Hyderabad: While most handset makers are finding it tough to stay in the smartphone league, they are looking at innovative ways to up the ante.
One such startegy they are hooking onto is by roping in Hollywood stars who are helping companies reposition their brands.
Global companies like HTC have signed a multimillion dollar advertising campaign with Hollywood actor Robert Downey Jr. for their “Here’s to Change” campaign. Ben Ho, CMO?of HTC says: “As a leading changemaker in the movie industry, Rober Downey Jr. was a natural fit to star in our new ad campaign.”
With HTC losing $101 million in last few quarters, the company is planning to regain lost ground with CEO Peter Chou, stepping back from the title and giving more responsibility to co-founder Cher Wang.
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On the domestic front, Micromax took the world by storm after announcing Hugh Jackman as its brand ambassador. The Hollywood star popular for his role as “Wolverine” in X-Men is featured in the Micromax Canvas Turbo ad.
Micromax has a market share of 22 per cent and stands at the second position in India’s smartphone market, beating giants like Sony, Nokia, HTC, Apple, etc.
Experts say there is this perception about made-in-India products being poor in quality. “To shun those apprehensions, the company may have got Hugh Jackman to gloss over this image,” said an analyst.
Micromax in a press release said: “As we look to expand our footprint across the globe in various international markets, the association with the Hugh Jackman is an ideal partnership for us to connect with audiences as he is the leading name in the entertainment industry in the world.”
Though one has have to wait and watch whether these stars will make the brands shine on a glabal platform and boost their sales, handset makers are leaving no stone unturned in repositioning themselves, pointing to grea-ter ad spends.
