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At a time when most of the full-service carriers have gate crashed into the supposedly feasible low-cost model, SpiceJet has decided to go against the herd. Anish Srikrishna, Sr. VP, Marketing, SpiceJet, highlights the airlines’ differentiated positioning...

4Ps B&M: How important is it for SpiceJet to build a brand and what are the challenges related to it considering the current turmoil in the sector?
AS: SpiceJet was launched as a carrier that always aimed to provide safe, value-for-money, comfortable and hassle-free air travel to its travellers. The brand’s rapid growth over the first four years since it took off has been built on excellent customer experiences and positive word-of-mouth. But now that we are doing well and growing, it is important that we expand the brand’s reach and appeal to our prospective target audience. The challenge has been to connect with our audience and position the SpiceJet brand as one that offers more than others in the business.

4Ps B&M: When at a time most of the full-service carriers are moving into the low-cost and low-fare business model, how do you plan to differentiate your brand from the increasing competition?
AS: Almost all the airlines today are highlighting the ‘low-fare’ factor as a differentiator. However, we want to place ourselves differently and aim to position our brand as one which caters many services, apart from providing low fares to the customers. The idea is to develop a brand that delivers value beyond the price point. And to achieve that, we are not only providing a safe, modern and young fleet who deliver services in a more efficient and friendly manner with on-time service; but are also committed to listen to our customers so that we offer experiences that they value. All these positive experiences keep the brand alive and fresh in the minds of our travellers. Thus, such kind of positioning definitely cuts through the clutter in a sector that is driven by competitive pricing, which have threatened to commoditise the brands.

4Ps B&M: Is your latest ‘Get More When You Fly’ campaign in line to highlight the same?
AS: Our latest campaign definitely highlights SpiceJet’s unique value offerings for our fliers. When we say ‘Get more,’ we mean that we offer more intangible services to our customers like providing complimentary supervision for minors travelling alone, allowing web check-in without any extra cost, savings on return fares, waiver for sports kits and even selling hot tea and coffee in flight at 30,000 feet at a very reasonable price of Rs.20, et al.

4Ps B&M: What is the marketing mix adopted by SpiceJet to gain maximum reach for its marketing initiatives?
AS: We are looking at a 360-degree approach for our marketing initiatives so as to achieve maximum reach and communicate to all our travellers. For our latest campaign, we are looking at various Indian magazines, radio channels, print, outdoor, et al.

4Ps B&M: How much budget have you earmarked for your advertising and brand building initiatives?
AS: Well, I cannot give you an exact number but we nearly spend about 3-5% of our annual turnover on our advertising and brand building exercises.

Ratan Lal Bhagat

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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