The pilot study was done in one of the priority markets by partnering with a leading daily having a readership of 6 million. Readers (non mobile phone owners) were asked to share real life experiences where the presence of a mobile phone could have made a difference. To attract response, best experiences were featured on the front page of the daily. Since it was targeted to non owners of mobile phones, physical letters were only considered as valid responses. 400 handwritten letters were received & 70% of the responses revealed “emergency situations” as the trigger to purchase. Thus “emergency” became the core of the new brand communication strategy which Nokia adopted for its rural brands. This closed the loop on a unique cycle of identifying consumer insight for a brand communication through media & throwing it back to the consumer.

Nokia moved from price point communication strategy to “Emergency” based emotional connect. Shift in the communication strategy resulted in 30% hike in sales. Further it reduced the cost of experimentation through various routes of communication. This is something that we feel is beyond monetary evaluation.