The company also reduced its content cost by 17.78% to Rs 588.1 crore from Rs 751.3 crore in the previous financial year Telecom company Vodafone Idea spent Rs 199.4 crore on advertisement and business promotion in FY 20-21, according to the financial statement of the company for the year ended March 31, 2021. This is a reduction of 53%, compared to Rs 426.1 crore spent for the purpose in year ended March 31, 2020. The company also reduced its content cost by 17.78% to Rs 588.1 crore from Rs 751.3 crore in the previous financial year. In the annual report, the company stated, “The outbreak of coronavirus pandemic globally and in India is causing significant disturbance and slow down of economic activity. The Ministry of Home Affairs vide order on March 24, 2020 notified telecommunication services amongst the essential services which continued to operate during the lockdown period.” “While the customer’s ability to recharge, availability of physical recharge, acquisition of new customers as well as network rollout have been somewhat adversely impacted, the services to our customers continued without any material disruption. As on the date of these financial statements, the company, based on the internal and external information available and the current indicators, believes that there is no material impact of the pandemic on its overall performance, except as mentioned hereinbefore. However, given the uncertainties associated with the nature and duration of Covid-19, the company continues to monitor the situation closely and shall take appropriate actions based on material changes (if any),” it further stated. On a consolidated basis, the revenue of the company stood at Rs 41952.2 crore, a decrease of 6.7% over the previous year. The EBITDA at Rs 17119.8 crore reflects an increase of 7.3% as compared to the previous year. The consolidated net loss, including amount specified in other comprehensive income of the company, stood at Rs 44196.4 crore for Financial Year 2019-20 vis-à-vis Rs 73887.1 crore for the previous year. Talking about the marketing and other initiative, the company said that during the year under review, it made extensive progress on the marketing front by communicating and differentiating, by entering into various alliances, and by introducing various innovative products and services including the launch of the new unified brand through a high- impact, high-decibel marketing & PR campaign. The launch of Vi was further amplified with TV & digital ads showcasing people from all around coming together to welcome Vi and also had many partners as well as other brands welcoming the new brand, it said. The company further added, in the post-Covid world, the role of internet has become more relevant and digital adoption & usage has accelerated. “Entertainment, work from home, learning and healthcare became of prime importance. The company devised multiple ways to support customers on these fronts. In line with company’s strategy of accelerating unlimited base and 4G adoption through attractive content & device-led propositions, it introduced a Zee5 pack and plan for prepaid as well as postpaid users and was promoted on radio, TV & digital.” “Additionally, Vi continued to partner content companies and promoted new & engaging content through Vi Movies & TV and movie on demand on digital. Also, India is a cricket loving nation and IPL gives a great opportunity to connect with customers. To engage with the users, increase usage of the website and app, Vi launched a digital campaign ‘Vi 20 FanFest’. This campaign led to Vi becoming one of the most buzzy brands generating strong engagement amongst the users,” reads the annual report.