New Advertising Strategy of Chinese Smartphones

In marketing, there's a concept called 'Localization.' According to this concept, a company customizes its product based on the needs of the market in which it is selling. A classic example of this is the introduction of 'Mc Aloo Tikki' burger by McDonald's in India. By the way, it was not innovation or some positive marketing strategy, but McDonald's was forced into this. After McDonald's introduced its classic Beef Burger in India, it had to face mass retaliation as it had inadvertently hurt Indians' sentiments. But, then it introduced a range of localized products, and you see, it's working for it fine now.

There's a reason why we have shared this story with you. You would surely remember that the Chinese smartphone brands have been facing an outburst from the Indian public in recent times. This is mainly due to the border issues going on, and banning Chinese products might teach China a lesson, is what we suppose. But, China is not a kind of country that would let the losses happen; it believes in finding ways and manipulating the other party. So, it has done it once again by highlighting the 'Make in India' campaign in its smartphone advertisements. Read on to find out more.

What exactly is going on with the Chinese advertising strategy?

Chinese smartphone brands have a huge share in the Indian market. Since the border tensions have increased between India and China, there has been a collective voice raised by Indians to ban Chinese products. Of course, a prevailing negative sentiment is not good, so Chinese smartphone brands had to find them away. And, probably they have found it in marketing.

The advertising campaigns are now highlighting the 'Make in India' campaign. The reason is simple, before the hatred sprouts against a phone, a user might see the 'Make in India' logo, which might pacify him. Although, there's another side of the Indian outburst as well. Many people were trolled for the fact that they might be tweeting or posting in social media against the Chinese smartphone brands by using a Chinese smartphone themselves. However, this is a different story altogether, and we've already covered it in one of our previous editions.

One basic question that arises here is that why are Chinese smartphones doing this? We'll have to understand this statistically. As per a research report, Chinese smartphone brands have captured 80% of the market. Also, their annual advertising spend is cumulatively around 2500 crores! Now, the answer to the question is the upcoming Indian festive season. The Indian festive season is the most crucial time for Chinese smartphone brands due to the highest sales. Therefore, the Chinese smartphone brands have started advertising again (increasing their media spend) and are trying to woo Indians with a changed advertising strategy.

Now, coming back to where we started from – Localization. This time the localization is not product-based but advertising-based. The Chinese smartphone brands are trying to keep it normal while things are going against them. However, we also need to understand that Make In India is beneficial for the country, and if Chinese companies are practicing it, that's actually good for us. Because we do not have any competitive Indian smartphones yet, it is quite possible that with Make in India, Indian companies will get the requisite boost and motivation to better their products while the campaign will contribute to the economy as well. Will you buy a Chinese smartphone that highlights 'Make in India'? We leave it for you to decide.