Vodafone unveils unique faster smarter and better branding on the Shatabdi Express

From : NewsTrack India

 

The next time you take a train ride to Mumbai be prepared to witness Vodafone Gujarat's latest innovation in branding on the popular rail lifeline, the Shatabdi Express connecting Gujarat with Mumbai. Vodafone Gujarat in collaboration with Indian Railways has for the first time in India done a complete train wrap of all 14 coaches of the Ahmedabad -Mumbai Shatabdi Express.

The newly Vodafone branded Shatabdi Express was formally unveiled today by a Vodafone Zoozoo in the presence of Brajesh Bajpai, Business Head - Gujarat, Vodafone India, at Ahmedabad Railway Station. This branding initiative aims to promote Vodafone's high speed 3G data network, fastest 3G Dongle that provides data transfer speed up to 21.1Mbps and 3G mobile internet capabilities which include free data roaming for Vodafone Gujarat customers travelling to any part of India.

Through this initiative, Vodafone seeks to get closer to and engage with commuters through the entire route between Ahmedabad and Mumbai Central. Vodafone is the first brand in the state to come up with such an innovative concept linking branding and customer engagement at a popular public outpost.

Speaking about this endeavor Brajesh Bajpai, Business Head Gujarat, Vodafone India said, "A continued focus on innovative and relevant products and best in class customer service are the hallmark of Vodafone's business in Gujarat. We are extremely proud to unveil the branded Shatabdi, as one more testimony to Vodafone's continued efforts to innovate and go beyond the ordinary to engage with our valued customers. It is a great platform to get our message across to an estimated 300,000 eye-balls each day along its route.

We found great synergy between Shatabdi's association with Speed and Vodafone's Faster, Smarter, Better positioning for our 3G service offering. Thousands of our customers who travel to Mumbai can enjoy continued connectivity, stay informed and entertained through the duration of their journey on the super-fast Shatabdi Express, with Vodafone's reliable, high speed and competitively priced 3G Mobile Internet packs."

Shatabdi Express Par Vodafone Ki Branding

Shatabdi Express: The fastest train in India & Vodafone 3G: The faster, smarter, better 3G mobile network in India. 

From : The Rajasthan Patrika

Women employment in Gujarat < 15% at Vodafone Gujarat it is 20%

From : DNA Ahmedabad Edition

Why corporates are scared of hiring women - Women employment in Gujarat is less than 15%

Ahmedabad: Is it something like women do not have brains or they are less efficient? Then, why are women not being hired by corporates in Gujarat? The theme of International Women’s Day 2014 is Inspiring Change. It says that although women’s equality has made positive gains, the world is still unequal. Therefore, the industrial state of India, Gujarat, too, is unequal.

According to data available with the state government, the men-women working ratio in Gujarat is 100:15.

There are over 21 lakh people working with different sectors out of which just 3 lakh are women. Following the alleged rape of a journalist by Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal, industry associations and many corporate houses have started introducing anti-sexual harassment policy while some companies have decided not to hire women to avoid such circumstances that may tarnish the company’s image.

A couple of months ago, a meeting of members of an industry association was called in Ahmedabad where most of the promoters were seriously thinking of putting a full stop to recruiting women, said a member of that association. “If companies do not hire women, it will never come across any complaint of sexual harassment,” said the official.
There are few such corporate companies which have almost stopped hiring women. One of them is a pharmaceutical company while the other is a conglomerate. However, there are also some companies that have more than 50% women on the payroll. There are companies in education, healthcare, IT, telecom, hospitality and other service sectors where women employment is more than 15%.

In Vodafone Gujarat, the total employee strength is over 700 employees of which women’s share is 20%. “We have always laid great emphasis on equal rights and opportunities for our employees and our policies encourage women employees to aspire for and achieve their career ambitions,” said Brajesh Bajpai, business head of Gujarat, Vodafone India. 

Writing More Important

From : DNA

Vodafone Gujarat Literature Festival Opens in Ahmedabad Today

From Left - Ms Minaxiben Patel , Mayor , Ahmedabad City, Mr Saurabhbhai Patel - Minister for Energy and  Petroleum , Gujarat State & Brajesh Bajpai - COO Vodafone Gujarat at the inauguration of Vodafone Gujarati Literature Festival held at Kanoria Art Center , Ahmedabad today morning. The three day festival will end on January 5, 2014.

Enter the world of Gujarati Literature !

From : Bilkul - ENewspaper of Gujarat

Gujarati Literature Festival on 3,4 and 5

January in Ahmedabad

Get inspired and inspire others … cuddle and love your own Gujarati

Tens of Gujarati writers of various fields and formats to address and interaction to take place on three days at Kanoria Centre of Arts

Bilkul Special Report, Ahmedabad, Dec 19:
Gujarat has produced quite rich work in art and literature. However, in the run for industrialization and development we sometimes tend to not emphasize and sing the song in praise for all those who carved a niche in the field of literature and arts of different forms.
This doesn’t mean that we have become senseless and indifferent to them. In order to put them on a live canvass, a unique Festival idea was coined by three young people of Gujarat.

The idea conceived and termed as “Gujarati Literature Festival” was the brain child of Nimitt Karia, Samkit Shah and Tanvi Karia.

The trio feels that “it is high time we bring out Gujarati out of its shell and tell the world that Gujarati is not just about ‘kem-chho-‘ ‘maja-ma’ or dhokla khakra and undhiyu. We have to go beyond it. Therefore, we decided to pamper and glorify the work done in Gujarati and applaud the work that is being seen done in Gujarati in the recent time.  Vodafone has come to our help and presenting the Festival before the people. Idea is that new generation comes to us closer, tries to know and feel rich about our language’s work and literature in its various forms and formats.”


Samkit said “the event has no political or social affiliation and is driven by the singular goal to popularize a more contemporized Gujarati among the youth. Many of us have this surmounting inferiority complex about reading and writing Gujarati. We have sort of acquired and adapted a ‘Gujlish’ culture.
Tanvi Karia felt that “there is a myth among our youth that literature is boring set of some poems and serious type essays, whereas, literature is a big thing and can be accommodated felt seen weaved and represented in various forms of writing be that essays, poem, script for a movie, drama and so on and so forth.
Nimitt who is a budding writer himself says “ I grew up reading Bakor Patel. ..and I want my kids to also learn about this character along with their Nobitas and Doremons. Let them learn English and their mother tongue also, not only one at the cost of the other I mean” insists Nimitt.
Karia feels upset about the fact that we in India do not have festivals to boost our own languages and literature while UK Ireland Australia host as many as 250 literary festivals every year.

Vodafone Gujarat Business Head Brajesh Bajpai said “at Vodafone we always look for avenues to connect with our customers and promote local culture and literature. Our partnership with the Gujarati Literature festival is to invigorate the interest in Gujarati literature and provide an appropriate platform to the promising talent. Through this partnership we are trying to make a contribution towards increasing the reach of Gujarati language and its literature”.

The Event:
Venue - Kanoria Centre for Arts, K. L. Campus
Date - 3rd, 4th, 5th Jan 2014
Time - 9.30 am to 6.30 pm - Three parallel sessions
Entry - Free With Registration 

Gujarati Literature Festival promises to bring together connoisseurs and creators of literature, art, music, drama, film and folk art for a live interaction. Over 100 accomplished and aspiring writers, poets and other creative people are expected to participate in the three days of festivities. In addition to the literary sessions the sidelines promise book stalls, folk art performances and of course delicious food! 

Speakers :

Aditi Desai, Ankit Trivedi, Aruna Mehta, Ashish Kakad, Atul Karwal,                           Avinash Parekh, Bhagyesh Jha, Binita Desai Chintan Pandya           Chinu Modi Chintan ShethDevanshu Pandit  Dhiren Avashiya           Dr Ramesh DaveDr Ravindra Dave  Feroze Abbas Khan           Ganesh Devy  Gunvant Shah Harsh Brahmbhatt1   Hasmukh Abari           Hasmukh AboteHimanshu Prem Hiten Anandpara    Jagdish Vyas           Jaxay ShahJay Vasavada     Jaynarayan Vyas      Jwalant Chaya           Kajal Oza VaidyaMadhu MenonMadhu Rai   Mahesh Dave           Miskin  Natwar Gandhi         Naushil Mehta Niharika Shah           Niraj Vora Nirav Patel Paras Jha Paresh Vyas Piyush Desai           Prabodh Parikh Pradip Khandwala    Priti Sengupta           Rajendra PatelRajendra Shukla Rita Kothari Rizvan Kadri           RJ Manan Sanat MehtaSanjay Chhel Sarup Dhruv           Saumya Joshi Sunil Parekh Upendra Trivedi Urvish Kothari                   Vinod BhattVishnu Pandya Yashwant Mehta

 So, why wait Register and reach the venue on all three days and enrich yourself ! Be proud to speak Gujarati

Vodafone M-Pesa launch in Gujarat covered by Local Press

From : Commodity World

From : Divya Bhaskar

From : The Economic Times

From : Jai Hind

From : Prabhat

From : Rajasthan Patrika

From : The Times of India

Vodafone launches money transfer service 'm-pesa'

From : Western Times (Page 3)

Vodafone India along with ICICI Bank today launched its mobile money transfer and payment service ‘m-pesa’ in Gujarat, which is 12th state in the country to provide services.

The company plans to rollout the service in other parts of the country within couple of months, said Mr. BP Singh, Business Head - West, Vodafone India.

“We expect a small number of people to adapt this initially...if classical marketing theory is anything to go by usually about half to one per cent of people adopt a new product,” Brijesh Bajpayee, Business Head Gujarat of the company said.

He, however, added, the company expects the product to go “viral” in the days ahead going by the kind of response it got in countries like Kenya.

“We clearly feel the initial experience will come by our push...point of inflection, there is a point when it becomes viral and people start doing it with word of the mouth,” Suresh Sethi, Business Head (m-pesa), Vodafone India said.

The service allows customers to transfer money to any mobile phone, remit money to a bank account, make payments for utility bills and deposit and withdraw cash from designated outlets.

The users need to deposit Rs 200 to register for the service and the company charges Rs 10 per transaction as convenience fee for payment of utilities. Apart from that, there are various slabs for transaction charges for transferring money.

The service will be available through 2000 authorised agents and across 312 Vodafone exclusive retail stores in state. Apart from Gujarat, the service, which was launched in 11 state of the country has already 5 lakh customers registered under m-pesa service.

Vodafone Introduces mPesa Service In Gujarat, Plans Pan-India By 2014

From : WAT Blog.com

Vodafone India has unveiled mPesa service in Gujarat by joining hands with ICICI bank. The company is also planning to further expand the service to pan India by next year. As per the reports, the company is targeting the USD 60 Billion money transfer market in the country along with the government benefits transfer market worth $55 Billion.

The telecom operator had first announced the service in November last year while it was officially launched in Mumbai this August. mPesa enables users to transact using the M-Pesa accounts and do transactions like withdrawing cash from specified outlets, paying utility bills, buying mobile recharge and transferring money to any mobile phone or bank account.

Vodafone’s Brajesh Bajpai, Business Head, Gujarat said that m-PESA service will be aiming at 17 million subscriber base in the state of Gujarat. For using the service, Vodafone would levy transaction charges between 1.2 and 1.5% of the value of transaction. The service is also available in Kolkata, West Bengal, UP East, UP West, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Goa.

By 2015, mobile money transfers in India could total $350 billion annually, some analysts estimate. Also, mobile transactions have soared in India as per a latest NPCI report.

Vodafone rings m-pesa in Gujarat

From : DNA

Ahmedabad: Vodafone, the largest telecom subscriber of Gujarat, has launched a facility to have digital money. Forms of cash and plastic money will soon be replaced by digital money or mobile commerce, called m-pesa, by Vodafone.
On Monday, Vodafone India and ICICI Bank announced the launch of m-pesa, a unique mobile money transfer and payment service in the state. M-Pesa is the trademark of Vodafone. It empowers the un-banked and under-banked sections of the population gain access to fi­nancial services via the mobile phone.

M-pesa effectively leverages the combined strengths of Vodafone's global expertise in the domain of mobile payment and significant distribution reach in India plus the security of financial transactions provided by ICICI. This service is available across 170 tehsils, 29 dis­tricts through 2,000 specially trained authorised agents and across 312 Vodafone exclusive re­tail/mini stores across the state.

First ecosystem has to be creat­ed, said Brajesh Bajpai, the busi­ness head of Gujarat, Vodafone India. "We have not launched a product or service. But it is a con­cept for consumers. For this, we will have to educate consumers, retailers and aggressively market this service," he said.

At present, transaction charges on m-pesa are less compared to credit card charges. Charges over m-pesa transactions are not fixed forever, said BP Singh, operations of director west, Vodafone India. "As and when the volume of m-pesa transactions increases, there are high chances of transaction charg­es coming down. At present, we have launched a service to help one transfer money whenever re­quired," he said.

This service is launched cater­ing to the need of the masses, said business head of m-pesa, Voda­fone India, Suresh Sethi. "Today, more than 95% of the villages in India do not have any banking out­let. Financial inclusion is a na­tional priority and we believe that with m-pesa, we now have the ideal offering to facilitate the same across the country in com­pliance with all applicable regula­tions," he said.

Suresh Sethi, B P SIngh & Brajesh Bajpai launch 'M-Pesa' service in Ahmedabad

From : Getty Images

M-Pesa Vodafone India's Business Head, Suresh Sethi (R), Vodafone India's Operations Director (West) BP Singh (L) and Vodafone India Gujarat's Business Head, Brajesh Bajpai (C) pose during the launch of the 'M-Pesa' service in Ahmedabad on December 23, 2013. Vodafone India in association with ICICI bank launched the money transfer and payment service 'M-Pesa', allowing customers to deposit and withdraw cash from designated outlets, transfer money to any mobile phone in the country, make payment to recharge mobile, clear utility bills and for DTH service subscription and shopping services.

AFP PHOTO / Sam PANTHAKY (Photo credit should read SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty Images)


From : The Echo of India

Bhuvanesh Pratap Singh Operations Director - West (Centre) Brajesh Bajapai Business Head (L) and Suresh Sethi Business Head - M-Pesa at the launch of Vodaphone M-Pesa in Gujarat in Ahmedabad on Monday.

Vodafone to take m-pesa pan-India next year

From : The Hindu Business Line


Vodafone India, which together with ICICI Bank rolled out its mobile money transfer and payment service m-pesa in Gujarat on Monday, plans to expand it across India in 2014, a senior official said here.

Vodafone , which currently provides m-pesa service in 11 States in the country, is targeting the $60 billion money transfer market in the country, 20% of which is dependent on the traditional channels like post offices, said Suresh Sethi Business Head, m-pesa.

The telecom service provider is also targeting the government benefits transfer market worth $55 billion.

At present, 30 per cent of money is transferred through formal channels and 70 per cent through informal ones, including ‘havala’, he said.

Vodafone, which launched m-pesa in Kenya in 2006, now has an 85 per cent market share in that African country with a population of 40 million. In Africa, more people have mobile banking accounts than traditional ones, he said.

About the rollout in India, Bhuvanesh Pratap Singh, Operations Director, West, Vodafone India, said only 35 per cent Indians have access to formal financial services with only one branch for every 12,000 people. Only 5 per cent villages have a bank and 73 per cent farmers’ households have no formal sources of credit. Besides, 300 million migrant populations across India had only a limited access to banking services. Normally, villagers have to travel up to 40 km to access a bank.

In India, the overall penetration of telecom services is 70% in urban areas and 40% in rural areas, with Vodafone being the number two provider in terms of revenues. In Gujarat, it covers 96% of population with a 17 million subscriber base, said Brajesh Bajpai, Business Head, Gujarat.

Vodafone would levy transaction charges between 1.2 and 1.5% of the value of transaction.

Rural distribution network project wins $140,000 innovation grant

From Times of India

AHMEDABAD: The RUDI Sandesha Vyavhar (RSV), a unique mobile-based management solution, developed collaboratively with Vodafone Foundation, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), has been given a GSMA mWomen Innovation Fund Grant. The $140,000 grant will be used to enhance the functionality of the RSV application and also integrate Vodafone's M-Pesa mobile money payment platform to expand the RUDI network for fostering livelihoods of more rural women.

The project enables RUDI women — the rural distribution network of SEWA — to order stock from the field and have their goods delivered, receive real time updates from RUDI on price changes or marketing schemes, and for RUDI to transfer the entire management of the RUDI business from a paper-based system to an electronic backend.

Since its launch at the Mobile for Good Summit, December 2012, London, UK, more than 1000 RUDI women have been using the RSV tool. RUDI women who earned INR 4,000-5,000 per month now generate monthly incomes of Rs 12,000-15,000. Women involved reported that they can now afford two meals a day for their family and children can be schooled. Further upscaling will benefit nearly 2,500 rural women, touching 2.5 million people by 2015 in Gujarat.

The technical enhancements of the RSV tool, based on feedback from the RUDI bens using RSV, will include elements such as SMS alerts on orders, a mobile app for customers to place direct orders with Rudibens and a feature that will enable the transfer of customer-specific transaction data from the phones of the RUDI women directly to the RSV backend. Incorporation of Vodafone's M-Pesa service into the RSV tool will enable RUDI women to make payments to RUDI for stock and receiving payments from their customers remotely. This will significantly reduce costs of travel and risks associated with cash-based transactions.

According to Vodafone, the project is innovative because there is no other rural supply chain that has developed its own bespoke MIS tool that runs on simple feature phones.

Reema Nanavaty, director, SEWA said, "The grant will help strengthen the RUDI supply chain, increasing operational efficiency which will help forge more business partnerships. The technology will be the tool for empowering our rural members — making them more informed better entrepreneurs and equip women to fight poverty and gain economic freedom."

About 17% subscribers from Gujarat have applied for mobile number portability

From : The Times of India

Over 88 lakh telecom subscribers In Gujarat have applied to switch to other operators through mobile number portability (MNP) since it was introduced. According to the data available from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), at the end of September 2013, 17% of total mobile subscribers in Gujarat have applied for shifting to other service providers via MNP.

As per the Trai data, Gujarat has 52140709 mobile subscribers and out of which 8866915 applications for MNP have been registered.

With the mobile telecom industry in Gujarat circle witnessing significant growth over the past few years, MNP applications from subscribers has witnessed 8.98 % rise in second quarter ending September 2013. Gujarat circle saw a rise of 730654 applications for MNP to 8866915 at the end of September 2013 form 8136261 applications at the end of June 2013.

It is believed that last year a few smaller players had shut down their operations in Gujarat circle and established and stronger players benefited of this phenomenon. Moreover, affordable tariff plans coupled with stronger network offered by telecom majors had attracted a large number of subscribers through MNP.

"The rise in MNP application certainly has brought a key opportunity for the service providers who serve the customers best in terms of network, cost effectiveness, 24x7 customer assistance and innovative products," said Brajesh Bajpai, business head-Gujarat, Vodafone India.

For the quarter ended 30th September 2013, data service has been the key factor for subscribers changing service provider via MNP. Cost effective data plans, fast and uninterrupted internet services and strong network availability are some of the reason subscribers in Gujarat circle applied for MNP.

Gujarat tops in new rural mobile subscribers

From : The Times of India

Gujarat has added the maximum rural mobile phone subscribers in India, according to the latest report by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). With a net addition of close to 5 lakh rural subscribers in August, Gujarat has added more subscribers than any state in the country.

The director of the department of telecom (DoT), Gujarat, Rajeev Kushwah attributes the rise in rural subscribers in the state to the saturated urban market. "Most people in villages are ready to lose their existing connection if another operator offers a slight benefit. Besides, it is easier to switch to new operators in rural areas, as the guidelines are stricter in urban areas."

According to reports, Gujarat's rural market has 35.6 lakh homes using cellphones compared to 35.7 lakh urban houses. Telecom operators, who have seen a drop of over 16 lakh subscribers at the end of March 2013 compared to the year ending March 31, 2012, are aggressively tapping the rural market in the state to achieve a balance.

"There is tremendous potential in the rural hinterland of Gujarat. The growing numbers of our mobile subscribers in rural Gujarat is the reflection of unique and aggressive steps taken in order to deepen our rural penetration with key initiatives such as Lal Dukan, Har Gaon Hamara Gaon and easy recharge or top up services," said Brajesh Bajpai, business head, Gujarat, Vodafone India.

Of about 5 crore customers in Gujarat, the overall new net addition on average in the last 10 months has been less than 1 lakh a month, which gives companies a lot of scope in villages that are growing faster in terms of subscriber additions.

"In cities, everyone has a mobile connection - security guards, maids, rickshawallahs, among others. So, who do telecom companies sell to now? That is why telecom companies are looking at tapping newer markets," Kushwah added.

Surge in Number of Mobile Data Users this Diwali

From : Ahmedabad Mirror

Vodafone Ban Jao Star Contest Awards

Presenting Awards to "Vodafone Ban Jao Star" Contest Winners with Aditi Rao Hydari

Aditi Rao Hydari dazzles garba revelers in Ahmedabad

From Times of India


Dhwani Shah (Vadodara), Ashish Doshi (director, ticketplease.com), actor Aditi Rao Hydari, Brajesh Bajpai (business head—Gujarat, Vodafone India)

The celebratory cheers this Navratri got a roaring thumbs up from the garba revelers this year. For this Navratri, Vodafone's 'Become a Star with Vodafone Mobile Internet' contest that aimed at adding joy to customers' excitement for the longest dance festival in the world has proven to be yet another unique initiative for customer connect.

The contest witnessed an overwhelming response from customers in Gujarat. On the eighth day of Navratri, Vodafone felicitated 10 lucky winners of the contest and the announcement of winners became more exciting with the presence of Bollywood diva Aditi Rao Hydari. The 10 lucky winners of the contest got once in a life time opportunity to live the life of a 'star' including red carpet welcome to stay at a luxury hotel.

Commenting on Vodafone's innovative data strategy for Gujarat, Brajesh Bajpai, business head — Gujarat, Vodafone India said, "Data is foreseen as the next big thing for the telecom industry in India and the growing number of data enabled smartphones will certainly increase the demand for mobile internet. We see immense growth potential and are looking to be an integral part of this opportunity by helping accelerate mobile internet adoption through penetration, consumption and value addition. We constantly come up with unique campaigns and exciting offers, to drive data adoption. Navratri is an important festival for us as part of our marketing and customer engagement activities. As an undisputed market leader in Gujarat, we constantly aim to stay connected with our large base of customers in Gujarat and this Navratri also we came up with this interesting contest that was well appreciated by our customers."

All in all this was a glam studded evening which saw high octane festive fervour at its best during the Ban Jao Star with Vodafone mobile internet contest.

Meet The Festive Rockers

(L-R ) Pritesh Vakhariya (Ahmedabad),Prachi Patel (Ahmedabad),Shruti Shah (Surat),Pooja Gajera (Rajkot),Dhwani Shah (Vadodara),Ashish Doshi (director,ticketplease.com),actor Aditi Rao Hydari,Brajesh Bajpai (Business Head -Gujarat,Vodafone India),Pratik Bhatt (Ahmedabad),Zankhana Thakkar (Ahmedabad),Kaushal Ramani (Ahmedabad),Nupur Barot (Ahmedabad),Aashini Pandya (Anand)


The celebratory cheers this Navratri got a roaring thumbs up from the garba revelers this year.For this Navratri,Vodafones Become a Star with Vodafone Mobile Internet contest that aimed at adding joy to customers excitement for the longest dance festival in the world has proven to be yet another unique initiative for customer connect.

The contest witnessed an overwhelming response from customers in Gujarat.On the eighth day of Navratri,Vodafone felicitated 10 lucky winners of the contest and the announcement of winners became more exciting with the presence of Bollywood diva Aditi Rao Hydari.The 10 lucky winners of the contest got once in a life time opportunity to live the life of a star including red carpet welcome to stay at a luxury hotel.

Commenting on Vodafones innovative data strategy for Gujarat,Brajesh Bajpai,business head Gujarat,Vodafone India said,Data is foreseen as the next big thing for the telecom industry in India and the growing number of data enabled smartphones will certainly increase the demand for mobile internet.We see immense growth potential and are looking to be an integral part of this opportunity by helping accelerate mobile internet adoption through penetration, consumption and value addition.

We constantly come up with unique campaigns and exciting offers,to drive data adoption.Navratri is an important festival for us as part of our marketing and customer engagement activities.As an undisputed market leader in Gujarat,we constantly aim to stay connected with our large base of customers in Gujarat and this Navratri also we came up with this interesting contest that was well appreciated by our customers.

All in all this was a glam studded evening which saw high octane festive fervour at its best during the Ban Jao Star with Vodafone mobile internet contest.

Go Starry This Navratri

From The Times of India  page 31


B.P Singh,Operations Director West Zone and Brajesh Bajpai, Business Head-Gujarat for Vodafone enjoy the garba at a popular Navratri venue

Giant 30 feet dandiya put up by Vodafone


As Navratri continues to gain momentum,Vodafone India,one of Indias leading telecom service providers,brought an opportunity for its customers in Gujarat to become a star with its mobile internet to add more to the festive celebrations.Vodafone had launched Ban Jao Star contest that gave a chance to 10 customers to become famous and treated them to a day of stardom.This was a part of customer connect initiatives and aimed to add excitement to the festivities of the season.

This year the contest made it more special by choosing 10 winners during the festival and for a day all the winners got to live the life of a star including red carpet welcome to stay at a luxury hotel and also a once in a life time opportunity to feature in the Vodafones print ad.

Vodafone had put together an array of 360 marketing activities like print,radio,digital,tie ups with premier garba venues like Rajpath Club,Karnavati Club and many more across the state.For on-ground activation they had put up stalls,giving an opportunity to customers to upload their photographs on spot. Also they had put a giant 30 feet dandiya at Rajpath Club which was much appreciated by the garba revellers.

Commenting on Vodafones efforts to take the fun and excitement quotient to new heights with these exclusive offers, Brajesh Bajpai,Business Head,Gujarat,Vodafone India,said "At Vodafone,we adopt a customer first motto,where customer and his requirements become the core of all that we do.We constantly try to come up with innovative ways and means to become more relevant to the special needs of our customers.With this Vodafone Ban Jao Star contest we aimed to make Navratri an unforgettable experience for the people of Gujarat."

To participate in this contest Garba lovers had to simply upload their photographs on www.vodafone.in/navratri or could also send their photographs on +919825000009 via Whatsapp.