Vodafone Idea Unveils New Vi Logo With Shah Rukh Khan-Led Brand Campaign

The telecom company Vodafone Idea has introduced its new logo, which includes a new 3D yellow sphere logo for its new brand ‘Vi’, and is on a major marketing campaign with Shah Rukh Khan.

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Vodafone Idea is updating its Vi brand in an effort to make a comeback in the competitive Indian mobile market. In addition to a new logo design, the telco has roped in Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan for an advertisement campaign that emphasizes the idea that “Vi is changing”.

While the Vi logo design retains the brand’s current red, white, and yellow colors as well as the wordmark, the yellow design element has been shifted from under the “i” to over it. It has been morphed from a flat design mark into a three-dimensional sphere. The updated identity is being rolled out across all of Vi’s websites, apps, retail shops, and ads starting from September 1.

According to the brand, there will be no changes to the mobile numbers, SIMs, plans or benefits offered to the existing customers by the Vi. CEO of the brand, Abhijit Kishore, stated that this was much more than just a logo redesign and this is the first step towards evolution of the Vi brand identity.

The ad campaign also includes Shah Rukh Khan who carries the company’s Hindi tagline “Vi badal raha hai… tayaar rahiye” that translates into “Vi is changing… be ready.” More product launches and advertising campaigns are expected to follow in the upcoming weeks, though the company did not provide any specifics about what to expect from them.

This rebranding effort arrives as the operator tries to gain a competitive edge over Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. Following many years of under-investment and customer loss, the operator has started to invest more money into the deployment of 4G and 5G networks after receiving additional funding from its promoters and relief from the government regarding its telecom dues.

The operator has also displayed some improvements in its operating metrics. For instance, its subscriber count grew from 192.8 million to 193.1 million in Q1 FY2021 compared to Q4 FY2020 – its first quarter of net additions of subscribers since the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular in 2018. Its ARPU grew by 10.2% YOY to ₹195, and it reported a quarterly loss of ₹3,754 crore.