Rebranding from Uninor to Telenor in India

Prepared by Rokonuzzaman B.B.A (pursuing) United International University,Bangladesh. Contact: rzaman563@gmail.com

Rebranding from Uninor to Telenor in India

Brand Name: Telenor India

Type: Private Industry:

Telecommunications Ownership: 100%

stakes ownership Parent: Telenor Group,

Norway

Services: Mobile telephony & Wireless internet

Type of technology: GSM

Founded: 2009 Consumer Base: 47.55

millions Market Position: 8th in

India.

Company Profile

Rebranding Uninor to Telenor in India

2009- started joint venture with Unitech Group under the brand name of Uninor

2012- captured around 45.6 million customers within a short time.( as of Q2)

2012- in July, the company began to scale down its operations from the low performing circles in order to properly concentrate on top performing circles due to a cancellation issue passed by supreme court of India.

Chronology of Telenor before Rebranding in India

2013- shut down its operation in “A”, “B” and “C” circles(Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata) ordered by supreme court because of failure to gain spectrum in the auction taken place in November 2012.

2015- On September 23, announced to rebrand itself as Telenor buying a 100% stake of Unitech Wireless,a subsidiary of Unitech group.

Cont’d

Brand is the public face of a business ,whereas Rebranding is the creation of a new look and feel for an established product in order to differentiate the product from its competitors.

In a broader sense, rebranding is: Changing perceptions without changing the business. Attracting new consumers. Creating newer customer base. Reassuring brand promise to customers. Re-promising by replacing the old ones.

What is rebranding?

Hundreds of competitors are emerging and coming up with sophisticated tactics and strategies to dominate the market. To remain competitive in the market, sometimes it becomes worthwhile to rebrand a company.

A company rebrands itself to:

Change the name: Our name no longer fits who we are.

Revitalize a brand: Our identity does not represent us any longer.

Revitalize a brand identity: Our identity is outdated.

Objective of rebranding:

Merge two or more companies: We need a new brand to represent the new company.

Create an integrated system: Our visual materials do not look the same.

When internal teams lack clarity: Our employees lack direction, engagement and purpose.

Attract Talent: We are not hiring the right people.

Cont’d

High speed internet service 4G telephony service Modernizing the existing towers. Call drop compensation offer Customized product offers.

Commitments when rebranding:

At its peak, Telenor operated services in 13 telecom circles of India. Winning fresh licenses in its 6 most successful circles, today it operates in the following telecom regions/circles:

Current operations: Andhra Pradesh & Telangana Bihar & Jharkhand Gujarat Maharashtra & Goa Uttar Pradesh (East) & (West)

Network coverage

Discontinued operations: West Bengal (shut down services after midnight on 16

February 2013) Karnataka (gradually scaled down from July 2012) Kerala (gradually scaled down from July 2012) Kolkata (shut down services after midnight on 16 February

2013) Orissa (gradually scaled down from July 2012) Tamil Nadu (gradually scaled down from July 2012) Mumbai (shut down services after midnight on 16 February

2013)

Cont’d

Streaming unlimited videos on DailyMotion and YouTube from 11:00PM to 7:00AM charging Rs 2 to Rs 5.

Free life insurance cover for its existing 47.55 million as well as potential new customers across its six operating circles.

Recently Launched Offers

Revised online exclusive plans Revised Packs Details:

Cont’d

Old Packs New PacksPack(in Rs)

Talktime(in Rs) Pack(inRs)

Talktime (in Rs)

70 80 78 88120 145 128 150160 200 168 200350 450 358 430510 650 518 628

Features of self care app:

Recharge your account using your Credit Card.

View recent payments made or check your main and bonus balance.

View and subscribe to best offers.

View or change bill preferences.

Self Care App for Android

View recent recharges and deductions.

View current voice plan details, data plan details, and recent data usage

Apply for itemised bills at minimal cost.

Manage upto 5 Telenor numbers from a single app.

Call customer care through a tap.

Locate Telenor Stores.

Activate or deactivate DND.

Cont’d

Proactive Reasons: New Audience: Telenor wants to pull customers from the

rural areas with most inexpensive call rate and other facilities. Therefore, it appears with a new look and identity to surprise the customers.

Relevancy: Due to shutdown of operations at Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata in 2013 and other problems, Telenor realizes that its image and relevancy have been tarnished a little bit. So it is necessary to rebrand itself to get back to consumers’ attention.

Deducing reasons for rebranding

Reactive Reasons: Competitive Influences: Telenor is now in 8th position in the

telecom market of India. It needs a facelift to strengthen its foothold in the highly competitive market.

Negative Publicity: The 2G license controversy of Unitech wireless has brought a negative publicity to the joint venture of Uninor. Now it is high time to make a rebirth and turn over a new leaf.

Cont’d

Market Position Name of the company Subscriber base1st Bharti Airtel 229.5 million

2nd Vodafone India 183.8 million

3rd Idea Cellular 157.8 million

4th Reliance Communications 110.6 million

5th Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL

93.6 million

6th Aircel 81.3 million

7th Tata Teleservices (TTL) 68 million

8th Telenor (Ex Uninor) 45.6 million

9th Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd. (SSTL)

9 million

10th Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL)

7 million

Telecom market scenario in 2015 of India

India is currently the second-largest telecommunication market and has the third highest number of internet users in the world 

Teledensity scenario of India

SWOT Analysis of Telenor in India

Strengths Weakness

Relatively cheaper call rate & SMS.

Call drop compensation Dynamic pricing package Self care app for users of

India. 4th position in revenue&

customer market share in India

Still 2G network, whereas other competitors approaching to 4G technology

No post-paid package Poor connectivity Slow internet speed Absence of operation in the

major circles e.g: Mumbai Delhi etc

SWOT Cont’d

Opportunities Threats

Enrolling free insurance scheme for the customers.

Network modernization accompanied by Huawei India.

Promoting green branding by installing environment friendly equipment to reduce carbon footprints

Expansion of more networks in the rural areas to increase overall teledensity.

Strong competitors like Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance etc.

Negative publicity due to 2G controversy erstwhile Uninor.

Expansion of 4G services by the competitors like Airtel, Reliance etc.

Absence of MNP service.

Making publicity based on its strengths e.g: call drop compensation.

Launching advertisement cast by prominent celebrities. Adopting 4G LTE services without delay. Enriching value added service (VAS) e.g: money transfer,

utility bill payment etc. Introducing mobile banking solutions. To come up with more differentiation in service in addition to

Price differentiation( dynamic pricing) Expansion of more market circles throughout India.

Recommended to do

http://www.ibef.org/industry/telecommunications.aspx#sthash.rvrslG8x.dpuf

http://www.bgr.in/news/telenor-india-modernizes-2500-sites-across-six-circles-to-upgrade-its-network/

http://telecomtalk.info/here-are-telenors-revised-online-exclusive-plans/144782/

http://telecomtalk.info/telenor-to-expand-retail-footprint/146084/

http://www.mbaskool.com/fun-corner/top-brand-lists/13476-top-10-telecom-companies-in-india-2015.html?limitstart=0

Bibliography:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49073304.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

http://telecomtalk.info/telenor-subscribers-base-asia/146962/ http://

www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/uninor-rebrands-itself-as-telenor-in-india/article7681401.ece

http://telecomtalk.info/indian-network-transformation- drive-to-help-reduce-carbon-footprints-telenor/146741

Cont’d

http://www.hindustantimes.com/business/uninor-to-turn-into-telenor-india-this-month/story-yuYjlNZEmjU1t

http://www.garrisoneverest.com/brand-development-2/the-7-factors-for-rebranding/

N.B: This slide report has been prepared based on secondary data and fulfilling an educational purpose. The author is not liable to any harm or loss caused by using the information provided in the report.

Cont,d

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