Exclusive | The idea is simple - Plug and Play: Tata Docomo's Sandhu

Internet penetration in India has been and continues to be a priority for all, services providers, government body and the consumers as well. While Mumbaikars are always ‘connected’, a lot of geographies in India still face difficulties to get ‘online’. Thus, service providers have been devising and developing products and services that are customized for the Indian user across territorial, economical and technological barriers. Working in this direction is Tata Docomo which has now devised the Photon Max Wi-Fi device enabling seamless and operator agnostic high speed internet.

Adgully caught up with Gurinder Singh Sandhu, Head Marketing – Mobility, Tata Teleservices who spoke about the new product in the kitty, the marketing activities around it and more.

Speaking about the new product / service at Tata Docomo – the Photon Max Wi-Fi device, Sandhu said that this new device enables users to experience seamless, operator agnostic high speed internet access. Tata Docomo customers can create their own Wi-Fi Zone anytime anywhere and access the internet through any device - laptop, desktop, tablet or phone. It offers upto 9.8 Mbps of download speed (in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata) with a shared connectivity of up to 5 devices. The device can be plugged in any power socket to access internet and create a Wi-Fi hotspot irrespective of the location. “One can also plug the device in the car to enjoy smooth Wi-Fi Internet connection on the go. This device provides respite to people managing multiple devices and paying multiple bills. For occasions when you may not find a power socket or USB port, we recommend having a portable battery pack that lets you plug in USB devices. The device offers free roaming across the country. Powered by Qualcomm Gobi with Dual processor technology, the connectivity range for the same is around 20 Mtrs and will vary depending of the place and network strength. The device is available in user friendly prepay and postpay rental plans”, he added.

The marketing mix of the device has been led by a quirky TVC which talks about the ‘anytime-anywhere’ idea the brand wishes to promote. Sandhu said that their brief to the agency was quite simple- the TVC should be quirky, focus on ease of use and should talk to anyone and everyone. And he thinks, the TVC does exactly that!

Speaking about the idea of the campaign he said, “The idea behind the campaign is very simple; we want people to know the ease of use that the Photon Max/3G Wi-Fi offers the customers. The core idea is ‘if you have a socket, you can have internet anywhere anytime’. Tata Docomo Photon through this quirky television spot focuses on the ease getting high speed internet at the click of a button (in this case any power socket!). Creating Wi-Fi hotspots is easier than ever before through the Photon Max Wi-Fi device; one just has to plug it in a power socket and enjoy seamless internet experience connecting upto 5 devices. Creating a powerful product is one part of the story but to communicate its features to the target audience is the tough task. We have tried to make Photon device a part of everybody’s home, office or rather any place that they go to. With an upgrade in the download speeds upto 9.8 mbps, the photon device comes with a much more robust capacity and with anytime anywhere connectivity, it closed the loop of usability for the customer. The campaign also focused on the recently launched e-shop which enables the customers to buy Telecom products and services online for the first time in the industry”.

Apart from the TVC, Sandhu believes that they have tried to target all media sources for communicating the messages of the campaign. “Apart from the quirky television spots, we have also laid down plans to leverage social media, video content consumption and other traditional marketing initiatives. Given the simple message of ‘Plug & Play’ OOH in context of this campaign it is an effective medium for media multiplication on the message rather than just a reminder medium for the TVC. Since the product has been in the market since November 2013, our focus now with this campaign shifts to the usability and seamless connectivity of the device which is best communicated through visual display, hence a major part of our BTL thrust is in-store demonstrations of the Wi-Fi device. These Demos are focusing on the simplicity of usage and the superior internet experience”.

With this new addition in the product portfolio at Tata Docomo, do we also see altered brand strategy? Responding to this Sandhu said, “Tata Docomo is a brand that believes that life is filled with many things that are interesting, exciting, and even magical – telecom is merely a means of accessing and enjoying these more interesting things in life.  Hence, its mantra of “Do the new” defines its Un-Telecom focus on playing an enabling role in simplifying consumer lives. It is with this objective of simplifying consumers lives that the brand has driven its industry defining innovation agenda such as 1p/sec or ‘Post call notification’ services for prepaid consumers, etc. This new launch of Photon Max Wi-Fi is simply another step in the same journey in helping meet the fast changing needs of the new age consumer. With Photon Max Wi-Fi the idea is to help consumers ‘carry their internet’ wherever they want… on whichever device they want… be it a Tablet, Laptop, Smartphone or any other Wi-Fi enabled device. Considering the usage of mobile devices growing exponentially, the plug and play Photon Max Wi-Fi offers the next generation of mobile connectivity”.