Much has been written about and is still being written about the tariff wars in Telecom industry in recent weeks. Importantly often the discussion starts to engage the notion of brands. At its simplest Brand is a promise to the customer of a quality of service with meaningful differentiated dimensions ahead of a generic or commodity version of the same. Brands will have a place as long as that differential exists and commands a premium.
While engaging on a discussion connecting pricing and brand stature one must also consider the industry. In some industries the price comes down over time as an inherent feature.
Take consumer electronics for instance. The price of say a computer with certain specifications or a TV with certain specifications comes down over time. It does not mean that this industry is losing its halo or its brands are.
In the telecom industry, prices have been coming down since the industry’s inception. Various factors have played a role – rapid growth of scale, emergence of innovative business models, and more recently hyper competition. If you were to accept the reduction of price table as a barometer of brand halo or stature then you would reach the conclusion that brand halos have been eroding in this industry for a decade. But one look at amount of media coverage not just for the companies and the industry, but the ranking of brands themselves in various lists across publications will tell you this is not the case.
And finally let’s not forget what the consumers at large are paying for. The collective revenue share of top 3 brands is higher than it was a year ago. To me the halo or Brand Stature as I prefer to call it is very much intact. Of course one cannot take it for granted and must continue to nurture it.
