Airtel ReBranding

I was flooded by thoughts when I sat to write this. So much that I ended up spending more time organizing this article so that it makes some sense than the time I needed to write it.

Old Airtel Logo

The fifth biggest telecom operator of the world and the biggest in India changed its look and feel by re branding itself. It changed the logo which was already regarded as the strongest and powerful. Why did Airtel have to change it?

Looking at the markets Airtel operates in, I thought I could come out with a  plausible explanation for trying to improve the best. Airtel operates in 20 countries including India and Africa, the countries where the average age is younger compared to the rest of the world. The youth form the biggest chunk of mobile subscribers are instrumental in making the choices to choose the service for the older people. 

The following shows an older Airtel advertisement.

Why did they do it?

With a soft A.R. Rehman melody which became the most downloaded tune from the mobile operators in India and its old logo Airtel had developed a brand identity of freedom, inspiring and patriotic which differentiated itself from the others in the big volumes  Indian market. It signed up big personalities like the bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. This further embellished the brand and made it somewhat 'upscale'. What Airtel perhaps realised is the lack of informality and excitement that is essential to appeal to the youth. And that is the underlying reason for the shift in its strategy and the re branding in my opinion.

New Airtel Logo

In the course of expanding internationally Airtel has acquired a whole lot of companies like Zain in Africa and Warid in Bangladesh. Now as these entities transition to the brand Airtel the company is trying to gain an international image -- a “new, modern, more friendly and accessible” image in the minds of all the users in these various countries.

The shift is shown by the change of letters to lowercase and a small logo that inspires attributes of excitement, competence and ruggedness. The brand personality required  for the Target audience is perhaps of a friend who you could call anytime for getting out and who would always encourage you to “Express Yourself”

A newer Airtel advertisement

Other elements in the logo –

The lowercase is to signify humility. Red colour is for heritage, energy and passion. The font wants to showcase a dynamic force of “unparalleled energy”

The trend towards keeping a young brand personality is seen not only among mobile telecom services providers but also sports brands such as Nike where over time it gradually transformed into a ‘swoosh’ from four uppercase letters. Airtel overall has benefitted marginally by the rebranding as the data suggests. However the lack of immense improvements can be attributed to the huge success of the rival Vodafone with its ZooZoo ad series which has come almost head to head with this leader in the Indian market. The way Airtel reacts to this must be an interesting marketing tactic to be seen.

~Anshuman Rastogi