Hey Vodafone-Idea, Thanks for the Rebranding. When Do We Expect Better Service Now?

Social Commentary

Hey Vodafone-Idea, Thanks for the Rebranding. When Do We Expect Better Service Now?

VodafoneIdearebranding
Illustration: Robin Chakraborty

Vodafone Idea has revealed its new brand identity: “Vi”, to be read as “We”. In the same way “cool” was spelt “kewl”, to sound cool, in 2007. But perhaps if you’re on a Vodafone network, it takes time to catch up to the latest trends in the world. They also have a new red and yellow logo, that could’ve been made by a six-year-old on MS Paint. After two years of the merger, the integrated brand identity is finally in place.

It was followed by an inexplicable brand video.

Customers, however, are asking the more important million-dollar question: Will services improve?

Vodafone being constantly trolled for poor connectivity and service is hardly a secret. Screenshots have often gone viral where people have complained to them about not getting network and Vodafone would reply back saying, “We tried to call you but couldn’t connect.” Dealing with irony has never been one of their stronger suits. The customer care replies on complaints had become so robotic that a user once tagged Vodafone and asked for the owner’s daughter’s hand in marriage, and the reply he got was, “Please send us your contact number and we will surely help you!” These Vodafone gaffes are now part of Internet folklore.

Vodafone jokes have become a format in themselves. Customers often joke about how it would be faster to travel and talk to your friend in person than wait for the call to connect. Know why the ZooZoos were black and white? Because the network couldn’t download high colour resolution. The pug was the appropriate metaphor for the Vodafone network because no one could ever understand what he wanted to say, just like being on a call on a Vodafone network.

Concerns over the network of the new entity are only natural. #VodafoneDown was trending on Twitter just a few months back, when the network faced massive outages of internet service. People found a way to put across their frustration in the most 2020 way possible: through memes.

Will a new logo and new tagline solve the legendary network issues? Customers remain pessimistic.

One Twitter user had a better brand name integration idea. Vodafone and Idea combine to form “Void”, because that’s what it feels like being on a Vodafone network.

WHERE ARE THE ANNOUNCEMENTS ON A BETTER NETWORK?

Fair & Lovely recently conducted a rebranding exercise where they renamed their fairness cream to Glow & Lovely, but the product essentially remained the same. Customers hope that won’t be the case with Vi, or the memes, jokes and wisecracks will continue to keep their customer care executives busy. The brand has a chance to reset, and for the sake of customers, one hopes it just won’t be the logo and tagline, but the network and data services that also change for good.

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