As originally published in Synergyzer Annual 2018
Nowadays, people are really tech savvy. They’re abreast with all the latest tech developments and lookout for the most innovative experiences. This is why companies all over the world are gunning to provide for these changing needs.
In November 2017, the smartphone market in Pakistan saw a remarkable shift: An era of intelligent phones was initiated, with the launch of the HUAWEI Mate 10 Series consisting of the world’s first smartphones to have Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities.
Naturally, this innovation became the focus of communication for the series which includes Mate 10 lite, Mate 10, Mate 10 Pro and Porsche Design Mate 10 in the league.
STRATEGY: MULTIPRONGED COMMUNICATION
Following a multidimensional communications strategy, the company launched the Mate 10 Series globally in October 2017, followed by regional and local launches.
a. Prospecting the Target Market
HUAWEI has diversified its target market with the Mate 10 range, pricing the most basic phone at PKR 30,000. The Mate 10 lite – touted as the selfie superstar, is for youngsters who love to live life on the go and are social media and tech-savvy. The Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro are for premium technology-driven users, who are willing to pay PKR 70,000 or PKR 88,000 for their respective choice. Lastly, the niche and ultra-high end, Porsche Design Mate 10, was co-designed with the Porsche Design team and is available for PKR 144,999.
b. Influencing & Integrating It Right
In Pakistan, the launch was a star-studded event, in which ace shutterbug Tapu Javeri, and selfie superstar Urwa Hocane were announced as the brand ambassadors for the flagship Mate 10 Pro and Mate 10 lite, respectively.
Tapu Javeri went all the way to Skardu, where he conducted the first-ever fashion shoot with a smartphone featuring the upcoming model Mahi Khan. Armed with a Mate 10 Pro in hand, he photographed her in picturesque landscapes such as the Upper Kachura Lake, Shigar Cold Desert, and a village. The fashion shoot was splashed across all leading fashion magazines in December 2018 to showcase the photographic prowess of the smartphone.
Tapu was also invited as a guest at Khabarnaak on Geo News and Mazaq Raat on Dunya News, where he spoke about his trip and the features of Mate 10 Pro. According to him, due to the top of the line photography results of the smartphone, travelers do not need to use a DSLR anymore!
On the other hand, Urwa created a brand film providing tips and tricks for people to take the best selfies using the Mate 10 lite, the world’s first 4-camera smartphone consisting of dual front as well as rear cameras. Aside from the brand ambassadors, PAGE3 magazine was also given a Mate 10 Pro phone for the month of December to click photos and shoot videos of leading fashion events such as the Bridal Couture Week.
c. Digital Takeover
The company also partnered with Patari, Pakistan’s leading online music platform, by bringing onboard Khumariyaan, the renowned folk band hailing from Peshawar, to create a music video of their famous track Gulmast using the Mate 10 Pro. The band also created a localized version of the official HUAWEI ringtone, which also became a hit.
On the digital front, a number of campaigns were run such as the selfie campaign, where people were asked to share their favorite selfies of Urwa which created a digital hype for the superstar. Another was the ‘Smile for Huawei’ campaign to announce the roll-out of the Face Unlock feature in Mate 10 Lite.
d. Public Relationing
The company gave a humongous shout-out to users who consider themselves tech-savvy, to enroll as HUAWEI Experience Ambassadors to try out the Face Unlock technology and share their experience of the feature. This was a Pakistan-first by any smartphone brand to call for beta testers to try out their exciting new features.
The Experience Ambassadors were also roped in through partnerships with leading digital portals and influencers such as ProPakistani, TechJuice, What Mobile, More News, HamariWeb and Phone World.
e. Media Vehicles
HUAWEI chose various media vehicles to promote the devices including TVC’s, social media and video sharing platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube etc., banner advertisements, press releases, articles, events, activations, TV content integrations, brand partnerships. Besides these, tech journalists were given devices to review and more than 60 product reviews were done by leading tech journalists on web platforms. All this boosted credibility about the Mate 10 Series manifolds.
RESULTS
The campaign attracted a lot of eyeballs making HUAWEI Mate 10 Series the most popular smartphones in Pakistan. The buzz, however, has still not dissipated and the company expects the sales momentum to continue around the innovative and premium smartphones.