Summary
Navigating Industry Challenges: Airtel DTH's Strategic Pursuit of Sustainable Growth. Airtel DTH navigated a challenging landscape marked by a continuous decline in the industry, prompting strategic initiatives for sustainable growth. Balancing price sensitivity and service quality, Airtel aimed to secure market share amidst shifting consumer preferences towards OTT platforms. Challenges included pinpointing growth markets and overcoming hurdles in transitioning from cable TV to DTH. The Super Saver Sale campaign sought a 25% increase in DTH.
Challenge
Objective: Airtel aimed to achieve a 25% increase in DTH HD set-top box activations during the Super Saver Sale season. Challenges: • Declining trend in the DTH/Cable TV category. The sector witnessed a continuous downturn, necessitating efforts to cultivate sustainable growth for DTH accounts. • Price sensitivity and service quality posed a significant hurdle, as customers increasingly sought affordable subscription packages while expecting competitive pricing without compromising service standards. • The shift in consumer viewing habits towards OTT platforms added complexity, requiring Airtel to compete with the convenience and flexibility offered by online streaming services. • Additionally, identifying growth opportunities in the evolving landscape, especially in markets with the highest potential, remained challenging due to emerging technologies like smart TVs and the surge in demand for OTT services. • The transition from cable TV to DTH, usually a natural progression, was hindered by the cable ecosystem's reliance on in-person customer relationship management, making it challenging to consistently identify signals from this customer segment.
Objective
Airtel DTH faced a complex scenario characterized by challenges that demand a detailed situational analysis. The DTH industry grapples with a continuous decline, demanding Airtel to forge strategies for sustainable growth within its DTH accounts. Price sensitivity emerges as a pivotal concern, requiring Airtel to strike a delicate balance between affordability and service quality to appease customers and secure market share. A significant hurdle arises from the shifting consumer preference towards OTT platforms, signifying a fundamental alteration in viewing habits. Airtel must navigate this shift, competing with the convenience and flexibility offered by online streaming services. Moreover, the rapid emergence of smart TVs and the escalating demand for OTT services present a challenge in accurately pinpointing markets with the highest growth potential. While the natural progression to DTH often follows an upgrade from cable TV, the cable ecosystem's reliance on in-person customer relationship management complicates the consistent identification of signals from this customer segment. Airtel grapples with the dynamic industry shifts, requiring strategic agility to adapt and identify key growth opportunities amidst these challenges.
Strategy
Region-Specific and Content-Centric Approach: • Adopted a region-specific communication strategy. • Utilized internal consumer data and BARC content consumption reports. • Created a repository of regional-specific creatives. • Tailored communication efforts based on regional preferences. Focus on Sports and Entertainment: • Analyzed Google analytics and trend reports. • Identified a link between sporting events and increased DTH intent. • Altered media mix to highlight sports content. • Resulted in an 11% improvement in CPA and a 28% incremental activation. Vernacular Audience Focus: • Catered to non-English speakers with a seamless vernacular journey. • Localized creatives, landing pages, and agent interactions. • Increased lead-to-activation rate by 12%. • Tapped into an underserved market, improving overall business performance. Geo-Targeting Experiments: • Recognized increased intent in Southern states. • Targeted these regions with regional communication. • Extended regional approach to landing pages and agents. • Achieved a remarkable 38% incremental activation rate. E-commerce Expansion: • Utilized platforms like Amazon and Flipkart for DTH business growth. • Implemented targeted strategies, structural refresh, and keyword expansion. • Leveraged unique opportunities like TV day sale and Brand store creation. • Achieved a 4% incremental increase in orders with a 9% reduction in cost per order. Tech Partnerships: • Leveraged tech partnerships for vernacular landing pages. • Improved engagement and lower funnel metrics. • Enabled faster development of platform-specific creative adapts. Personalized Cohort-Specific Creatives: • Identified triggers for DTH box purchases (e.g., TV upgrades). • Targeted cohorts with customized communication. • Improved click-through rates (CTRs) by 15%.
Data
Challenges faced were: • Declining Trend in DTH/Cable TV Category: With a continuous downward trajectory in the DTH/Cable TV sector, Airtel faces the daunting task of cultivating sustainable growth for its DTH accounts • Pricing Pressure: Balancing Price Sensitivity and Service Quality in the DTH Category: Price sensitivity poses a major challenge in the DTH sector, as customers increasingly seek affordable subscription packages and competitive pricing. Meeting this demand while ensuring high service quality is crucial to maintaining and growing market share. • Consumer Shift to OTT Platforms: The growing popularity of OTT platforms and streaming services has led to a shift in consumer viewing habits. This poses a challenge as we need to compete with the convenience and flexibility offered by online streaming platforms • Identifying Growth Opportunities in a Shifting Landscape: One of the key challenges faced was accurately pinpointing markets with the greatest growth potential, especially with the rapid emergence of smart TVs and the surging demand for OTT services. Typically, the natural transition to DTH occurs as an upgrade from cable TV. However, due to the cable ecosystem's heavy reliance on in-person customer relationship management, consistently identifying signals from this customer segment has remained an ongoing
Solution
Results
• Achieved 40% increase in activations. • Reduced the cost per activation by 12%. • Improved lead-to-activation rate by 12% and cost per acquisition (CPA) by 12%. • Achieved a 38% incremental activation rate in the Southern states. • Generated around 18 new active users per day through audience partnerships with PayU/PayBack and shopping ads with Performance Max. • Achieved a 45% incremental increase in orders from Flipkart. • Improved CTR by 10% through enlarged creative in PCA campaigns. • Improved CTRs by 15% through personalized cohort-specific creatives. • Gained ~20-35% incremental lead volume through Facebook dynamic creative optimizations. • Improved CTR by 10-15% and down funnel metrics growth (activation rate) by 5% through vernacular creative strategy. • Reduced resource intensity in creative adaptation through platform and placement-specific adapts.
