Chinese smartphone companies Oppo, Vivo and Gionee planning big for Diwali...
NEW DELHI: Smartphone makers Oppo, Vivo and Gionee are pulling out all stops to make this a Chinese Diwali, spending over Rs 80 crore each on presence across retail stores and on marketing and advertising, double of what their Indian rivals are expected to spend.
Indian players including Micromax, Intex, Karbonn and Lava would be investing an average of about Rs 45 crore, as handset makers vie for higher market shares in the months that make up nearly quarter of the country's annual phone sales by value. Market leader Samsung and Apple will be fighting it out in the premium -- Rs 30,000 upwards -- segment, spending upwards of Rs 100 crore each.
"This year, we are going a step ahead and yes, we are investing more this year to serve our young consumers," said Sky Li, vice president of Oppo Electronics, which will use television ad slots as a major platform to reach a wider range of consumers, including metros, tier 2 and 3 cities.
Oppo and Vivo will spend Rs 80-100 crore, double than what they did last year to make sure they are seen by the consumers, said a person aware of details of marketing plans of the companies.
Vivo has occupied shop-fronts across several retail stores in the country and is doling out higher margins and commissions than Indian brands and other competitors. "They (Oppo and Vivo) have about 300 in-shop people compared to 50-60 that top brands give, which means retailers are happy because the companies are completely hands on," said a trade channel insider who did not want to be named.
Gionee has announced Rs 200 crore towards marketing during Diwali, spilling over till December. "We'll be doing big bang launches with celebrities across key cities, covering 8,000 retailers and channel partners," said Arvind Vohra, India head of Gionee.
Festive season assumes more importance this year after a slow first half. A key feature in the lead-up to Diwali will be a tough fight among Chinese peers -- Lenovo-Motorola, Oppo and Vivo -- in the Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 price band, a segment which is growing the fastest in percentage terms, an industry insider said.
Counterpoint Research estimates Chinese brands' share to rise to 33% by December 2016, from 23% in the quarter ended March. Their share has doubled to 18% in 2015, from 9% the year before.
"The festive season, especially Dusshera and Diwali, will be very important for these Chinese players and they will go all out for marketing their products, against competition," said Vishal Tripathi, research director at Gartner India.
In comparison, share of Indian players is expected to drop to 34% by end of this year, having already shrunk to 43% in 2015, from 48% the year before.
However, Indian handset makers are not frazzled by the Chinese aggression. "(Marketing) budgets alone do not build brands... product experience and consumer perception matters," said Sashin Devsare, executive director of Karbonn Mobiles.
The company will spend about Rs 50 crore during this festive season, and launch about six 3G and 4G models till November, as it banks on local manufacturing efficiencies to gain a pricing edge.
The company has begun Diwali gifts to channel partners across 40,000-45,000 outlets, besides branding multi-brand retail outlets.
Sources say that leading local brand Micromax will spend about Rs 50 crore on Diwali related marketing and advertising on mobile phones, while Intex will spend about Rs 20-30 crore.
Micromax's chief marketing officer Shubhajit Sen, however, said that the company spends up to 4% of annual revenue on marketing phones, televisions and other products during the festive season, up from the usual budget of 1.5-2.5% of revenue.
"We will be launching 3-4 new smartphones in the price range of Rs 5,000-Rs 10,000 to tap first time smartphones users and those willing to upgrade at affordable price points," he said.
Lava will invest about Rs 50 crore for the festive season, chairman Hari Om Rai said. Keshav Bansal, director at Intex, said festive season campaign will begin on September 20, in which most of its marketing budget will be utilized, covering digital, radio, print and television.
Chinese smartphone companies Oppo, Vivo and Gionee planning big for Diwali - Times of India
NEW DELHI: Smartphone makers Oppo, Vivo and Gionee are pulling out all stops to make this a Chinese Diwali, spending over Rs 80 crore each on presence across retail stores and on marketing and advertising, double of what their Indian rivals are expected to spend.
Indian players including Micromax, Intex, Karbonn and Lava would be investing an average of about Rs 45 crore, as handset makers vie for higher market shares in the months that make up nearly quarter of the country's annual phone sales by value. Market leader Samsung and Apple will be fighting it out in the premium -- Rs 30,000 upwards -- segment, spending upwards of Rs 100 crore each.
"This year, we are going a step ahead and yes, we are investing more this year to serve our young consumers," said Sky Li, vice president of Oppo Electronics, which will use television ad slots as a major platform to reach a wider range of consumers, including metros, tier 2 and 3 cities.
Oppo and Vivo will spend Rs 80-100 crore, double than what they did last year to make sure they are seen by the consumers, said a person aware of details of marketing plans of the companies.
Vivo has occupied shop-fronts across several retail stores in the country and is doling out higher margins and commissions than Indian brands and other competitors. "They (Oppo and Vivo) have about 300 in-shop people compared to 50-60 that top brands give, which means retailers are happy because the companies are completely hands on," said a trade channel insider who did not want to be named.
Gionee has announced Rs 200 crore towards marketing during Diwali, spilling over till December. "We'll be doing big bang launches with celebrities across key cities, covering 8,000 retailers and channel partners," said Arvind Vohra, India head of Gionee.
Festive season assumes more importance this year after a slow first half. A key feature in the lead-up to Diwali will be a tough fight among Chinese peers -- Lenovo-Motorola, Oppo and Vivo -- in the Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 price band, a segment which is growing the fastest in percentage terms, an industry insider said.
Counterpoint Research estimates Chinese brands' share to rise to 33% by December 2016, from 23% in the quarter ended March. Their share has doubled to 18% in 2015, from 9% the year before.
"The festive season, especially Dusshera and Diwali, will be very important for these Chinese players and they will go all out for marketing their products, against competition," said Vishal Tripathi, research director at Gartner India.
In comparison, share of Indian players is expected to drop to 34% by end of this year, having already shrunk to 43% in 2015, from 48% the year before.
However, Indian handset makers are not frazzled by the Chinese aggression. "(Marketing) budgets alone do not build brands... product experience and consumer perception matters," said Sashin Devsare, executive director of Karbonn Mobiles.
The company will spend about Rs 50 crore during this festive season, and launch about six 3G and 4G models till November, as it banks on local manufacturing efficiencies to gain a pricing edge.
The company has begun Diwali gifts to channel partners across 40,000-45,000 outlets, besides branding multi-brand retail outlets.
Sources say that leading local brand Micromax will spend about Rs 50 crore on Diwali related marketing and advertising on mobile phones, while Intex will spend about Rs 20-30 crore.
Micromax's chief marketing officer Shubhajit Sen, however, said that the company spends up to 4% of annual revenue on marketing phones, televisions and other products during the festive season, up from the usual budget of 1.5-2.5% of revenue.
"We will be launching 3-4 new smartphones in the price range of Rs 5,000-Rs 10,000 to tap first time smartphones users and those willing to upgrade at affordable price points," he said.
Lava will invest about Rs 50 crore for the festive season, chairman Hari Om Rai said. Keshav Bansal, director at Intex, said festive season campaign will begin on September 20, in which most of its marketing budget will be utilized, covering digital, radio, print and television.
Chinese smartphone companies Oppo, Vivo and Gionee planning big for Diwali - Times of India
