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V. Rishi Kumar

"The opinion moulders, whom we addressed, opened up for us and helped Hutch to build on the campaign."

Hyderabad , Nov. 21

Cellular operator Hutchison Essar South Ltd, that entered several circles as a `fourth' licence operator, has through its direct (word of mouth) sales approach made gains on personal loyalty; garnered significant numbers and won a few international awards.

The Chief Operating Officer of Hutch South, Mr Kumar Ramanathan, told Business Line, that the Hutch direct marketing drive strategy, "was charted out in the backdrop of having to appeal to the market as a late entrant . The opinion moulders, whom we addressed, opened up for us and helped Hutch to build on the campaign."

Citing Hutch's entry into the Chennai market as a third operator, where the market was dominated by two players — one national and the other regional, Mr Ramanathan said Chennai was traditionally labelled a conservative market and cellular service deemed a luxury.

Customers' expectations from a cellular service were low wherein they just wanted a functional service. Hutch's entry came as a breath of fresh air and the ad campaign was powered by a simple warm `HI'. Simplicity and warmth were the corner stones of the brand.

It promised superior technology with a personalised service. While the mass media launch of the brand was a splash of clean white spaces, warm and playful imagery and bold statements. The channel was outdoor and press.

While this got Hutch the much-needed awareness, the operator had to get the who's who of the city to endorse the brand by actually switching to the service, Mr Ramanathan said.

It was decided to send out a personal invitation to this audience and back it up with an offer that addresses the barriers they may have to switch. This paid off.

People experienced the importance given to them. This was followed up with personalised service and gradually Hutch built up customer loyalty. The same approach was tried in other circles with positive impact.

As a result of this campaign, Hutch bagged the DMA International ECHO Awards, which is considered the Oscar of direct marketing. The ECHO is the only comprehensive international direct marketing award recognising excellence in strategy, creativity and results. Hutch also bagged Cannes Bronze for direct marketing, Mr Ramanathan said.

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