The document provides an overview of outdoor advertising methods used by Vodafone and Airtel in India. It discusses various types of outdoor advertising like billboards, bus shelters, transit advertising, radio advertisements, and alternative media placements. It also provides background information on Vodafone and Airtel, including their histories and expansion over the years to become two of the largest mobile network operators in India. Specific examples of outdoor advertising used by each company are highlighted.

1. PREFACE
We feel great pleasure in presenting report based Comparative analysis of outdoor advertizing
between Vodafone & Airtel. The report contains useful and preliminary data regarding various
outdoor advertize performed by Vodafone & Airtel. By combining the theoretical and relevant
data of the report we have Data regarding various characteristics which are useful to study of the
comparison of outdoor advertize by Vodafone & Airtel.
Necessary information were collected and made to give real picture of explanation. We have
tried to present all theoretical as well as practical knowledge through simple language. We would
fill our efforts amply rewarded and our report a successful one if it proves to be useful guide to
company for whom it is intended. After studying all we have finally reached the conclusion of
the report.

2. Acknowledgement
First of all, I would like to thank my parents who always appreciate and influence me to do hard
work and blessing of God is always with me.
I would like to thank my Institute Project guide Ms. Varsha Turi for giving me this opportunity
to work in the real world and know the complexities and to learn the practical aspects of the
Industry. This project was an excellent opportunity for us to relate our classroom Knowledge to
practical world.
Last but not the least I would like to thank all the classmates to help me in this project &
providing me the information that was helpful in complete this report.

3. Executive Summary

4. Comparative analysis of outdoor advertizing between Vodafone & Airtel
Various outdoor advertizing types
Any advertising done outdoors that publicizes your business's products and services.
Types of outdoor advertising include billboards, bus benches, interiors and exteriors of buses,
taxis and business vehicles, and signage posted on the exterior of your own brick-and-mortar
location.
Outdoor advertising works well for promoting your product in specific geographic
areas. While billboards, bus benches, and transit advertising can be very effective for the small-
business owner, any successful outdoor campaign begins with your own location's signage.
Your outdoor sign is often the first thing a potential customer sees. Your sign should
be sufficiently bright and conspicuous to attract attention (without being garish) and sufficiently
informative to let prospective customers know what's sold there.
Ride around town and observe which signs catch your eye. Note which ones don't.
Then think of the impression each sign gives you. Remember that you never get a second chance
to make a first impression, so give this important marketing tool your best efforts.
If you're involved in a business that has a fleet of vehicles conducting deliveries or
providing a service, your company's name, logo, and phone number should be clearly visible on
the vehicles. It's free advertising that allows you to increase your exposure in your market.
Billboards are most effective when located close to the business advertised. Because
of their high cost, they're usually used to reach a very large audience, as in political campaigns.
They're likely to be too expensive for most small firms, and some communities have strict
ordinances governing the placement of billboards. In Vermont, for example, they're prohibited.
Bus-bench advertising is an excellent medium because it's highly visible, like a
billboard. Essentially, bus-bench advertisers have a huge audience, held captive at red lights or in

5. slow-moving traffic. An account executive of a Los Angeles-based bus bench manufacturing
company said that an advertisement on one bus bench at a busy Los Angeles intersection would
be seen by 35,000 to 50,000 people per day.
Usually, the advertising consists of simple two-color artwork with your company's
name, brief copy describing the product or service, address and phone number. Rates and terms
vary depending on the city you're in.
Call your city's mass transit department or local bus company to find out who rents
advertising space on their bus-stop benches. Some outdoor advertising companies also handle
this type of advertising.
Transit advertising on buses and taxicabs reaches lots of people, especially
commuters. Your ad is highly visible, and market research on transit advertising shows that it's
very effective.
Billboard Advertising
Billboards are advertisements that provide information to passing vehicles and
pedestrians. These large format out of home advertising structures, typically found in high traffic
areas and are viewed at distances of 50 feet or more. There are a few types of billboards and their
sizes usually depend on the speed of traffic and distance from the person viewing it. A billboard
on a highway or expressway is commonly called a bulletin. A billboard on a secondary roadway
where traffic is 30 mph - 50 mph is commonly called a poster. A poster is usually about half of
the width of a bulletin.
Wallscapes are very large format displays that can be see from many streets because
of their large size. They are usually landmark locations in a metro area. These are also viewed by
pedestrian traffic as well as vehicles. Digital billboards also come in different sizes depending on
their audience and traffic. On expressways or highways they are usually the same size as the
bulletin. On secondary street or neighborhood roadways they can be the size of posters. Their
size also depends on the speed of traffic and the proximity to the roadway.

6. Types of billboards are the following :
Bulletins - (14' high x 48' wide, 10.5' high x 36' wide, or similar sizes) large format displays
usually located on highways, expressways, or major surface streets
Posters - (30 sheet, 8 sheet, & Premier Panels) - medium format (10' high x 22' wide or 5' high
x 11' wide) that are more locally focused on primary and secondary roadways. Posters have a
"local" presence and can target demographic or geographic target very effectively.
Wallscapes - (over 700 sq feet) very large format outdoor advertising that is usually in
metropolitan area or a landmark location for extended viewing. Wallscapes are generally the
signature piece in an outdoor campaign and create a lasting impression
Digital Billboards (14' high x 48'wide, 10.5' high x 36' wide, or similar sizes). Digital
billboards are a broadcast type of media for outdoor allowing advertisers to target their audience
and flexibility.
Street furniture
These street furniture structures offer a variety of illuminated and non-illuminated
media types that can be erected in the city or along main routes, offering clients excellent brand
exposure and direction through general outdoor advertising. The 24 hour brand presence of street
furniture advertising communicates to all LSMs and ensures increased brand awareness and
direction to point of purchase.
The various types of street furniture are:
Bus shelter - Bus shelter advertisements provide high-impact and high-frequency advertising
predominantly in metropolitan and affluent residential areas. Bus shelter advertisements are one
of the few media types with access to upper LSM suburbs where large formats are prohibited,
providing highly cost effective, targeted coverage of major metropolitan areas national.

7. Kiosks – It is a small, enclosed stand from which merchandise is sold, often placed in the
common area of a shopping center or public concourse. Advertising kiosk would resolve various
concerns relating to sales and reaching your customer in a different way.
Convenience store – A convenient store is a independent store of the brand where customers
can pay bills, can visit for the problem they might be facing etc.
Shopping malls – This style of advertizing involves the product to be shown in the public
places such as malls. It is effective in advertzing because many people visits the shopping mall
everyday.
Alternative media
It includes ads in stadiums, on gas pumps, bike racks, rest areas, and other non-
traditional formats. It also includes media (newspapers, radio, television, magazines, movies,
Internet, etc.) which provide alternative information to the mainstream media in a given context,
whether the mainstream media are commercial, publicly supported, or government-owned.
Alternative media differ from mainstream media along one or more of the following dimensions:
their content, aesthetic, modes of production, modes of distribution, and audience relations.
Alternative media often aim to challenge existing powers, to represent marginalized groups, and
to foster horizontal linkages among communities of interest.
Proponents of alternative media argue that the mainstream media are biased in the
selection and framing of news and information. While sources of alternative media can also be
biased proponents claim that the bias is significantly different than that of the mainstream media
because they have a different set of values, objectives, and frameworks. Hence these media
provide an "alternative" viewpoint, different information and interpretations of the world that
cannot be found in the mainstream.
With the increasing importance attributed to digital technologies, questions have arisen
about where digital media fit in the dichotomy between alternative and mainstream media.
Blogs, Face book, Twitter and other similar sites, while not necessarily created to be information
media, increasingly are being used to spread news and information, potentially acting as

8. alternative media as they allow ordinary citizens to bypass the gatekeepers of traditional,
mainstream media and share the information and perspectives these citizens deem important.
Additionally, digital media provide an alternative space for deviant, dissident or non-traditional
views, and allow for the creation of new, alternative communities that can provide a voice for
those normally marginalized by the mainstream media. However, some have criticized the
weaknesses of the Web. First, for its ability to act as both "alternative and a mass medium brings
with it the tension of in-group and out-group communication.
Transit advertizing
Transit advertizing is a form of out-of-home advertising that displays advertisements
in or outside of vehicles. A typical installation will display advertisements on the side of, on, or
above the seats of a bus or passenger train car. Typically, transit media campaigns are
employed in denser urban environments to advertise to both pedestrian and on-road traffic. The
medium has traditionally been limited to featured advertisements on buses and trams, but in
recent years has extended to various sub-categories, such as dedicated car, van or truck
advertising.
The most commonly used passenger vehicle in transit media fleets is the smart car made by
Mercedes Benz. Other popular vehicle models used are the Mini.
Radio advertisements
Radio advertisements refers to the activity of attracting interest and attention to
products and/or services being offered with paid advertisements through radio broadcasting – a
transmission through radio for public or general use.
These advertisements can come in the form of Radio Announcements, Radio
Billboards, commercial announcements, personal endorsements, promotions, blurbs, and plugs.

9. Radio Advertising Campaigns can also utilize Direct Response Radio Advertising, Remnant
Radio Advertising, Viral Marketing, and explore newer technology through Satellite Radio. are
audio advertisements that play between music on a radio station. They normally last 15 seconds
in length.
Radio advertising exists on three different levels – local, regional, and national. Local
radio advertising is limited to a specific and contained demographic/geographic area.
Airtel (Introduction of company)
Airtel is an Indian telecommunications Services Company headquartered at New Delhi,
India. It operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. Airtel has
GSM network in all countries, providing 2G, 3G and 4G services depending upon the country of
operation. Airtel is the world's third largest mobile telecommunications company with over 261
million subscribers across 20 countries as of August 2012. It is the largest cellular service
provider in India, with 185.92 million subscribers as of September 2012. Airtel is the third
largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom.
Airtel is the largest provider of mobile telephony and second largest provider of fixed
telephony in India, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services. It
offers its telecom services under the Airtel brand, and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal. Bharti
Airtel is the first Indian telecom service provider to achieve Cisco Gold Certification. It also acts
as a carrier for national and international long distance communication services. The company
has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable
connecting Chennai and Singapore.
Airtel is credited with pioneering the business strategy of outsourcing all of its business
operations except marketing, sales and finance and building the 'minutes factory' model of low
cost and high volumes. The strategy has since been copied by several operators. Its network—
base stations, microwave links, etc.—is maintained by Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Network and
Huawei, and business support is provided by IBM, and transmission towers are maintained by
another company (Bharti Infratel Ltd. in India). Ericsson agreed for the first time to be paid by
the minute for installation and maintenance of their equipment rather than being paid up front,

10. which allowed Airtel to provide low call rates of 1/minute (US$0.02/minute). During the last
financial year (2009–10), Bharti negotiated for its strategic partner Alcatel-Lucent to manage the
network infrastructure for the tele-media business.
On 31 May 2012, Bharti Airtel awarded the three-year contract to Alcatel-Lucent for
setting up an Internet Protocol access network (mobile backhaul) across the country. This would
help consumers access internet at faster speed and high quality internet browsing on mobile
handsets.
History of company
Sunil Bharti Mittal founded the Bharti Group. In 1983, Mittal was in an agreement
with Germany's Siemens to manufacture push-button telephone models for the Indian market. In
1986, Mittal incorporated Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL), and his company became the first in
India to offer push-button telephones, establishing the basis of Bharti Enterprises. By the early
1990s, Sunil Mittal had also launched the country's first fax machines and its first cordless
telephones. In 1992, Mittal won a bid to build a cellular phone network in Delhi. In 1995, Mittal
incorporated the cellular operations as Bharti Tele-Ventures and launched service in Delhi.
In 1996, cellular service was extended to Himachal Pradesh. In 1999, Bharti
Enterprises acquired control of JT Holdings, and extended cellular operations to Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh. In 2000, Bharti acquired control of Skycell Communications, in Chennai. In
2001, the company acquired control of Spice Cell in Calcutta. Bharti Enterprises went public in
2002, and the company was listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of
India. In 2003, the cellular phone operations were rebranded under the single Airtel brand. In
2004, Bharti acquired control of Hexacom and entered Rajasthan. In 2005, Bharti extended its
network to Andaman and Nicobar. This expansion allowed it to offer voice services all across
India. In 2009, Airtel launched its first international mobile network in Sri Lanka. In 2010, Airtel
acquired the African operations of the Kuwait based Zain Telecom.In March 2012, Airtel
launched a mobile operation in Rwanda.
Today, Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India and the third largest in the world

11. Outdoor Advertizing By Airtel
1. Bill-board advertizing
2. Rail advertizing(Transit)

12. 3. Shopping mall(street forces) advertizing
4. Bus shelter (street furniture)

13. 5. Stadiums ( altenative media)
6. Resorts & leisure (alternative media)

14. 7. Convenience store (street furniture)

15. Vodafone ( Introduction of company)
Vodafone India, formerly Vodafone Essar and Hutchison Essar, is the second
largest mobile network operator in India after Airtel. It is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra and
which operates nationally. It has approximately 146.84 million customers as of November 2011.
On July 2011, Vodafone Group agreed terms for the buy-out of its partner Essar from
its Indian mobile phone business. The UK firm paid $5.46 billion to its Indian counterpart to take
Essar out of its 33% stake in the Indian subsidiary. It will leave Vodafone owning 74% of the
Indian business, while the other 26% will be owned by Indian investors, in compliance with
Indian law. On 11 February, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67%
held by Li Ka Shing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipping Reliance
Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the remaining 33%.
The whole company was valued at USD 18.8 billion. The transaction closed on 8 May, 2007. It
offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India with good
presence in the metros.
Vodafone India provides 2.75G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM
technology. Vodafone India launched 3G services in the country in the January-March quarter of
2011 and plans to spend up to $500 million within two years on its 3G networks.
History of company
In 1992, Hutchison Whampoa and its Indian business partner – Max Group,
established a company that in 1994 was awarded a licence to provide mobile telecommunications
services in Mumbai and launched commercial services as Hutchison Max in November 1995. In
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan and Haryana, Essar Group was the major partner. But later
Hutch took the majority stake.
By the time of Hutchison Telecom's Initial Public Offering in 2004, Hutchison
Whampoa had acquired interests in six mobile telecommunications operators providing service
in 13 of India's 23 licence areas and following the completion of the acquisition of BPL Mobile
that number increased to 16. In 2006, it announced the acquisition of a company (Essar

16. Spacetel — A subsidiary of Essar Group) that held licence applications for the seven remaining
licence areas.
Initially, the company grew its business in the largest wireless markets in India — in
cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. In these densely populated urban areas it was able to
establish a robust network, well-known brand and large distribution network – all vital to long-
term success in India. Then it also targeted business users and high-end post-paid customers
which helped Hutchison Essar to consistently generate a higher Average Revenue Per User
(ARPU) than its competitors. By adopting this focused growth plan, it was able to establish
leading positions in India's largest markets providing the resources to expand its footprint
nationwide.
In February 2007, Hutchison Telecom announced that it had entered into a binding
agreement with a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc to sell its 67% direct and indirect equity and
loan interests in Hutchison Essar Limited for a total cash consideration (before costs, expenses
and interests) of approximately $11.1 billion.
Hutch was often praised for its award winning advertisements which all follow a clean,
minimalist look. A recurrent theme is that its message "Hi" stands out visibly though it uses only
white letters on red background. Another successful ad campaign in 2003 featured a pug named
Cheeka following a boy around in unlikely places, with the tagline, "Wherever you go, our
network follows." The simple yet powerful advertisement campaigns won it many admirers.
Ads featuring the pug were continued by Vodafone even after rebranding. The brand
subsequently introduced ZooZoos which gained even higher popularity than was created by the
Pug. Vodafone's creative agency is O&M while Harit Nagpal was the Marketing Director during
the various phases of its brand evolution.

17. Outdoor advertizing by Vodafone
1. Airbone advertizing(Alternative media)
2. Bill-board advertizing

18. 3. Kiosks (street furniture)
4. Arenas & stadiums (Alternative media)
5. Taxi displays ( transit)

19. 6. Convenience store ( street furniture)
7. Shopping mall ( Street furniture)

20. Comparative analysis between Vodafone & Airtel
Airtel Vodafone
1. Bill-boards are majorly used by 1. Bill-board are less used compare to
Airtel for Advertizing outdoor. Airtel by Vodafone.
2. Airtel focuses more on transit outdoor 2. Vodafone is less focused on transit
Advertizing. Advertizing than Airtel.
3. Do not use Airbone advertizing. 3. Uses Airbone advertizing effectively.
4. Doesn’t have Kiosks for outdoor 4. It has his own kiosks at public places
Advertizing. for advertizing.
5. It uses brand ambassadors like A.R. Rehman 5. It uses animation such as Zoozoos &
& Shah Rukh Khan for advertizing. dog for advertizing.
6. They are focusing more on sophisticated & 6. They are focusing more on middle
top level executives customers. Class customers in India.
7. It has focus on providing new innovative 7. They are more focused on satisfying
services such as 3G, 4G services flexibility. their customer need & innovation.
8 They spend less on Tv advertizing than 8. They spend a lot in Tv advertizing
Vodafone. than Airtel.
9. They uses emotional appeals for advertizing 9. They are using rational appeal for
Through – “Jo tera hai wo mera hai” & advertizing in TV.
“hare ek friend zaroori hai yaar”

21. Findings
 Both Airtel & Vodafone use Bill-board for outdoor advertizing.
 Airtel spends a less amount of money in advertizing compare to Vodafone.
 Both Airtel & Vodafone are major sponsors in the outdoor advertizing through stadiums
& arena type of advertizing.
 Airtel is more technology oriented advertizing such as 3G, 4G in India. In fact Airtel is
the first in India to provide services such as 3G & 4G.
 Airtel spends more on bill-board advertizing than Vodafone.
 Both Airtel & Vodafone has their own convenience store for solving the problem of
their customers.
 Transit outdoor advertizing is more used by Airtel than Vodafone.
 Airtel is the world's third largest mobile telecommunications company with over 261
million subscribers across 20 countries as of August 2012.
 Vodafone has their own kiosks & Airbone outdoor advertizing is done through it.
 Airtel also uses street force (shopping mall) outdoor advertizing.
 Airtel is a first telecom service provider in India followed by Vodafone.
Conclusion
 Vodafone do not use any brand ambassadors & cuts down it’s advertizing expences by
using animation such as Zoozoos & dog which allows them to give more ads in Tv (print
media) which result into occupying the space in the mind of customers.
 Airtel uses innovative technologies such as 3G, 4G in their outdoor advertizing.
 Bill-board advertizing which is a traditional outdoor advertizing which is the most used
by both of them.
 Airtel is the sponsor of major cricket series happening in india where as Vodafone is the
sponsor in series in outside india such as Australia.