Voda-Idea: The making of a brand behemoth

Size matters but a lot depends on how the newly merged company chisels out its new brand identity

Anew Vodafone campaign released in anticipation of the forthcoming Indian Premier league has brought back the iconic ZooZoos. And this, say many is not just proof of the longevity of the alien-like, eggshell white characters that Ogilvy & Mather created for its client, but an indication of the way the Vodafone-Idea brand is likely to be pitched to consumers in the coming months. Using familiar characters to reach consumers in unfamiliar and uncharted territories, while assuaging fears of old loyalists.

Vodafone and Idea are tight lipped about the future look, pitch and promise of the giant brand in the making. But brand strategists and industry analysts read the signs on the street to pick out a potential trajectory for the combine.

The ongoing campaign is a sign of things to come say industry analysts, ZooZoos are mascots of Brand Vodafone and when the storyline has them swooping in to help subscribers join their network in impossible locations, there is not much being left to chance or conjecture.

Perhaps industry hands are reading much into a campaign; the ZooZoos are an O&M creation after all and last October, Vodafone and O&M reiterated their brand commitment. Idea Cellular on the other hand, recently parted ways with Lowe Lintas, the agency that gave them their iconic “What an Idea Sirjee?” campaign. Idea has not had a campaign since September 2017.

One brand or two

“Idea is a “people’s brand”, powerful in small towns and villages. It is dependable, local, well-priced. Vodafone is urban, young and international. Both identities have value,” says Bharat Bambawale, brand strategist.

In the past Vodafone has kept the upper hand whenever it has acquired a new brand but the difference this time is that Vodafone and Idea have come together in a merger. So the challenge really is not which identity should the new company pick but how well can it balance the two.

In 2007 Vodafone entered India by acquiring 67 per cent in Hutchison Essar from Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa. The entity was renamed Vodafone, but they maintained the brand campaign of Hutch with its iconic pug ‘Cheeka’ while also bringing in Vodafone’s classic red and white template. The pug is still part of the Vodafone communication strategy while the Hutch/Orange name has faded from public memory in India.

In 2001, when Vodafone acquired J-Phone in Japan, the former replaced the latter’s logo completely while bringing in celebrity footballer David Beckham to endorse the brand. Around the same time, Vodafone acquired Irish telecom company Eirland and the brand was renamed as Vodafone Eirland.

Vodafone’s launch in Italy through a stake in Omnitel went from being called Omnitel-Vodafone to Vodafone- Omnitel and finally Vodafone Italia in less than four years. Turkish telecom operator Telsim also evolved into Vodafone Turkey post its incorporation into the Vodafone universe.

Globally, Vodafone has replaced the original brand identity of acquired entities. However, the story may be different in case of a merger.

Rural, urban or rurban

Brand expert Sandeep Goyal notes that Idea’s existing user demographic is much closer to that of industry rival Jio. He believes that Vodafone would do better to push its identity through instead of competing with the crushing power of Jio.

“If we look at the brands, Jio is more universal in its reach. So a merged brand would do better by not going into what is Reliance Jio territory,” said Goyal. Vodafone has always been an “aspirational” and “upmarket” brand. In this scenario, it will be in their benefit to let Brand Vodafone weigh in on the merged entity, he added.

While there is no need to read too much into their recent campaigns, he thinks the telcos will take time to figure out which brand image is more beneficial for them and until then they will continue as twin powers. For the subscriber, not much will change really. She will still be concerned about pricing and service quality. As Bambawale said, the success and survival of a new brand is about a lot more than just memorable campaigns and branding exercises.