"We're here to compete!" asserts Uninor

In the wake of losing 22 licenses, telecom player Uninor rolls out a new ad campaign that cries out 'All is Well'. afaqs! explores the effort.

Amidst recent media reports on Uninor's potential downfall after the cancellation of its licenses and the public squabble between its parent companies -Telenor and Unitech - the brand has released an aggressive ad campaign to send out a strong message to one and all.

Though the TVC, targeted at today's value-driven youth, talks about product-related benefits such as increased talk time and consequent freedom from frequent recharges, the main objective is to reassure its customers and tell them that the brand is committed to its Indian operations.

Called 'We Love Uninor', the campaign is a not-so-subtle effort to re-instil some much-needed confidence in its customers, especially in the wake of harmful and speculative media reports that speak about the brand's impending collapse. K V Sridhar (aka Pops), national creative director, Leo Burnett tells afaqs!, "The intent of this communication is clear - to send the message that Uninor is not going anywhere and is, in fact, re-dedicating itself to its customers. The brand is committed to India, is going to fight tooth and nail and will not let its customers suffer."

In addition to the TVC (that is currently running on 72 mainline and regional TV channels), a very visible print campaign has been released. The print campaign speaks about how four crore customers have chosen Uninor as their preferred mobile service provider in less than three years. Further, large scale ground activations in each Uninor circle are on the cards as well.

Interestingly, this multi-media campaign was sparked off by a digital initiative taken by a group of Uninor employees -- just days after the judgment on the cancelation of its mobile licenses. A community called 'We Love Uninor' was developed on Facebook in an effort to create a platform for Uninor employees to get together and motivate one other. Soon, many of the brand's business partners, including distributors and retailers, joined the online movement to show support.

Moreover, support hailing all the way from Oslo - Telenor's headquarters - has found its way into this campaign; more than 200 Telenor employees made a heart formation in the snow right outside their office in a move to show support to the company's Indian operations.

Another goal of this campaign is to bring to the limelight Uninor's impact in making mobile telephony affordable for the Indian mass market. Sigve Brekke, managing director, Uninor issued a tough-worded media statement that reads, "Even if you are not a Uninor customer today, you have benefitted from us. Because of new competition from us and others, every operator has been forced to make tariffs affordable. Customers in Delhi, where there is no new competition, pay 60 per cent more than customers in any other city. However, if new competition is asked to leave the market, India should be prepared for the same high tariffs as Delhi has today. Let there be no doubt. We did not come to India to give up."

Productive aggression or a wasted effort?

Clearly, Uninor is trying hard to put its best foot forward in these dire times. Is the effort worthwhile or will such blatant attempts at damage control serve to further damage its brand image? afaqs! finds out.

According to R Sridhar, communication consultant and founder, brand-comm, such advertising is an attempt to reach out to three parties -- the brand's employees, its customers and the category at large. "Such advertising is probably a result of threats from multiple directions. A brand needs a united employee base and a united trade base. And, while it may be easy to internally convey a message to one's employees, mass media is probably the only way to send a message to the trade (that is, the category at large) and customers," he explains.

Regarding whether the attempt to salvage the brand image is all too transparent, Sridhar argues that more than its brand image, today's telecom consumer is concerned about the fate of Uninor's service. "This campaign is an attempt to say 'We're still in business, we're still surviving'. Whether this will work, only time will tell," says Sridhar.

Divyapratap Mehta, vice-president, planning, Grey India, is of the opinion that Uninor's aggression will serve the brand well on two out of three fronts. "While it will be tough to win back the customers that Uninor has let down (inadvertently, of course), this is a good attempt to retain its existing customers as well as attract new ones," he explains.

Will Uninor's frank efforts at recovery adversely affect its brand image? Not really, feels Mehta, who says that in the telecom category, a brand's image per se is not very crucial. He elaborates, "In this category, the relationship between the brand and the consumer is highly transactional and product-led. The consumer is less involved with the brand's image than in the case of other categories. Instead, the critical aspect here is 'Brand Potency' - that is, the extent to which the brand is active and visible."