Mumbai: udaan has rolled out a new digital campaign to applaud the relentless commitment of pharmacists to society. The campaign highlights udaan’s superior customer service towards its partner pharmacies.
Further, the campaign emphasises the unique proposition of multiple delivery options—it’s an industry first initiative by a B2B e-commerce company.
Mumbai-based brand and communications consultancy, Tilt Brand Solutions, has bagged the PR mandate for the brand. It highlights the challenges of partner pharmacies and how udaan can meaningfully partner and delight them in their journey. The campaign aims to address and solve the unique challenges with a brand promise to deliver a superior customer experience to pharmacies while ordering medicine supplies through the udaan app.
The digital marketing campaign will run across various platforms for the next three months, including ATL, BTL, paid digital, app, CRM (SMS, PN), etc.
Speaking about it, udaan business head of pharma category Sanjay Sharma said, “The Pharma category on the udaan platform is a growing business and as part of our long-term strategy, we plan to build and establish a long-lasting relationship with our partner pharmacies. We are committed to leveraging technology to bring the benefits of product & service innovations to partner pharmacies and are confident that our campaign will resonate well with our audience.”
The pharma category on the udaan platform lists medicines, medical supplies, and over-the-counter (OTC) products. Currently, the udaan platform has over a thousand pharmacies registered to transact and do business online. The campaign emphasises the unique proposition of multiple delivery time options – an industry first initiative by a B2B e-commerce company.
Speaking on the campaign, Tilt Brand Solutions executive director creative Adarsh Atal said, “We are well aware that chemists are and have been a part of India’s critically essential workforce. However, as the world has progressed and critical business sectors have seen technological advancements, there has been little done for pharmacists. With our campaign, we wanted to emotionally connect with the chemists, just like they do with each and every one of their consumers, and bring to the fore how udaan is enabling them with technology to do their business more efficiently and profitably.”
Mumbai: Lloyd, owned by Havells India, has launched its first ad film with Sourav Ganguly, who was roped in as the brand ambassador earlier this year. The campaign is targeted at the West Bengal region.
The film is intended to build trust for the consumer durable brand, highlighting the key product benefits and value in a highly cluttered market. Through this film, Lloyd is focused on driving differentiation and delivering on its brand promise of ‘Khayal Rakhenge, Khush Rakhenge’.
The storyboard of the ad film takes an amusing route to hold the audience’s attention, wherein Sourav Ganguly engaged in a light-hearted banter with an enthusiastic salesman. The narrative evokes a sense of humour as the salesman tries to equate the Lloyd product performance with Sourav’s on field performances. The film cements the brand promise by showcasing the superior features in a quirky way to create a strong brand connect.
The new Lloyd campaign for West Bengal is being extensively covered in print, digital and below the line (BTL). A major print campaign in leading newspapers like Telegraph, ABP, Dainik Bhaskar has been rolled out. Along with print, digital has also been focused to promote the ongoing Shubo Durga Utsav on high traffic websites like Facebook, Youtube, IRCTC, Zee Bengali and ABP. For on ground promotions in stores activities across West Bengal are taking place, wherein consumers have a chance to win assured prizes and participate in bumper prizes including SUV and Lloyd products weekly.
Lloyd executive vice president Rajesh Rathi said, “Our intent is to focus on communication which not only exceeds the work Lloyd is putting in to make differentiated products but also grows the trust in the Lloyd brand. We will continue to drive meaningful engagements to extend /widen our consumer connect and strengthen our presence in the region.”
Speaking over the ad film release, Havells India executive vice president Rohit Kapoor said, “Our attempt is to bring our product closer to our consumers and make their lives easy and convenient. Our latest ad with Sourav Ganguly is our attempt to build greater trust and affinity for Lloyd. We are confident, with him as the face of the campaign, the consumers’ belief in the brand will grow manifold and help solidify our strategy of going deeper into homes”.
Talking about the campaign launch, Sourav Ganguly said, “I am delighted to collaborate with a brand like Lloyd for their campaign promoting their incredible line of product with top-of-the-line features and superb quality. Lloyd has established itself as one of the most reliable consumer durable brands in India with its superior technology and I am honoured to be a part of a campaign that reiterates their promise of keeping their consumers as their first priority.”
Mumbai: McDonald’s India (West and South) has kick-started this festive season by launching a new film under the campaign titled “Festivals Make Families.” The new heartwarming digital-forward brand film captures the festive celebrations of a family with various moments that bring them all together.
This slice-of-life film was released on YouTube and other social platforms in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada.
Shot in a single take, the film showcases a young member of the family (the protagonist) who records various moments of fun, excitement, and rib-tickling chaos in the house during the celebration. The protagonist is seen narrating the level of enthusiasm among each member of the family, young and old alike. From greeting guests to providing finishing touches to decorations, from the choice of flowers to dance moves to the same old music, from attires to cracking the same old jokes, nothing has changed, yet the enthusiasm is always at its peak. However, festivals are the only time when families come together and enjoy special moments over a McDonald’s meal that are cherished. It is one of those special moments that makes the protagonist realise the importance and beauty of festivals.
Overall, the film highlights that the essence and the memories of festive celebrations never fade away, even if they appear the same every year.
Speaking of the campaign, McDonald’s director – marketing and communications Arvind R.P said, “Festivals and McDonald’s have one thing in common, they bring families together to celebrate joyous occasions. Through this brand film, we intend to capture how McDonald’s Meals play a pivotal role in making family times memorable. We at McDonald’s India constantly work on strengthening the meal proposition for our customers, especially families, so they can relish their favourites and make McDonald’s an integral part of every celebration. We believe this campaign strikes the perfect chord with families and strengthens their trust and love towards our brand.”
Talking about the creative side, DDB Mudra creative head – West Pallavi Chakravarti said, “What makes festivals the most eagerly awaited events ever? If you’ve seen one, haven’t you seen them all? Then what gives? McDonald’s set out to explore this train of thought in a festive campaign that is an ode to families across the country – or the world, for that matter.”
Mumbai: ixigo has roped in Bollywood celebrities Jackie Shroff and Suniel Shetty as the new faces of the brand for their campaign “#NikalLo.” The campaign has been designed to create buzz and increase brand awareness ahead of the festive season and will be launched across television and digital platforms.
The television commercials feature Jackie Shroff and Suniel Shetty engaged in interesting banter, which reflects the close bond they share in real life. One of the videos features Jackie Dada struggling to pronounce the brand name ‘ixigo’ in true bhidu style, with Suniel Shetty correcting him. The ads encourage the audience to travel and end with the catchphrase “ixigo travel app download karo, bindaas ticket book karo, aur nikal lo!”
The brand decided to team up with Jackie Shroff and Suniel Shetty as the actors enjoy mass appeal with a wide fan base spread across metros as well as tier 2 and 3 cities across India.
Speaking on their collaboration with ixigo, Jackie Shroff and Suniel Shetty said, “We are excited to team up with ixigo for this campaign. We’ve been wanting to come together for a project for a while now, and ixigo seemed to be the perfect fit! We really resonate with the company’s resilience and growth journey. The trust and friendship that we share amongst one another is synonymous with the faith that travellers have in ixigo! We love how easy it is to book flights, train or bus tickets on ixigo. Their apps offer travellers lots of convenience and flexibility, with a wide array of features on board. Being avid travellers ourselves, we look forward to this collaboration!”
Talking about this campaign, ixigo co-founder & group CEO Aloke Bajpai and co-founder & group CPTO Rajnish Kumar said, “We are pleased to announce our association with two legendary stars like Jackie Shroff and Suniel Shetty for our brand campaign. We have grown up watching these Bollywood icons and their passion, commitment to work and resilience resonates with our brand ethos. Travel is back with a bang this year and our aim with this campaign is to maximise awareness around ixigo ahead of the festive season. Ixigo is a unique brand name and was actually generated using an algorithm. For years, we have seen users trying to pronounce ‘ixigo’ with some interesting variations, and that was our inspiration behind the first video.”
Mumbai: Dove’s latest campaign questioning society on the beauty-based judgements that young girls are subjected to has been garnering attention, not always for the right reasons however. As was probably discovered by the Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) MD & CEO Sanjiv Mehta when he recently shared a post on the campaign on a social networking platform.
Sharing the brand film on LinkedIn Mehta wrote: “Ahead of #InternationalDaughtersDay pleased to launch phase 2 of our #StopTheBeautyTest movement. Our new brand communication sheds light on the scrutiny and low self-esteem young girls encounter in society because of unrealistic beauty norms.”
“As a father to two lovely daughters, I feel deeply for the cause. You would agree that our children’s formative years are critical, and if done right, we set them up for life. Therefore, we must create an environment where girls can feel more confident about themselves and focus on who they are as individuals, not how they look,” he continued.
Let us pause, reflect and eliminate beauty biases that prevent India’s daughters from achieving their full potential, Mehta added before concluding with the plea “Please let us all #StopTheBeautyTest.”
While several netizens lauded him and Dove for taking up the cause of women by asking consumers to confront beauty stereotypes laid down by society, there were other voices which questioned HUL’s seemingly contradictory stance when it came to its other flagship brand Glow & Lovely (formerly Fair & Lovely).
“Fascinating ad from the company that makes Fair & Lovely,” pointed out a user, referring to the ‘skin-lightening’ cosmetic product of Hindustan Unilever introduced to the Indian market in 1975. The user, Savitha Rao, further demanded to know if Unilever would make an ad on how so many companies are marketing products by making the customer feel inadequate. “For decades, Fair & Lovely promoted a solution to dark complexions, which was shown as a problem,” she added.
The film was also criticised for showing parents and teachers in a bad light ‘to sell a soap.’
“A campaign ad that shows hardworking mothers, grandmothers, and teachers as the real villains, pushing for unrealistic beauty standards, while not just absolving oneself, but branding oneself as the torchbearer of change. I am yet to come across a better example of hypocrisy,” declared a netizen.
LinkedIn user Anirudh Kunte while being appreciative of the campaign, did not hesitate to give the company a reality check on it’s ‘not-so-fair’ history. “Good initiative. However, admitting your mistakes is the first step towards correcting them,” he wrote, recalling the tag lines/ narratives propagated by the conglomerate. “These aren’t exact, but the gist is similar: ‘Fairer skin got me a job/ romantic date/groom’, ‘Gora nikhaar laye jeevan mein bahaar’, ‘Get 2 shades lighter skin in 4 weeks’. All of these, perpetuated for decades, by the brand’s parent company (and specifically some of its products) in India,” he stated.
“All of these, perpetuated for decades, by the brand’s parent company (and specifically some of its products) in India,” he stated.
Responding to the campaign’s exhortation of ‘Dove kehta hain #StopTheBeautyTest‘, another user wrote, “Sirf Dove kehta hai… But what about Fair & Lovely and all the other brands that have told every little girl to constantly worry about glowing skin/ shining hair / makeup that hides them.”
“There is demand and there is supply.. I propose you cut the supply of useless confidence shattering products and demand shall wade off. Be the first movers if you really care!! N not just for the Daughters Day campaign,” she emphasised.
Yet another netizen minced no words while replying to Mehta’s post. After seeing this short film, the first thing that crossed my mind is a popular saying in Hindi language, he wrote. “It goes like this… Sau chuhe kha kar, billi chali Haj ko.”
He continued,” I’m sorry, no amount of campaign like this can undo the damage that Unilever India has done to the psyche and self-confidence of millions of young girls in India in the last several decades, milking their emotions and preying on their low self-esteem with campaigns for brands like Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Lakme, etc. to make millions of dollars in profit.”
“And what’s worst is that I have personally contributed to this by selling F&L for over 2.5 years while working for HUL in rural India,” he added.
LinkedIn user Gautam Pradhan was also scathing of the post even as he lauded the initiative. “Good initiative Sanjiv, But Unilever has actively contributed to believing that fair skin colour is beautiful with massive advertisement campaigns from 1975 to 2020,” he wrote. “The height was when Hindustan Unilever started giving seven shades scale in the pack. I have seen my sisters growing up with the Fair and Lovely brand. And they are comparing skin tone on the scale,” he further shared.
“Keep running this campaign on TV until you change the belief system of an Indian household that skin colour doesn’t matter,” he emphasised.
Dove’s latest campaign claims to bring to fore beauty-based judgements that young girls are subjected to by the society in the guise of advice.
Last year, the soap brand launched the #StopTheBeautyTest campaign throwing a spotlight on how beauty biases are amplified during the process of finding a life partner. The campaign showcased how the remarks deeply impacted the self-esteem of prospective brides.
The second and latest leg of the campaign has shifted its focus on ‘the root of the problem’ – from prospective brides to teenage girls. The film features girls who narrate their stories of how they have been subjected to varied beauty tests based on their appearances and thereby rated by society on their looks instead of their intellect / aptitude.
Watch the Dove film here:
Mehta’s post also faced backlash from a section of users who pointed out how the campaign seemed removed from the reality of today’s times, even as some LinkedIn users responded by complimenting Dove for bringing social issues to light with their ‘wonderful purpose driven campaign’.
“Something is not right with these ads. Indian mother daughter relationship has changed at least aspirationally. In the households depicted in the ads pressure from mother is for studies and ambitions mothers have for their daughters. The middle class India has changed. The ads looked unreal to me for a hashtag#realbeauty brand,” wrote a user in response to Mehta’s post.
“Our girls have crossed this barrier long back. Ask your team to work on some other strategy to connect with girls,” trolled another, even as another section of users commended the ad for being relatable and true. This prevails in many families, even ‘educated and cultured families’, they noted.
Some users called the brand’s latest campaign another ‘marketing gimmick’.
“Good to see a change, but large questions remain on the way most of Unilever’s products are marketed and pushed into the minds of the vulnerable. Till the bigger change happens, these ads will be viewed by most as a mere gimmick,” wrote a user.
“It IS a gimmick. An expensive , slick gimmick. What is the locus standi of a company that makes Fair & Lovely , Lakme to preach #StopTheBeautyTest to consumers,” insisted another user.
Are they asking Dove consumers to not buy Fair & Lovely, Lakme products, a user demanded to know.
Mumbai: redBus has launched its first digital-first brand campaign, with its brand ambassador Allu Arjun, ahead of the festive season. The brand aims to present itself at the heart of intercity bus travel, amid the upcoming festive occasions and holidays.
As part of the campaign, the world’s largest online bus ticketing platform has rolled out two ad-films with Allu in the lead and delivering the message of bringing your loved ones and dreams closer with redBus.
redBus undertook extensive research across 15 cities by reaching out to hundreds of people from different walks of life to identify the emotional and cultural anchors that it needed to create the theme for the campaign.
Directed by Trivikram Srinivas, the brand has unveiled two 45-second and 30-second ad films. The films depict slice-of-life situations like a logistics manager at a storage facility or a mother-daughter duo running a small eatery.
The first film depicts a helpless father who misses out on the joys of being a part of his infant child’s formative months. As he dreads the prospect of chasing a bus to get home, even to see his child take the first steps, a red bus arrives on the scene and pulls up to drop off a very special passenger. The father is awestruck as Allu Arjun alights from the bus and treads a red carpet towards him with a swagger befitting the actor. Allu comforts the anguished father in a breeze with his cinematic charisma, as he speaks of the benefits of booking a bus ticket on redBus, which could help improve the time the man spends with his family.
In a similar construct, the second film comprises a mother-daughter duo managing a small eatery. The hardworking daughter is also very talented, making her mother proud, who now wishes to see her enrol at a college in the city for higher studies. The daughter is apprehensive as her mother would have to manage the weekend rush at the eatery all alone while she spends valuable time in queues to obtain a bus ticket for the trip. The same red bus arrives here too, with the swashbuckling Allu Arjun strolling up to the two to defuse their tension by asserting a list of benefits that come along with booking a bus ticket on redBus. Allu finishes both the films with a powerful tone, exclaiming—”redBus: Apno ko, sapno ko, kareeb laye.”
The narrative of the films thus implies redBus’ strong bond with its customers by being culturally relevant to ‘Bharat’ as well as having a strong connection with individual emotions and aspirations through extremely relatable storytelling.
Mumbai: Lava International has on-boarded Kartik Aaryan as the brand ambassador to endorse its smartphone category while launching the Lava Blaze Pro.
Lava will soon commence a 360-degree marketing campaign featuring Kartik and the range of its smartphones.
An inspiration to millions, Kartik is a self-made man who exudes energy, vitality, and versatility and with his content projects a progressive, innovative, and challenging spirit, which aptly resonates with Lava’s philosophy.
Sharing his thoughts on the new brand association, the actor said, “I am delighted to associate with Lava, a home-grown brand that has established itself as a leading Indian end-to-end smartphone company. It is a matter of sheer excitement to see how Lava is bringing technologies that appeal to the youth of the country. My association is based on the resonance of our shared ethos of being #ProudlyIndian and standing apart from the crowd with a unique proposition.”
Taking the consumer experience a notch higher, Lava is also offering a brand-new pre-sales experience “Demo@home,” which will allow customers to experience Blaze Pro first-hand while at home or any other location of their convenience. Customers can avail these aforementioned services by visiting the official Lava website.
“Signing Kartik Aryan is the perfect fit for Lava. Both are challenging the norms of their industries and creating new expectations. Kartik’s superlative performances have earned him a massive fan following, and Lava’s exciting new launches are setting new standards in the smartphone segment. We are on a mission to provide smartphone customers an excellent Indian alternative, and with Kartik’s stardom and persona, we are confident of getting there faster,” said Lava head of marketing, sales and distribution strategy Mugdh Rajit.
The newly launched smartphone Blaze Pro is styled with frosted glass back and comes with high camera quality, rightfully designed to specifically uplift the customer experience. Blaze Pro comes with 6X zoom & 50MP triple rear camera for a superior photography experience. Blaze Pro is loaded with features like Android 12, 4 GB RAM + 64 GB ROM for storing pictures, videos, and large files, eight MP front camera for a superior photography experience and selfies, bottom firing speaker, type C charging, side fingerprint scanner for enhanced security, among others.
The Blaze Pro has a MediaTek helio G37 chipset for unmatched performance, a large 5000 mAh battery for long-lasting usage, and a 10W type-C fast charger to fully charge the phone in lesser time. It also has a 6.5 & 20:9 notch HD display for an unmatched viewing experience.
Priced at Rs 10,499, Blaze Pro comes in four different colour variants – glass green, glass orange, glass blue, glass gold available on Flipkart, Lava e-store and retail stores.
Lava products are developed after extensive research with a strong emphasis on quality and driving innovation. Lava is constantly looking for ways to provide its customers access to state-of-the-art features on their phones to enhance their experience significantly. With the on-boarding of Kartik Aaryan as the brand ambassador, Lava aims to increase its consumer base by attracting more prospects, especially millennials and gen-z, who form the largest chunk of consumers.
Mumbai: Ferrero’s Nutella announced the launch of its new campaign “Mornings taste better with Nutella” in India.
The new television campaign highlights the happiness that Nutella brings to the morning as soon as the jar is popped open. Nutella further reinforces its claim as a great breakfast companion for all those who love making their mornings brighter, better, and happier.
The TVC will be featured and distributed across broadcast and online platforms.
The TVC opens with a mother trying to wake her kids up one morning. However, the kids are still sleepy and disinterested in starting their day. Perplexed at their reaction to a lovely morning, the mother comes up with a sure-fire solution to get them up and out of bed. With a single pop of the Nutella jar lid, the kids are instantly out of bed and ready to start the day. The TVC continues with a product showcase on the quality ingredients of rich, selected hazelnuts and premium cocoa that create the incredible, unforgettable taste of Nutella. The TVC closes with the family enjoying breakfast together at the table — it is a “Happy start to the Morning” with Nutella!
Speaking on the campaign, Ferrero India Nutella brands regional marketing manager Zoher Kapuswala said, “Nutella is one of the leading brands in the breakfast category worldwide and has always aimed at creating happy moments and inspiring consumers to celebrate breakfast with their loved ones. Breakfast is always at the centre of what gives a great start to the day, and rotis, parathas, dosas, etc., traditionally find their place on the breakfast plate for millions of Indians. Leveraging this insight, we wanted to communicate the versatility of Nutella, where it’s unique and delectable taste compliments many such Indian breads. Our India TVC campaign aims to bring this aspect alive, and as a brand, we look forward to being the breakfast companion for many more Indians.”
Speaking on the creative front, Publicis Worldwide managing director Oindrila Roy said, “Nutella is an iconic brand, loved by millions across the globe as well as in India. This campaign was conceptualised keeping in mind the brand’s desire to be a part of more breakfast tables around the country, in line with its ambition to increase penetration in more households. In order to find a place for Nutella, we tapped into the breakfast moments of our potential consumers and found innovative ways to integrate it into what’s already present on their breakfast tables – dosas, rotis, and parathas. The campaign also beautifully captures how mornings are made happier with just a little dash of Nutella, inspiring families to create happy memories around their dining table. This integrated campaign has been conceptualised keeping in mind multiple touchpoints – television, digital, social, POS, among others.”
New Delhi: Samsung has launched a new campaign with actress Alia Bhatt for its recently-launched Galaxy Z Flip4 and Galaxy Z Fold4 smartphones.
Directed by ace filmmaker Abhishek Varman, the campaign film shows Alia experiencing Galaxy Z Flip4 at a carnival while discovering the versatility of FlexCam and the nightography camera feature, along with her best friend. The carnival setting is an ideal background to express oneself in myriad ways with the stylish Galaxy Z Flip4.
The #FlexEveryAngle digital film went live on Samsung’s social media channels.
“I have been using the Galaxy Z series as part of my everyday professional and personal life over the past year. I look forward to adding new editions to my style essentials. Galaxy Z Flip4 and Z Fold4 resonate with my persona and depict who I am. The unique flexcam feature in Galaxy Z Flip4 allows me to shoot videos and capture shots from different angles. I am excited to be associated again with the brand to showcase their new range of foldable phones,” Alia Bhatt said.
Over the next few months, Alia will be seen featuring in a 360-degree campaign that includes digital and outdoor activations, along with hyperlocal and data-driven videos. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, different versions of the video using Alia and her voice will be created to serve hyperlocal markets, where young smartphone users are waiting to upgrade to foldables.
Speaking on associating with Alia Bhatt, Samsung India senior director and head of product marketing Aditya Babbar said, “We are delighted to collaborate with Alia Bhatt for the foldables for the second year as she truly embodies the attributes of Galaxy Z series. Galaxy Z Flip4 is high on style quotient and resonates with Alia’s style statement. With the launch of Galaxy Z Flip4, we look to empower our millennial and Gen Z audiences with enhanced productivity and self-expression. Using the innovative flexcam capabilities, our consumers can capture videos and photographs in angles like never before.”
Galaxy Z Flip4 builds on the success of Samsung’s iconic form factor, adding key features, including an upgraded camera experience, a larger battery and expanded customization while maintaining its ultra-compact design. Galaxy Z Fold4 opens up new possibilities for users by delivering Samsung’s most comprehensive smartphone experience to date, offering shape-shifting design, immersive and flexible displays and PC-like multitasking features, in addition to advanced camera technology and powerful processor.
Mumbai: With 5G set to take flight in India, telecom companies are gearing up to be the first in the 5G race. The country’s first auction of the 5G spectrum concluded early last month, with service providers Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, and Adani Data Networks paying the department of telecom (DoT) a total of about Rs 17,876 crore for the spectrum they acquired. With this spectrum allotment, India is in the final stage of rolling out high-speed 5G telecom services.
Ericsson India recently unveiled its new brand campaign “Imagine Possible” that sets out to show the limitless possibilities of increased connectivity with 5G for Indian industries, people, and communities. In an interaction with Indiantelevision.com, Ericsson VP-marketing and communications Ruchika Batra talks about the campaign objective, the significance of the Indian market for the brand and how ready the Indian consumer is to welcome the 5G network.
India has been a strategic market for Ericsson and the leading provider of telecom network equipment has been partnering with the country through generations of mobility—2G, 3G, and 4G—even as it now sets the stage for the 5G rollout.
The fifth generation of mobile networks or 5G, as it is referred to, is currently the fastest communication network available in the world, as it gradually makes its way to every part of the globe. It opens up a whole new world of entertainment and applications, enabling users to download full-length movies in a matter of seconds and take advantage of more advanced linked technologies like gaming with augmented reality.
Ericsson’s global campaign – India chapter
Elaborating on the objective of launching the India chapter of this global campaign, Batra says that “Imagine Possible” brings to life the company’s purpose and vision in the Indian context. “The objective of the campaign is all about showcasing the limitless possibilities that 5G will bring to Indian enterprises, people, and communities. It emphasises the transformational role that 5G can play in creating a more digitally inclusive society in India through relevant use-cases across industries like healthcare, manufacturing, education, and entertainment.” With 5G, the possibilities are endless and the campaign depicts the same, she adds.
It highlights the potential of 5G through five scenarios: a schoolgirl taking remote lessons from a rural homestead; fans enjoying an extended reality cricket experience; a mountain medic wearing an AR headset allowing him to see the diagnosis from surgeons back in the hospital whilst attending patients at a remote location; a farmer enjoying the benefits of connected digital financial services in a rural setting; and drone operations with 5G powered smart factories.
Ericsson’s significant achievements in the Indian 5G market
According to Batra, Ericsson has viewed India as a strategic market since 1903. It became one of the first companies to manufacture telecom equipment for domestic players as well as export it to other parts of the world. So, when Batra was asked about the 5G readiness in the country, she said, “Our Ericsson radio solutions introduced in India in 2015 are 5G ready and we are well prepared to support Indian service providers in their journey from 4G to 5G. We have been working with our operator partners, enterprises, as well as the academic community to test and curate various 5G use cases that would be relevant for the country with the trial spectrum that was made available.”
Post the recently concluded 5G spectrum auctions in the country, Bharti Airtel awarded its first 5G contract in the country to Ericsson. Some of the recent 5G milestones that Ericsson has achieved include partnering with Bharti Airtel to demonstrate India’s first 5G live network in Hyderabad and trials in Gurugram and Manesar. This was followed by a demonstration of India’s first 5G rural trial in Bhaipur Bramanan village on the outskirts of Delhi/NCR. Ericsson also partnered with Vodafone Idea (VIL) to showcase the power of 5G to bring healthcare to remote parts of the country.
“At our end, Ericsson is ready to power India into the 5G future. In fact, our radio system hardware has been 5G-ready since 2015 enabling operators to upgrade to 5G with a remote software installation,” asserts Batra.
Influence of 5G on consumers and enterprises in India
With 5G services to be rolled out in India shortly, India’s top telcos Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are firming up plans to tap into the emerging gaming and e-sports segment that is expected to see strong growth and investments amid faster speeds and low latency. The next phase of growth for gaming is expected to be driven by the accelerating adoption of 5G, cloud gaming, gamification, and mobile gaming devices, among others. For instance, 4K video on a smartphone, AR/VR and mobile gaming applications benefit from 5G capabilities such as ultra-low latency and ultra-high reliability for an enhanced user experience.
According to Batra, some of the use cases that consumers will see with 5G are cloud gaming, live sports and enhanced video content, with 5G enabled sports being the top predicted revenue drivers. A spectator will get an even more immersive experience using 5G-enabled stadiums, 5G network slicing, 5G enabled cameras and virtual transmission centres, she adds.
The need for low latency will be even more crucial with AR/VR entering the market for consumers to have a captivating experience, and 5G will be able to address this quickly, points out the Ericsson marketing and communications head.
In future, gaming will form a core of major telcos’ business strategy going forward, as they seek to increase average revenue per user (ARPU) by engaging more subscribers and boosting user stickiness, predicts industry experts.
Will 5G services be welcome with premium prices?
Batra is categorical about Indian consumers’ willingness to pay more for value-added premium services. “There is already quite a lot of enthusiasm amongst Indian consumers for 5G and they are willing to pay a premium for the capabilities it brings,” she asserts.
According to Ericsson’s ConsumerLab study, at least 40 million smartphone users in India are expected to take up 5G in the first year of it becoming available, she points out. “In fact, they are also willing to pay 50 per cent more for 5G plans that include bundled digital services, compared to just 10 per cent more for 5G connectivity.”
The latest Mobility Report from Ericsson predicts that by 2027, nearly 40 per cent of all mobile subscriptions in India will be on 5G, which is a whopping 500 million subscribers. This adoption will be driven by significant investment by mobile operators, who are expected to dedicate a huge part of their capital expenditure on building 5G infrastructure, estimates the report.
