Kerala has been the center of all attention as floods have literally ravaged the state big time and are affecting millions of lives there. Heavy rains have already claimed about 67 lives till now and a red alert has been issued. Coming forward are our telecom brands who are going out of their ways to give benefits to their customers in these difficult times. This is kind of marketing is usually called Cause Marketing.
What is Cause Marketing?
Cause Marketing as per a technical definition means activities that are of philanthropic in nature. A brand when offers, free services, products, etc. for a particular cause, from its regular income band, its cause marketing. But sometimes, apart from the technical definition, we see another aspect of cause marketing, wherein a brand comes forward to support a cause or a situation, but in the longer run, it is for the brand’s benefit as well.
Kerala Floods and Telecom- Cause Marketing with Benefits!
Telecom Giants like Airtel, Vodafone, Jio, BSNL, Idea are offering free data and calling benefits to prepaid customers in the state, while postpaid users are getting an extension on bill payments as well as uninterrupted services due to the disruption resulting from Kerala floods. Airtel is also trying to provide free Wi-Fi and calling facility to affected users and is providing them the option to recharge their phones’ batteries at some selected Airtel stores.
Airtel is also offering its prepaid subscribers an auto-approval of talk time credit worth Rs. 30. Although the sum will be credited automatically to the subscriber’s account, it will have to be paid back later on. Additionally, the prepaid users will get 1GB of mobile data with a validity of 7 days and all STD and local calls made to Airtel numbers will be free from August 17 to August 19.
Airtel Stores located in Thrissur, Calicut, Malappuram, Kannur, Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram, and Ernakulam are offering people to come and charge their mobiles and make calls to family or friends free of cost.
Jio is offering its subscriber’s unlimited voice and data access for a week in order to keep in touch with their families and friends, and doing its bit for the situation.
Just like Airtel, Vodafone is also offering an automatic credit of Rs 30 and bill extensions to its customers. Idea, on the other hand, is offering Rs 10 as an emergency credit to its subscribers along with 1 GB data, which again will have to be paid back at a later stage
The state is in a real situation and needs all the support that can be offered. It’s a great initiative by our telecom leaders to come forward and extend their services and offers in these testing times.
Why Brands Do It?
Cause Marketing helps most of the brands the ability to strike an emotional chord with their customers. By offering them support in their testing times, the brands tend to retain the trust of their customers and more often than not, it results in a long and mutually beneficial association between the customer and the brand.
The brands also gain market mentions and thus their brand-building exercise is taken care of.
Did you know about this kind of marketing by brands?
