Well, that's all set to change with HTC launching their global "You" marketing campaign. It's an integrated-media approach that'll target audience via print, TV, outdoor and online. To quote HTC, the tagline is "You don't need to get a phone. You need a phone that gets you." HTC commissioned the Los Angeles-based ad agency, Deutsch LA Inc. and London-based creative consultancy, FigTree to roll out the massive multi-million dollar ad campaign, the biggest marketing push by the Taiwan-based OEM that doesn't have a major consumer mindshare when it comes to smartphones. Hmm... quite interesting, I must say.
To put things into perspective, till recently (1yr ago), HTC was the choice OEM for majority of smartphone vendors in the industry. Around 2002, HTC decided that Windows Mobile is going to be its preferred mobile OS and hence started to push out cheap and not-so-cheap WinMo devices in the market. However, it's proudest hour came when it launched its Touch smartphone, an iPhone wannabe with a unique UI running on top of WinMo that took advantage of Touch's touchscreen capabilities. The device went on to be a big hit globally - this was the first time when smartphone vendors across the globe stood up and started taking notice of their fledgling Taiwanese competitor. Here you had a case where people were loving the device due to its unique interface, but the irony of the fact that it was trying to hide the core OS, which was Windows Mobile, something which isn't really popular with consumer segments.
I see this as a huge shift from HTC in terms of go-to-market perception. And there are some justifiable reasons for this. Every industry analyst (including Microsoft themselves) agree that Microsoft's strategy and execution with Windows Mobile OS hasn't been exactly exemplary. Hoping to repeat the success story from the PC industry, MS kept on skimming the cream out of its Windows Mobile platform with less focus on software development, esp. 3rd party. On the other hand, new entrants such as Apple (iPhone OS) and Google (Android) unleashed their mobile OS flavours which were leaps and bounds ahead of WinMo in terms of user interface, seamlessness, ease of use and more importantly, the degree of openness. It soon became clear that the market for Windows-branded smartphones is on the decline. HTC, being the biggest WinMo vendor, took stock of the situation quickly, and started developing it's custom UI versions that ran atop the stock WinMo OS.
Humble beginnings in TouchFlo and TouchFlo 3D resulted in the latest UI flavour, Sense from HTC. Not only does the Sense UI cover up the aging WinMo interface almost entirely, it actually lends a very consumerish look and feel and ease of use to a smartphone that's running on top of WinMo - red flag for Microsoft. HTC understands its markets too well, and knows that it can address larger potential markets by showcasing its consumer-side of the product features. Hence, the "You" ad campaign. Add to the fact that HTC is at a major turning point in its brief 12-year existence. With less than 3 employees 4 years ago, HTC employs more than 9000 employees worldwide, including 3000 engineers in North America.
The timing for such a campaign couldn't have been at a more appropriate time. As most of the markets in North America and Europe gear up for the Holiday season, HTC wants us to have its devices on top of each holiday shopping list. The idea is to gain consumer mindshare - something that the company has lacked over the years. All this while, without everyone noticing, HTC is taking up the cudgels against Microsoft in the bid to reign global smartphone market. I can't help bringing up the David and Goliath analogy at this point of time.
Great article.. im looking to buy a smartphone soon and was more BlackBerry inclined.. But with Neeraj campaigning for htc and this new "YOU" drive of theirs maybe i'll wait a month and see what happens..
ReplyDeletethe new BBs are quite good - the only tradeoff is that if you're into customization / 3rd party apps, BB doesn't have much going for it right now. An Android device from HTC will offer much more variety in the 3rd party ecosystem.
ReplyDeleteI liked your point on making WinMo more cosumer focused. MS has definitely missed the boat on that. With Europe already under its belt, HTC's focus is on converting numbers in NA, and BB is the new rival. Nokia and the rest of the lot have a lot to catch up. BB on the other hand, caught the wave with the Storm and its app store is growing stronger as we talk. The true battle will be between these two for the US market - the challenger and the defender :) With the economy picking up, this will be one match to watch out for in 2010.
ReplyDeletewell well.. I should have checked this out earlier. RIM sheds it's "Life on BlackBerry" campaign with "Love what you Do". It's getting mixed responses with some folks calling it refreshing and others dismissing it as yet another advertising gimmick.
ReplyDeleteGoogle for "RIM love what you do campaign" to see the ads on YouTube, and check out what people are saying...