Change the playing field / India’s telecom market is brutally competitive. As Ogilvy India CCO Kainaz Karmakar puts it, ‘India has one of the most saturated telecom markets globally. With 95% of users on prepaid plans, loyalty is rare. Users frequently switch providers based on network perception rather than price – India offers the world’s third-cheapest data at ~$0.17/GB.’ In that context, most telcos lean on hard claims (coverage maps, pricing, now 5G rollouts) to win ground.
But Vi didn’t have that luxury. ‘In a category where 5G had become the defining table stakes, Vi lacked the technological advantage that competitors aggressively marketed. As a number three brand in a four-player market and a bleeding subscriber base, Vi did not have the option to wait for its own 5G to come,’ said Karmakar.
So instead of playing the tech game, Vi changed the rules. It shifted the battleground from features to feelings, using a low-tech product – beads printed with a family phone number – to solve a high-stakes human problem. Guardian Beads helped reunite lost family members during Kumbh Mela, reframing the brand’s value as connection, not coverage.
In a market where network perception drives switching and brand loyalty is weak, creating emotional relevance through cultural utility gives Vi a way to stay visible and valued, even without a product edge.
Go low-tech for inclusion / The Guardian Beads campaign works because it doesn’t force digital behaviour in a context where that would be unrealistic. It meets people where they are – not through apps or touchpoints, but through a sacred object they already wear. By printing contact details onto prayer beads, Vi turned something symbolic into something practical, without making it feel promotional or alien.
‘Budget constraints and lack of digital literacy dictates that these older members of family are deprioritised when it comes to spending on their personal mobile handset,’ Ogilvy India CCO Harshad Rajadhyaksha told us.
This is the audience most brands overlook, not because they don’t care, but because they don’t show up in data or on devices. The beads offer a way to include them meaningfully in the brand’s idea of connection, without requiring phones, screens or new habits. That’s not just considerate, it’s strategically smart. By designing for the edge case, Vi found a culturally fluent way to extend its brand promise and build trust with a broader base.
