MAM
Mobile services better, Airtel continues to lead: TNS Celltrack report
MUMBAI: The mobile telephony sector in India is not just growing but service providers seem to be getting better at meeting customer expectations.
According to the latest annual TNS CellTrack 2006 study, the already high TRI*M index for the industry – the metric that measures the strength of the ‘subscriber-service provider relationship’ – got even better, and is today at 82, up from 79 in 2005.
The performance of the Indian mobile industry measured by their ability to anticipate and meet customer expectations has been increasing consistently over time. From an industry average TRI*M Index of 55 in 2000, the Indian mobile industry has surely come a long way.
Airtel not only retained its number one position among the national players (see Figure 2), but also scored better, with the TRI*M Index up from 82 in 2005 to 90 this year. Hutch has also managed to improve their performance significantly and stays at second place, while Reliance with a TRI*M Index of 83 (80 in 2005) is third. Idea, BSNL and Tata Teleservices, have maintained performance but are significantly below the industry average of 82.
Among the regional players, the big surprise is MTNL – dislodging Spice to become the best regional player with a TRI*M Index of 100.
TNS India head of telecom practice Abraham Karimpanal says, “While it could be argued, and rightly so that MTNL is attracting a different profile of subscribers with different set of expectations, this war is all about each operator understanding and /or crafting, and then managing their subscribers’ expectations. Whether by design or otherwise, MNTL has surpassed all others at it.”
TNS CellTrack 2006 also tracks the evolving brand choice and purchase behaviour for handsets among the Indian mobile users.
Nokia continues to dominate the GSM market, with a 79 per cent market share. Motorola is the brand that has been able to significantly improve its share by almost doubling from three per cent in 2005 to seven per cent in 2006. Motorola’s gain is possibly Samsung’s loss as their market share has dropped from six per cent in 2005 to four per cent in 2006.
LG has consolidated its position as the market leader in the CDMA handset market. The current 49 per cent market share is an improvement of over 43 per cent market share LG had in 2005. While Nokia managed to retain its share of the CDMA handsets, Samsung and Motorola have lost market share from 17 per cent to eight per cent and 12 per cent to four per cent respectively.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
