change Your Life Which is very good thats why Penetrated Market consumer know about that and they ask about Idea Prepaid Simcards. Distribution Strategy There are three types of distribution strategies.1.Exclusive distribution2.Selective distribution3.Intensive distribution.

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Exclusive Distribution: Exclusive distribution means severely limiting the number of intermediaries. It is appropriate when the producer wants to maintain control over the service level &outputs offered by the resellers & it often includes exclusive dealings arrangement by granting exclusive distribution, the producer hope to obtain more dedicated & knowledgeable. Selective Distribution: Selective distribution relies on more than a few but less than all of the intermediaries willing to carry a particular product. It makes sense for established companies seeking distributors. Intensive Distribution: In intensive distribution the manufacturer places the goods or services in as many outlets as possible. This strategy is used for items such as snack foods, soft drinks, newspapers, candies etc. Distribution Strategy for Idea Cellular: We will use selective distribution. It involves the use of less intermediaries who are willing to carry the particular product. It can gain adequate market coverage with more control and less cost.

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Acquisition Objective:
To plan, develop and implement marketing mix in the postpaid segment, new product launch and ensure ARPU as per the budget. Support customer acquisition and product promotion by effectively implementing all national marketing campaigns and coordinating with vendors and trade channels to develop innovative and cost effective local promotion campaigns Detailed Duties and Responsibilities I Learned:Primary Responsibility: To manage post paid portfolio thru various element of marketing mix so as to get planned/ budgeted revenue. Driving revenue through up selling of sub products & VAS services so as to protect ARPU. Launch of new products based on the corporate guidelines as well as the local initiatives as received from consumer insights. To plan, devise, & implement various product prototypes & test their effectiveness as per the requirements of the market along with various promotional activities. Management of brand through various advertising activities through various media like print, outdoors, point of sale, radio etc. To plan devise & implement various customer acquisition promotions in accordance with the annual sales budget. To plan & implement U&R activities for the Postpaid Business monthly assess effectiveness of U&R programs and make corrective recommendations. To be a key member of the CFT and to ensure effective Retention Programs for high ARPU high ARR segment in the context of MNP Execution of various cross-promotional tie-ups so as to acquire incremental subscribers while maintaining the brand equity. Preparation of various MIS reports including business trend reviews at periodic intervals. Scanning of competition activities & development of feedback mechanism, so as to improve the performance of the port folio. Keep senior management informed of all-important competitive campaigns and customer demand shifts including tariffs etc. Based on customer characteristics, define and align the circle product plan in line with overall organizational marketing strategy. Work with corporate marketing, and product management to map products and their value proposition in line with local market requirements.
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 Work with circle sales team to create & develop POS and promotional material at a regional level. Coordinate availability of stocks of POS material and ensure adherence to guidelines of display (quality etc). Develop and execute communication initiatives at circle level (coordinate of agency etc). Plan media (advertising and communication) for local promotion of products Handle End to End Consumer Communication & Effectiveness through different Modes SIVR, Contact Centre, DIVR, SMS, OBD, and Sanchaya Content & Tracking Provide recommendations to Circle Product Head on campaign design based on competitive analysis. Conduct VOCs / FGDs on a periodic basis as per requirement. Shared Responsibility: Along with Circle Sales, develop and execute promotional schemes & activities at circle level. Assess and evaluate effectiveness of promotional schemes. Monitor the effectiveness of communication campaigns executed and communicates feedback to circle marketing head. Plan for next three years by Idea Cellular Ltd. The company is having high operating cost i.e. the company is not utilizing its recourses properly, since by the Internal-External (IE) matrix the company falls in the grid of Grow and Build which also suggests that the company can go intense and aggressive strategy of market penetration or the alternative of going for the vertical integration. According to the QSPM analysis as well the alternative for going for the vertical integration was the most attractive one. The company should also come up with new service like Tata Docomo has come up Billing per pulse rate in order to increase the market share. In the BCG matrix Idea Cellular falls in the Stars category. Idea Cellular should also try to acquire or tie up with other companies such as Vodafone and Hutch and Airtel and MTN tried to tie-up in order to catch up with the competition and the growth of the industry. They acquired spice in past and they have tie-up with Ericson but they do not have any type of advantage in term of internet service or upcoming 3G service. Idea should come up with new service for new segment of customers, try to focus on urban market which is again found out to be best alternative from the QSPM analysis.

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Conclusion
As a conclusion of this report we figure out that the companys strategy to target the rural segment; launch a new service with same brand name like Tata Docomo has done with Docomo Brand & Tata Photon, provide fast GPRS, mobile internet services and provide good customer service which is having the attractiveness score of 6.22.

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RECOMMENDATION
Annexure 1:
SO Strategy WO Strategy 1. Can go for marketing penetration 2. Target the Urban segment Launch a new service with same1. Can go for Forward Integration 3. Operate other showrooms which supplement the 4. Strategy in Global Context for Idea Cellular Ltd Brand name like Tata Docomo has come up Billing per pulse rate provide more good and fast services like GPRS, mobile internet services and provide good customer service distribution channels. 5. ST Strategy WT Strategy Can go for backward integration such as Vodafone acquire Hutch to increase market share. Can go for the horizontal integration activities i.e. Airtel has gone for Dish TV, Reliance has gone for Big TV

Annexure 2:
Strategic Alternative:1. Strategic Alternative 2. Strategic Alternative 3. Strength Weight Score 4. Strategy in Global Context For Idea Cellular Ltd. 5. Strong advertising and promotion 6. Superior inventory turnover ratio and current ratio 7. Wide distribution network 8. Local and global acquisitions 9. Technological innovation like Indias first GPRS service provider 10. Strategic Alliance such as with IBM, Oracle, Nokia, Ericsson 11. Better understanding of rural market

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Weakness: - Which can be overcome by deep thinking strong action. 1. Target only North India 2. Net operating profit ratio is decreasing 3. No presence in Broadband or internet service 4. Increase in the operating cost 5. Opportunities 6. Growth in market size 7. Scope for new and innovative 8. Opportunities for M&A 9. Growth in rural market 10. Higher disposable income of consumers 11.Levi on fringe tax 12.Price sensitive unorganized market 13. Production malpractices 14. Competition 15. Disputes with retailers 16.Volume dependency for sales 17.Transportation problem

Bibliography and References

1. Idea Journey (n.d.). Retrieved September 02, 2009, from Idea Cellular: http://www.scribd.com/doc/34387815/Project-on-Idea-Cellular-Ltd 2. Some gap in Idea market opportunity (2008, July 10). Retrieved August 29, 2009, from The Financial Express: http://www.financialexpress.com/printer/news/333489/ 3. Idea Cellular Website and open Internet use 4. Web Site Reference 4.1 (a) Wekipedia.com 4.2 (b) Ideacellular.com

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SHARE WITH US
Dear Sir/Madam, I am a student of Lovely Professional University, Jhalandhar have under taken a project Marketing (Acquisition and Branding) with Idea Cellular Limited is a part of my B.Com (H) Course. I would be grateful if you could spare a few minute to participate in it. 1) Are you fond of mobile phones? Yes No 2) Do you use any mobile phones? Yes No 3) Which companys simcard do you prefer to use? Idea Airtel Vodafone BSNL Reliance 4) From which sources did you get information about these simcards? Newspapers Television Friends Others 5) Are you aware of Idea simcard? Yes No 6) Have you seen any advertisement of idea Cellular Limited? Yes No 7) Do you use Idea simcards? Yes No

8) Do you want to buy Idea sim card? Yes No Cant say now 9) Which factor do you considered while buying Idea Cellular Limited?
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 Network Schemes Brand image Call Charges If other than please specify 10) From how long do you use Idea simcard? less than a year 1 to 3 year More than 3 years 11) Have you seen any advertisement of Idea Cellular Limited? Yes No 12) Do you face network problem any time? Sometime Never Often 13) In which area of service in idea simcard do you want to improve? Network Quality Schemes Call Charges 14) Do you satisfied with the service of Idea Cellular Limited? Yes No 15) If not than give the suggestions for improvement. .. Name: . Sex: . Age: .. Qualification: . Contact No.:

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Thanks a Lot for Reading this Project Regards, Raj Kumar Gupta LPU, Jhalandhar, Punjab

Lovely Professional University

Raj Kumar Gupta