"Even if people are not buying our phones, they should consider it": Vikas Agarwal, OnePlus

'Chinese handset brands' have become a homogenous mass of brands vying for the attention of the selfie-obsessed Indian, all at once. In a volatile smartphone market, one poised for mega growth, creating product - and brand - differentiation has never been more crucial. On the communication front, is it all about out-shouting one's rivals through a celebrity-shaped bugle?

In a quick interview on the sidelines of a recently held event in Mumbai, we asked Vikas Agarwal, general manager - India, OnePlus, this and more. OnePlus, which began its India journey through an exclusive tie-up with e-commerce site Amazon, will be made available offline later this year.

The brand has fetched a fair share of visibility (through integrations) across web-series and is endorsed by actor Amitabh Bachchan across platforms including TV.

To Agarwal, it's important that two sets of people like his product - users and interestingly, critics.

Edited Excerpts

We will be on TV with new ads but that won't be on a very large scale. We would like to focus on digital channels...

We see digital as a more honest medium - you get feedback, you can check if the campaign is working or not, and if it is working, you can amplify it. That's why we're bullish on web-series - we can gauge people's sentiments.

So digital will continue to be our primary medium. The rest is tactical.

If we do a print ad, it will focus on sales. If we do a TV ad, it will be to increase our awareness beyond our core community.

For the first two years, we did not do any marketing; we were only present in these web-series... integrating the brand into the story. The idea was to show the features of the phone, such as dash charge which turned out to be a game changer for us. We (positioned) OnePlus as a phone for educated affluent (people).

Yes, that perception is there... the perception that OnePlus is for the 'techie' user, but that's not actually the case. We are seeing scenarios where people are gifting a OnePlus to their spouses...

We need to understand that no industry can support so many players... at best, it can support around four to five players. When it comes to investment, the smartphone industry is one of the most expensive. So it's just not possible to have so many players.

Previously, the market comprised 'Indian products' and 'Chinese products'. Indian companies did not focus much on the product; they paid all their attention to distribution. So once bigger companies came in and began understanding the pulse of the market, these distribution-focused companies lost their way.

Over time, I see it converging into just three or four players, like we saw in the case of the TV, washing machine and laptop (segments). Feature phones will get upgraded to entry level smartphones, which will get upgraded to premium phones... that's how companies will gain market share.

Our goal is to be the No.1 Android device in the premium category. It may not be No.1 in terms of latest technology... but it's really about being No.1 when it comes to user experience.

We are seeing many conversions from other premium brands to OnePlus - not just Android users, but even iOS users. Now Android has become a lot more refined and not everybody is comfortable with a closed iOS system. That’s the main reason for the switch.

The premium category is just three percent of the total smartphone market in India. So there’s a lot of room for growth.

And today, the lifecycle of a smartphone is one-two years.

At this stage, our goal is to make a great product. Even if people are not buying it, they should consider it.

Primarily, they're consumers from tier I cities, where the tech penetration is strong and people are equipped to shop online. Most of them are educated users. Around 60-70 percent of them are graduates and postgraduates. In terms of age, they’re primarily between 18 and 35 (years).

We don't have the resources for deeper penetration at this stage, but in the long run, we will.

We haven’t come across the ‘cheap Chinese’ perception.

Yes, those who are not aware of what OnePlus is and what it offers might consider us as a ‘Chinese brand’ and hence trust an Apple or a Samsung instead. That’s something we are trying to overcome. We are making some investments to build trust. Roping in Mr. Bachchan was a part of that.