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Micromax set to spend Rs 100 crore for brand building initiative
Micromax gets a new look to satisfy the needs of its potential users and compete better with the major national and international mobile players
Micromax, the contemporary mobile handset manufacturing company, is all set to shell out a whopping Rs 100 crore for its brand building initiative. It is targeting a wide base of new and existing subscribers, using a 360 degree media approach via multiple platforms. It has allotted Rs 60 crore for ATL (above the line) advertising, of which print will take the maximum share, followed by TV and radio. Another Rs 40 crore will go into the BTL (below-the-line) initiatives. The communication will be launched in the beginning of 2010.
The core essence of the campaign will be 'innovation'. The new tagline for the brand is 'Inventing surprises'.
The branding and marketing strategies for Micromax will be solely consumer centric. "We don't believe in a 'me too' policy. Neither do we want to promote the brand as a low budget brand. As always, we want to play the innovation card. Last year, we introduced innovative handsets with 30 days of battery backup, handsets with dual SIM/Dual Standby, handsets switching networks using gravity sensors, QWERTY keypad handsets, operator branded 3G handsets and OMH CDMA handsets.
"Now, we have come up with another bouquet of surprises for our consumers. From phones that can be used as remotes to the ones that have direct access to social networking sites - all are there in our kitty. Most of them will be available in the market before the closing of this financial year," says Jain.
The brand has elaborate plans to upgrade all the three segments of handsets that it works with. For the premium category, which is solely comprised of QWERTY keypad handsets, the focus will still remain 'easy chatting'. In fact, Micromax will tie up with social networking sites such as Facebook to ensure better connectivity and continuous communication for its QWERTY keypad model users.
In the multimedia segment, it will offer innovation and variety in its features such as radio, MP3 player and camera. Here, it plans to launch co branded phone along with MTV as 'MTV Music Phones'. The purpose is to add an oomph factor and gel well with the young consumers.
At the entry level, Micromax will play the 'variety' card. "Today, at the entry level, not much variety is available. Handsets of all companies, available at Rs 1,200-1,300, look equally unimpressive. We plan to change the face of the entry level phones while keeping the price more or less same," adds Jain.
Micromax has divided its target audience into three categories - the rural sector, the urban youth and the high profile users. Micromax is solely targeting the rural segment right now - and why not? After all, it promises the maximum number of consumers and all they demand from a handset is regular features at an affordable price. The youth segment, Jain feels, is the second most important segment, whom the brand will appease with innovative features such as a memory card with more capacity, better music and camera quality and a trendy face value. For the third segment or the premium class, Jain says 'technological innovation' will be the catchword.
To increase penetration in the Indian telecom market, Micromax is bundling with telecom operators such as Aircel. "Soon, we will launch a project where SIM cards of different telecom providers will be available with different Micromax handsets. Unless a consumer has personal apathy towards a particular service provider, chances are he will use the SIM provided to him with the handset. This will benefit both our brand and the service provider we tie up with," explains Jain.
For better accessibly and prominence in the market, Micromax is coming up with 150 experience zones (exclusive stores) across the nation, in addition to ensuring bigger presence at the multi branded stores.