Our TG comes to us more than we go to them: iQOO India

The year is 2025, and the smartphone market could not be more crowded and competitive. Major brands are operating in all possible price points, catering to all sorts of buyers. How does iQOO, a brand that primarily found its footing in the young, gaming enthusiasts of the country, see the competition?

Well, the performance-focused brand, which entered India in 2020, believes in letting its products do the talking.

"The good thing about our target group is that because they are so informed and passionate about technology, they actually come to you more than you go to them," explains Nipun Marya, CEO of iQOO India.

"If your product has the right proposition and your brand has the right pull, these are people who will understand what you are selling because they are so informed and well-researched."

This strategy reflects iQOO's confidence in serving a niche yet lucrative segment of tech-savvy consumers who prioritise specifications over marketing rhetoric. However, the brand does have its own marketing toolkit featuring top-notch celebs, influencers, and a whole lot of content marketing. More about that in a bit. 

In a market where you're up against established giants such as Samsung, Xiaomi, and Apple, what does it take for a fairly new entrant smartphone brand to carve out a niche? Let's find out. 

iQOO's India journey

iQOO's story in India began in February 2020, when the brand made its debut as a subsidiary of Vivo under the BBK Electronics umbrella. The brand name, standing for "I Quest On and On," reflected its focus on performance, innovation, and technological advancement, positioning that deliberately contrasted with its parent company's camera-centric approach.

The brand's inaugural device, the iQOO 3, marked a significant entry into the Indian market as one of the first 5G-ready smartphones in the country. Featuring the flagship Snapdragon 865 processor, the device targeted gamers and power users who prioritised raw performance over traditional smartphone features like camera quality or design aesthetics.

From the outset, iQOO adopted an online-first sales strategy, initially partnering with platforms like Flipkart and Amazon, and establishing its own e-commerce presence. 

This approach enabled aggressive pricing in what the industry terms the 'flagship killer' segment—devices that offer premium specifications at significantly lower prices than traditional flagships.

The brand's market positioning was deliberately narrow yet distinct. Unlike the broader smartphone market's focus on camera capabilities, iQOO concentrated on delivering what CEO Nipun Marya describes as "hardcore, specialised, multitasking, and reliable on-the-go performance". 

This focus addressed a specific consumer segment that existing brands weren't serving adequately, as per Marya.

Navigating an increasingly crowded field

Today's competitive landscape presents markedly different challenges than those iQOO faced at launch. The market now sees virtually every major manufacturer offering high-performance devices across multiple price segments, with brands such as POCO, Realme, and even traditional players like Samsung introducing competitively priced performance-focused smartphones.

While iQOO is eyeing brand recall among the discerning cohorts, who are more tech-savvy and are more interested in the specs of a device versus its price, this informed consumer base now has access to an unprecedented array of options. The proliferation of flagship-level features across price segments has made pure performance-based differentiation increasingly difficult to sustain. Yet iQOO maintains that its approach of letting customers discover the brand organically remains effective.

"You may be trying to reach out to them, but are they ready to listen to you?" Marya asks.

"With iQOO, what we have seen is because of the multiple initiatives we have taken, most notably the strong community we have set up which believes in co-creating the product and co-creating the brand with us, the word of mouth of iQOO in the right target group is that this is a brand which delivers what we want."

While iQOO's core philosophy centres on organic customer acquisition, the brand has recognised the need to supplement this approach with innovative content marketing strategies.

The company's latest initiative, Quest Talk, represents not a departure from their pull strategy but rather an evolution of it, creating content that attracts their target demographic naturally rather than aggressively pushing products.

"There are principally three reasons which led us to the podcast," Marya explains. "First, the Quest Report findings about new-age careers. Second, our whole philosophy of questing, because we believe that Gen Z today really epitomises this philosophy very strongly. And finally, we wanted to inspire and inform young people about questing through stories they can relate to."

The podcast series, hosted by Marya, features conversations with diverse personalities, including actor Avinash Tiwary, gamer Animesh Agarwal (8bit_Thug), comedian Aaditya Kulshresth (Kullubaazi), and wildlife photographer Aarzoo Khurana.

The brand also has an active streak of partnering with popular celebrities on campaign bases, having already collaborated with celebs such as Kartik Aaryan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Bhuvan Bam, among others.

Refining the target group

iQOO's "pull" marketing philosophy stems from a deep understanding of their target demographic's behaviour patterns. Rather than targeting the broad 18-34 age group that most brands pursue for this smartphone segment, iQOO has refined its focus to technology enthusiasts who possess relatively deeper technical knowledge and prioritise performance metrics over brand heritage.

"We like to put another layer on top of the 18-34 age group—somebody who understands technology, is passionate about technology, and cares a lot about performance and multitasking," Marya explains.

"This includes people who are passionate about eSports and gaming as well." Just FYI, India has a base of nearly 600 million mobile gamers. 

The brand's confidence in this approach rests on the belief that informed consumers conduct thorough research before making purchasing decisions.

"These are people who will do their own thorough research, even go to the extent of checking out multiple video reviews to be fully sure that this is the right piece of technology for them," Marya notes. "You cannot really convince them through plain, simple marketing lingo."

This philosophy has necessitated a product-first strategy where technical specifications and performance benchmarks take precedence over marketing rhetoric, an approach that typically requires genuine product excellence rather than promotional wizardry.

The brand's product portfolio reflects this targeted approach, spanning from Rs 10,000 to Rs 60,000 across three distinct series: the Z series (up to Rs 20,000), Neo series (Rs 20,000-Rs 40,000), and flagship range (Rs 40,000+).

This tiered strategy acknowledges the budget constraints of their predominantly young customer base whilst offering upgrade paths as purchasing power evolves.

Distribution strategy and market reach

iQOO's distribution approach continues to emphasise digital channels, with Amazon serving as the primary sales platform.

"Because we are selling primarily through Amazon, and Amazon has wide reach across India, our sales are happening pan-India," Marya explains. The brand has supplemented this with its proprietary e-store whilst gradually expanding into traditional retail channels.

This digital-first strategy aligns with their target demographic's shopping preferences and enables competitive pricing. However, it also represents both an opportunity and a constraint in a market where offline presence remains crucial for broader reach, particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Despite the intensely competitive environment, iQOO has maintained growth momentum in the Indian market. "Multiple industry numbers suggest iQOO is amongst the faster-growing brands in the industry," Marya notes, though he acknowledges that building widespread brand recognition remains a work in progress.

The company's success has been supported by broader market trends, including the premiumisation of smartphone purchases as consumers upgrade to higher-value devices.

"We see that the volume growth in the industry is not really that strong anymore, but there is still value growth," Marya observes. "People who already have smartphones are upgrading to better smartphones."