Title: Marketing information technology to the bottom of the pyramid market case study: the Aakash tablet

Authors: Poonam Sharma; Marcy Engle; Victor Coburn; Anthony Smith

Addresses: Jaipuria Institute of Management, A-32A, Block A, Sector 62, Sector 62, Noida, India ' Eastern Mennonite University, 1200 Park Road, Harrisonburg, VA 22802, USA ' Eastern Mennonite University, 1200 Park Road, Harrisonburg, VA 22802, USA ' Eastern Mennonite University, 1200 Park Road, Harrisonburg, VA 22802, USA

Abstract: This research case paper applies blue ocean strategy (Kim and Mauborgne, 2005) and bottom of the pyramid (BOP) (Prahalad, 2005) marketing concepts to evaluate the unique positioning and branding of the Aakash Android-based tablet computer. The case reviews the challenges and strategic opportunities for developing, marketing and distributing the Aakash tablet as an information technology to serve bottom of the pyramid (BOP) households. The Aakash tablet offers the promise of opening up a world of new technology to millions of individuals in India and other emerging markets around the world that comprise the BOP. Building on the experience of other IT companies in effectively using intermediaries to help overcome production and distribution hurdles in BOP markets (Heeks, 2012), the authors suggest developing new strategic alliances in rolling out this unique value proposition.

Keywords: bottom of the pyramid; BOP markets; blue ocean strategy; value innovation; information technology marketing; Aakash tablet computers; product positioning; product branding; India; emerging markets; strategic alliances.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTMKT.2013.056887

International Journal of Technology Marketing, 2013 Vol.8 No.4, pp.386 - 394

Published online: 28 Feb 2014 *

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