By Saloni Dutta
Motorola recently launched the Moto X play smartphone. What were the insights behind the launch and marketing activities to promote it?
Moto X Play is the perfect partner for its user; it is a phone that loves you back. It is a perfect blend of technology and great design. Prior to the launch we did a seven-country survey to explore the extent to which people are addicted to their phones and received some great insights. According to the survey, 60% of the people globally have slept holding their mobile phones, while 54% of people said that their smartphones would be one of the first things they would save in an event of fire, only 39% of people described their relationship with their smartphone as happy. These numbers were even higher for Indians.
Keeping these insights in mind, we designed a phone doesn't let you down when you need it the most. To communicate this, we focused on a complete 360-degree campaign which included TV, Digital, Print, OOH, Radio & Social. This was to make sure that we are visible to our consumers across all important platforms that they interact with.
On social, we used #ILoveMotoX and asked fans to upload their videos or photographs to express the extent to which they can go to woo the perfect partner, the MotoX. The hashtag #ILoveMotoX was trending nationally on Twitter on the day of the launch of the contest. #MyMotoRelationship urged the fans to post that they were in a relationship with Moto X Play. It got a huge response.
Motorola launched Moto X in close proximity to the Moto G third generation launch. What is the strategy at play behind successive phone launches?
Motorola’s brand philosophy revolves around the consumer and the concept of ‘choice’. We give our customers the power to choose a Moto phone that fits their budget and needs and we want to make sure that we have a phone for everyone in each price bracket. Moto G and Moto X Play are two devices focusing on two very different consumers. On one hand, Moto G (3rd Gen) offers a water-resistant phone with all day battery that's always there for you, while the Moto X Play is the performance powerhouse with a battery that goes on and on and a really brilliant camera. So we cater to different consumer needs and budgets.
What is core to your marketing strategy?
Our strategy really is 360-degree campaigns for all our key launches and announcements for maximum reach and impact. Social and digital are always on and enable us to engage with our core target audience more effectively. Since there is a rise in Internet and social media penetration in the country, especially amongst our core target audience, we look at social and digital as the primary channels to engage and drive conversations. Being an online brand, we are also able to measure the impact of communication directly on sales via this medium. We have launched an experiential programme, the Moto SpotLight tour. This is an amalgamation of product experience with entertaining performances, giving a platform to our consumers to express themselves and showcase their talent.
How has the brand’s association with e-commerce giant Flipkart worked out?
We have successfully sold over 5.6 million devices so far by being available only on Flipkart. This success is primarily due to the growing penetration of e-commerce platforms and acceptance of consumers across the country. We are looking at being available in the most convenient channel to the consumers.
How are Motorola’s initiatives on digital working out in terms of connect and reach?
Motorola Mobility has initiated quite a few campaigns to enhance its consumer engagement across social platforms – be it the ‘Moto Dad Tunes’ campaign for Father’s Day, the #MyMotoBFF campaign, or asking consumers to create their own version of Motorola’s ‘batwing logo’ as part of its 60th anniversary celebrations. All of our recent online campaigns have garnered a brilliant response from consumers and influencers. We have recently initiated our new campaign ‘Moto Spotlight’ which is a unique journey of entertainment and product experiences. It is a 63-day road trip that will drive through the streets of India covering 12 cities. During the trip, consumers will get an opportunity to touch and feel Motorola’s latest devices and experience it on our travelling rooftop stage- The Moto Spotlight! Consumers can also watch out for us at the NH7 Weekenders and witness some of the most amazing performances on the Moto Spotlight Stage across cities such as Kolkata, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. We have a website called Motonation.in where people can explore the route, dates and other details.
What is the brand’s current market-share in India?
We have sold over 5.6 million devices in less than 15 months in India, which has exceeded expectations and shook up the traditional order of players in India. It is safe to say the sales of our products have far exceeded both Motorola's and Flipkart's expectations. Our product portfolio in India is growing at a great pace since we are not chasing numbers and are focusing more on providing the consumers the right product at the right price.
What’s the USP of the brand?
Motorola stands for ‘choosing choice’ and lets its users have better mobile relationships. We have developed a product portfolio that gives people meaningful choices and lets them take control of their devices. We have given our consumers the power to choose.
What led to the comeback of Motorola in the Indian market?
The reason why Motorola came back in a meaningful way and grew quickly again was because we focused entirely on the end consumer. We endeavoured to make products that people would value. Not only did we do it with a particular set of differentiation around good value for money, but also by giving them lots of personalization and software choices.
How is the brand building on its service relationship with customers?
We have enabled over 160 repair and service centres across India that you can contact or walk into for help. Our innovation in after-sales customer service is the ‘Moto Xpress’ service, a home pick-up and drop service that will rectify software and accessory-related issues, on the spot within an hour and hardware issues will be resolved within five working days. Our devices have the Moto Care App which makes it easy for consumers to reach out to our customer care executives. Our customer helpline works from 7 am - 11 pm on all days and support is available via the online customer service portal. We also have hybrid Moto Care centres, which are world-class service support facilities where consumers can also experience and buy Motorola products.
What are Motorola’s plans for Make in India?
We have already started to assemble our devices since July, 2015. We have plans to assemble approximately four million units per year by the end of the calendar year. The plan is to make sure that we make the product available for our consumers in India faster. We are positive that assembling our products here will provide greater value to our end consumer. Also, as we are assembling the product locally we will have spare parts available for quick service and after-sales support.
What lies next for Motorola in India?
We are constantly looking at consumer feedback and are listening to the consumer and looking at what we can do better to give the consumer more choices. Recently, we launched the Moto X Style, which offers powerful performance and looks gorgeous at the same time. Also, we will concentrate on our recent experiential campaign initiative - the Moto Spotlight.
Marketing Tip
The key mantra is to understand, engage and inspire the target audience. The differentiation lies in being able to weave communication in a story and initiatives that the target consumers can relate to and participate in.
CMO File
Rachna Lather is the Marketing Head for Motorola Mobility in India, responsible for marketing communications and brand management. She completed her PG Diploma in Mass Communication, Brand Management, Marketing and Strategic Planning from The Delhi School of Communication. She has earlier worked with leading technology and telecom brands such as Sony India, Virgin Mobile and Micromax, handling marketing communications and brand management across offline and online platforms and ATL communication for those brands.
About the Brand
Lenovo, one of the world's leading personal technology companies producing PCs and mobile Internet devices, acquired Motorola Mobility in July 2014, becoming the world’s third largest smartphone company. Motorola Mobility’s avowed aim is to “invent, build and deliver the best mobile devices on the planet, improving the lives of millions of people”. It connects people to the mobile Internet with affordable devices that don't compromise on quality, experiences or style.
Facts
Creative agency - Droga5, USA
Media agency - Mindshare, Gurgaon
Social and digital media marketing agency - Foxymoron, Gurgaon & Mindshare, Gurgaon
BTL/activation agency - Fountainhead, New Delhi
PR agency - Zeno, Gurgaon
Links -
