Commoditization of Mobile Category
If you are in India one thing that you can’t escape is IPL. It is almost everywhere, at the water cooler conversations, in the news and the live matches.
And thus it becomes one of the reasons to become a largest launch pad for most of the brands. Next being, it is in March-April the beginning of financial calendar in India.
With this come launches, expensive advertising, new advertising, expensive advertising, smart advertising and cheeky advertising with a very clear objective to occupy consumer mind space.
I picked up mobile advertising as it has seen maximum action during IPL. There have been Videocon, Karbon mobiles, as a ground sponsor, Maxx time out sponsor, Samsung on air associate sponsor and Micromax with spot buys, Nokia with brand placement on KKR T shirts. Not to mention the sub brands.
Adding to this jamboree are the service providers Videocon a new kid on the block, Docomo, Vodafone, MTS, Reliance data service Tata Photon Data Service and Tata Tele services.
While there’s so much action, the brands have been focusing heavily on functional attributes that a phone can offer. There’s nothing that is unique to anyone.
With everyone focusing so much on functional attributes, they are not only lost in clutter their aspirational value is also at stake. Even creating a differentiator like “High aesthetic” will become a vicious cycle.
Do you ever think why Mac I phones do not advertise in India still sell at a premium? And I pad is already a rage.
Well, we should not be surprised. As Indians are used to and have grown up worshiping Gods. We have a different God appealing to different TG and need. Money = Laxmi, Education = Saraswati, Power = Durga, Male = Hanuman Ideal married male = Ram, Single yet unorthodox= Shiva and so on...
Even though each God is capable of doing everything and is loaded with multi tasking ability. Why haven’t have we challenged this system, because it is convenient and accessible. And every God very clearly offers a single minded proposition.
Time has come when especially for bigger brands to which elevates us from being a functionally superior brand to an emotionally superior brand value which is not imitable.
And thus it becomes one of the reasons to become a largest launch pad for most of the brands. Next being, it is in March-April the beginning of financial calendar in India.
With this come launches, expensive advertising, new advertising, expensive advertising, smart advertising and cheeky advertising with a very clear objective to occupy consumer mind space.
I picked up mobile advertising as it has seen maximum action during IPL. There have been Videocon, Karbon mobiles, as a ground sponsor, Maxx time out sponsor, Samsung on air associate sponsor and Micromax with spot buys, Nokia with brand placement on KKR T shirts. Not to mention the sub brands.
Adding to this jamboree are the service providers Videocon a new kid on the block, Docomo, Vodafone, MTS, Reliance data service Tata Photon Data Service and Tata Tele services.
While there’s so much action, the brands have been focusing heavily on functional attributes that a phone can offer. There’s nothing that is unique to anyone.
With everyone focusing so much on functional attributes, they are not only lost in clutter their aspirational value is also at stake. Even creating a differentiator like “High aesthetic” will become a vicious cycle.
Do you ever think why Mac I phones do not advertise in India still sell at a premium? And I pad is already a rage.
Well, we should not be surprised. As Indians are used to and have grown up worshiping Gods. We have a different God appealing to different TG and need. Money = Laxmi, Education = Saraswati, Power = Durga, Male = Hanuman Ideal married male = Ram, Single yet unorthodox= Shiva and so on...
Even though each God is capable of doing everything and is loaded with multi tasking ability. Why haven’t have we challenged this system, because it is convenient and accessible. And every God very clearly offers a single minded proposition.
Time has come when especially for bigger brands to which elevates us from being a functionally superior brand to an emotionally superior brand value which is not imitable.
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