LATEST research from Gartner Inc estimates that the Indian smartphones market, buoyed by aggressive launches and a huge consumer base, is likely to witness double-digit growth in 2016 while the global market is set to see a decline this year.
The past couple of years have seen numerous smartphones — low, mid and high range — flood the market. One brand that stands out is OnePlus, a Shenzhen-based smartphone brand, which entered the Indian market in December 2014. The mid-ranged smartphone is different from the rest available in the market in numerous ways. Firstly, one cannot just order it online or buy it off the shelf. It can be owned by an invite-only set-up.
Taking the cue from Facebook, which was started with Ivy League Universities to test the waters, OnePlus as a startup wanted to expand gradually to confirm that it had a product-market fit. “The invite-only model also helped us to build a close-knit community of OnePlus fans, who created a lot of buzz through word-of-mouth,” says Karan Sarin, head of marketing – India, OnePlus.
The second factor that makes the brand unique is its marketing strategy, due to which it has managed to create its niche in the market in a very short span. Not chasing volumes, it has challenged the industry status quo by approaching the smartphones market in new ways, and not accepting the prevalent logic of how a premium smartphone should be priced, distributed or designed. Building a digital-first brand with limited resources, it is necessary to understand where the audience is, why they are there, and what should be done in order to build the brand. Therefore, OnePlus didn’t just look at the platform with the biggest reach, affinity or targeting, but chose the one that can best prove its effectiveness.
“We apply The Lean Startup Methodology (Build > Measure > Learn) to all our marketing campaigns. Lean marketing is basically a non-linear, adaptive marketing approach, which involves starting with a little strategy, implementing it quickly, examining results on the fly, adjusting and continuing to learn,” explains Sarin.
OnePlus believes its devices offer the best value proposition to its targeted user groups: flagship series for tech savvy users and the X series for design and style-conscious users. India is among the top three markets for OnePlus, the others being the US and Europe. When it launched OnePlus 2 last year in August, it received over five million registrations for invites within the first three weeks of launch. Currently, the brand is at a stage where it is crossing the chasm between early adopters and the early majority. Early majority users are more concerned with the reputation of the company — trust, reliability and ease of use. Hence, this year its focus is twofold — one, to build greater brand awareness and two, to strengthen its service infrastructure and provide world-class after-sales experience to Indian users.
Taking forward its #NeverSettle philosophy, it has launched its campaign in India on YouTube. “The rise of social media is changing the entire landscape. You don’t need a big budget to launch,” asserts Sarin while elaborating that if one has a good product, information can go viral because the ecosystem for it exists already and online word-of-mouth can be the best marketing strategy.
The campaign stays away from the typical smartphone ads, which are driven by product features and pricing. With this campaign, OnePlus wants to send out its brand message and build that philosophical connect with its community and future users and get them to be a part of the Never Settle way of life. Conceptualised by Orchard Bengaluru (part of the Leo Burnett group), the film has been shot by Seventy Agency, and has crossed one million views so far on YouTube. The brand could potentially air TV spots. Other media vehicles in the campaign include display ads, along with a social media hashtag #OneMore, where OnePlus will encourage users to take photos illustrating the Never Settle spirit.