SELLING THE CELL

Makers and retailers of mobile phones are faced with the challenge of selling them as both necessity and fashion accessory.

With changing lifestyles, new trends have been emerging in the way mobiles are being constructed. Going by the fact that technology needs to be ahead of consumer wants and not follow them, top mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung and Mo torola are constantly innovating and leading this change, rather than reacting to it. The consumer is spoilt for choice today. With constant innovation, the cell phone user is being exposed to newer things to do and experience. It’s no longer the ‘luxury’ we used to think of it as ... it’s now an integral part of lives.
With all this, selling the right handset to the right hand has become a challenging task. Mobile manufacturers and retailers are trying in ways more than one to provide the best buying experience to the consumer, while also helping them identify a handset that would reflect their personality.

Marketing for mobile phones is quite different from that of other gadgets. “Mobile as a category is linked with the projection of ‘who you are’ and is seen as a style statement or an extension of your personality,” says Sunil Dutt, Country Head, Samsung Telecommunications India. Thus, selling the product and the brand behind the product has to be unique and compelling.
“No other technology has created such a large social change as the mobile phone,” says Subhash Kamath, Group CEO, Bates 141. Earlier, marketing theory compelled advertisers to look at brands as either premium or low-cost, primarily on the basis of their price points, but mobile phones have broken that paradigm by playing at radically different price points, and yet driving aspiration at every level. “Nokia, for example, is available between Rs 3,000 and Rs 35,000. So is it a premium brand or a popular brand? It’s neither! It’s an aspirational brand, regardless of its price,” says Kamath.
The marketing strategy for mobiles has to take into account the fact that the market is changing very rapidly and that new products are being continuously introduced.
For instance, Samsung Mobiles strategy is called ‘Next is what’ for all its gadgets. It expresses Samsung’s philosophy to help the consumer evolve to the next level in mobility and technology. “We want to redefine the consumer interaction with the mobile phone – beyond mere communication, we want to be an enabler that will allow him/her to experience the mobile phone as an instrument to learn, grow and enjoy,” says Samsung’s Dutt.

Marketing for cell phones is mostly about the brand, but through the product/ model route. Each model that is launched fulfils a different consumer need, whether it is connectivity, entertainment, business solutions or gaming. But it all adds to the mother brand’s image of innovation and consumer understanding. This is why advertisers constantly need to innovate and create new needs. It keeps the brand exciting in the consumers’ hearts.
Samsung, in fact, promotes different models in different ways. “The core or the essence of Samsung’s mobile strategy is the innovation that is reflected in the overall approach. However, the expression of this strategy is slightly altered for different models,” adds Dutt. For example, Samsung has branded its entry-level mobile handsets as ‘Guru’ series linked with the fact that the phone offers some very differentiated yet relevant features such as unrestricted talk time of nine hours and a mobile tracker facility, at an affordable price point.
Motorola has a totally different take on this. Lloyd Mathias, Director (Marketing - India & South-West Asia), Motorola, says selling the handset in today’s developed markets has become very much like selling an FMCG product, as the mobile handset has become an integral part of our lives. It is moving from the image of a technology product to a consumer product. “At Motorola, we adopt a 360-degree selling approach to effectively market each of our hero products, while constantly communicating our core brand message,” he adds. Apart from this, they also have exclusive experience outlets with well trained Moto agents to assist the consumer in decision-making.
Nokia, on the other hand, banks on experiential marketing. Nokia offers an end-to-end portfolio and hence creates campaigns specific to target consumers. Late last year it renewed its brand values to reflect its business and changing environment.
Apart from drafting unique strategies for its hero products, most of Nokia’s marketing spend is allocated towards retail. Taking pride in the one lakh retail outlets in India, Devinder Kishore, Director -Marketing, Nokia India, says that “while the mobile subscriber base is rapidly growing, the market dynamics are changing too. We are continuously aligning our retail strategy towards that direction.”
Apart from this, Nokia has nine Nokia Concept Stores (NCS) in key metros. The company began investing in setting up this network much before other players. In a diverse market like India where there are first time buyers looking for purely ‘functional’ devices as well as seasoned mobile users looking for a ‘heightened sense’ of mobility, the needs and aspirations of consumers are different. Kishore adds that companies such as Nokia need to seek a differentiated view of the market so that they are able to offer the ‘right’ mix of products, services and importantly, the ‘right’ experience to consumers. “To achieve this, Nokia has invested much ahead of time and has taken a lead in addressing the entire spectrum of consumers through Nokia Concept Stores and Nokia Priority Dealers.”
But for HTC’s data-centric handsets, it is a totally different business altogether. Unlike Apple or BlackBerry, HTC is not positioned as a business phone/ smart phone. Since its inception, HTC has pioneered the smart phone market through partnerships with Microsoft and key mobile operators, including Orange, 02, T-Mobile, Vodafone and Sprint.
HTC as a brand has pitched itself as something for everyone. Today, HTC is one of the fastest-growing companies in the mobile sector. Well known for its innovation, it is constantly expanding the range of devices it offers – introducing gadgets to support specific applications and new form factors that meet the diverse needs of its customers and partners.
Its promotional strategy is done in two ways, based on the product differentiation, i.e., open channel and closed channel. Adding that its marketing mix is redefined based on its hero product, Ajay Sharma - Country Manager, HTC India says, “We partner with Microsoft when it comes to promotion through press and Airtel is our outdoor partner.” Apart from advertising, HTC also optimises on a few below-the-line activities for a 360-degree marketing approach.
However, selling business phones, or smart phones as they are called, is quite different as the gizmos cater to niche consumers who expect their mobiles to be more than just communication devices without compromising on the look, comfort, simplicity and usability of a standard mobile phone. Nokia E Series devices, for instance, are designed to offer enterprise features and functionalities and are ‘one-stop solution’ devices. “As the target consumers for the Achieve category (business handsets) comprise corporate users/professionals/entrepreneurs, the advertising campaign has a very business-like look and feel and the media used is the one that has higher viewership among the target consumers,” adds Nokia’s Kishore.
If marketing is all about fulfilling needs, then mobile phone marketing is changing almost every few months. And the winners will be those who have better insights into consumers’ lives.