Hutch is history; it’s Vodafone from day-after

This transformation will witness a huge, pan-India marketing effort, and a heavy use of television, press, the outdoors and the Internet is well on its way

Come September 21, 2007, Hutch, India’s fourth-largest mobile service provider, will be renamed Vodafone. As is known, Vodafone had acquired 67 per cent in Hutchison Essar from Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa a few months ago, in a bid to enter the fast-growing Indian market.

This transformation will witness a huge, pan-India marketing effort, and a heavy use of television, press, the outdoors and the Internet is well on its way. In fact, the television campaign is likely to break in a day’s time.

For the record, global player Vodafone completed the acquisition of Hutchison Essar in May 2007 and the company was formally renamed Vodafone Essar in July 2007.

Asim Ghosh, MD, Vodafone Essar, says, “We’ve had a good innings as Hutch in India and today marks a new beginning for us, not as a departure from the fundamentals that created Hutch, but an acceleration into the future with Vodafone’s global expertise.”

Harit Nagpal, marketing and new business director, Vodafone Essar, adds that this transition will touch over 35 million customers across 400,000 shops and thousands of Hutch’s own employees, as well as employees of its business associates. This makes it the largest ever transformation for Hutch, considering the fact that in India, the brand itself has undergone several changes in the past.

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