270,000 SMEs register on Vodafone Drive into the Big League – II-By Sachin Murdeshwar

270,000 SMEs register on Vodafone Drive into the Big League – II in their quest to put their brand on the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Race Cars.

Mumbai, Sept 3, 2012(Sachin Murdeshwar): Vodafone India Ltd., one of India’s leading telecommunications service providers, has received a phenomenal response to the second season of Vodafone ‘Drive into the Big League’ program, as the much awaited annual property races toward the grand finale stage. As the call for entries ended on Aug 30, 2012, Vodafone clocked in a record number of over 270,000 entries from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across India. The ‘Vodafone India Drive into
the Big League –II’ contest is a one-of-its-kind initiative exclusively for SMEs (enterprises with turnover between INR 10 crores and INR 250 crores) in India, to win a once in a business’ life-time opportunity of having their company logo placed on the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes cars that will race in the second season of Indian Grand Prix, slated for October 26-28, 2012.

Post announcement of call for entries in the last week of July 2012,Vodafone India received a flurry of enquiries from aspiring SMEs. To enable eager aspirants from different parts of the country to participate, last date for entries was extended for an additional ten days, till Thursday, 30th August. By closing hours, the Vodafone Drive into the Big League –II campaign had crossed more than 270,000 entries from SMEs across multiple locations in India. Last year, the first
season of Vodafone Drive into Big League received 80,000 entries.Entries to Vodafone Drive into the Big League –II have come in from cities and towns across all states viz Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, J&K, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Karnataka, Odisha,Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh among others. An
interesting trend to note is that majority of the responses has been received from enterprises in the manufacturing sector followed by wholesale and retail trade.

Expressing great pleasure at the amazing response, Naveen Chopra, Director - Vodafone Business Services, said, “We are overwhelmed with the enthusiasm and feedback received to this unique initiative that we started last year and we have surpassed our own expectations. It was our desire to make significant in-roads into the SME community and encourage them with a platform that sets them on an easier path of growth.”

In the Build-up to the Grand Finale, the fastest growing enterprises over the last 2 – 3 years will be shortlisted from these entries for the qualifying rounds that will be held from Sept 7-13, 2012.The qualifying rounds for Vodafone Drive into Big League –II will be held across 10 locations in India, viz. Chandigarh (Sept 7), Pune (Sept 7), Kolkata (Sept 8), Delhi (Sept 8), Ahmedabad (Sept 10),Mangalore (Sept 10), Bhubaneswar (Sept 11), Vishakhapatnam (Sept 12),Lucknow (Sept 12) and Coimbatore (Sept 13).Around 5-7 shortlisted participants will be competing in each of the city qualifiers. After another round of selection adjudged by a panel of Vodafone officials and expert jury, two winners from each venue will be then selected to be the part of Grand finale.

 

Grand Finale

For the Grand Finale, 20 winners from the city qualifying rounds and the wild card winner (one enterprise that has made effective use of technology as a key driver for growth will be chosen from an independent contest that is being carried out on social networking site –www.linkedin.com will then debate on a reality show on a leading business channel all through September/October 2012 for the coveted spot.  In an 8 part reality television series, the final winner will be selected by an expert jury who will evaluate the finalists providing them with real situations that each of their businesses could face and how they would work around those situations.
Overall, the show is a must watch for any established or budding entrepreneur to see how 21 different minds analyze business situations and find an easier path to growth.

About the opportunity

Vodafone Group Plc. being a ‘Title sponsor’ and ‘Total communications partner’ for McLaren Racing, one of the best racing teams in the world; Vodafone in India had the opportunity to select any SME to give them the chance to put their brand on the race cars during the race in India. Instead of randomly choosing a winner, Vodafone India chose to select a more deserving winner by putting together a reality show on National Television.

The response has been overwhelming; 80,000 registrations last year along with being adjudged one of the best uses of sponsorship at the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards and Abby Awards for creativity of the promotion campaign.

The winner company gets to expose its brand to over 25-50 million TV viewers across the globe, which is estimated to be global brand exposure worth over €100,000. Last year we saw ABC Consultants take the coveted spot, this year another enterprising brand will take the spot.

At the Global ET Telecom Awards 2012, Vodafone India received the award for ‘Value Services –Rural Innovation Category’. Vodafone India has been awarded the 'Best Marketing Company for 2011' in a survey conducted by a leading financial daily. The company received the 'Most Admired Telecom Operator' and 'Best 3G Operator' awards at the recent
Telecom Operator Awards 2012. Vodafone Business Services received the “Best Enterprise Service Provider” at the Frost & Sullivan Awards 2012. The company has also received the globally recognized prestigious ‘Product of the Year 2012’ consumer award for Vodafone Apps Store in the Mobile Services Category. In another survey conducted by Nielsen, Vodafone India was the only telecom player in the Top 10 ‘Most Exciting Youth Brands’ in India.

 

Please visit www.vodafone.in. and  www.vodafone.com