In a new episode of Pitch BrandTalk - a video series that engages with the senior management of brands to churn out innovative insights - Pitch delved into the launch of Lenovo's newest series, 'Brave New Art 2.0' with Chandrika Jain, Marketing Director, Lenovo India. Jain sheds light on the objectives behind this initiative, its alignment with the company's overarching marketing strategy, and the insights garnered from the previous season. She also discusses in detail the brand’s alignment with young adults and GenZ and how it stands out.

Lenovo India has come up with season 2 of Brave New Art recently - a series that celebrates creators from traditionally distinct worlds of art and technology, teaming up to create a unique, new work of art. According to Jain, “The objective of Lenovo's 'Brave New Art' continues to remain, being able to bring up authentic, engaging, useful content to the youth or the Gen Z audience. That was the fundamental of why we even came up with the idea of merging art and technology." She mentions that Season Two builds upon this foundation, exploring braver ways to connect with the audience through innovative content creation.

Reflecting on the success of season one, Jain highlights the positive response and key insights gained and says, "Brave New Art was an experiment while we wanted to get the attention and build authentic content. What we learned is, this works brilliantly. Not only did we produce engaging content, it was content that our audiences loved." The overwhelming response and engagement from the audience served as a powerful validation, emboldening Lenovo to push the boundaries further with Brave New Art 2.0.

Targeting the Gen Z demographic, through strategic placement across social media platforms and YouTube, Lenovo endeavours to create an immersive experience that resonates deeply with this youthful demographic.  Jain explains, "If you're speaking to the younger audience, the obvious media base becomes social." Additionally, the brand is continuing its partnership with Hotstar, where season one content garnered impressive results. She further adds, “We have to look at this holistically and not just as Hotstar. But within Hotstar, we have the ability, much like what connected TV brings to us, to target the right kind of audiences, and the ability to serve up the content in multiple different ways.”

Divulging more on how Lenovo India sort of envisions building the brand's narrative and market position with content pieces like this, Jain highlights that the key learning with Brave New Art has been that content is extremely critical for the brand to be able to tell its story. Adds Jain, “Going back to the fundamentals of marketing - it is about being able to tell a story and if you can tell that story in ways that are meaningful to your audience, then that's the best way to do it.” She elaborates on Lenovo's approach to content creation, emphasising the importance of authenticity and consistency in brand storytelling. She further mentions, "Content is a very large portion of what we want to do and we are doing and it's only going to get bigger and better." Lenovo aims to continue this narrative across its product lines - especially the Yoga and Legion series, ensuring a cohesive brand experience. 

In a crowded market vying for Gen Z's attention, Jain highlights the importance of authenticity and understanding what resonates with this audience. Building trust and transparency are key differentiators for Lenovo. Discussing differentiation in a competitive market, she mentions the importance of authenticity and understanding the audience's preferences. "Standing out among this audience is not easy. If brands can be one among this generation, by understanding what works and what doesn’t, that will go a long way for the brand.” For Jain, being as authentic as possible with this generation will always be the key.

For Jain, when it comes to leveraging brand identity and values to resonate with consumers across diverse market segments, it's essential to maintain a consistent personality that embodies honesty, boldness, and disruption, much like individuals possess distinct traits. While communication channels and content types may differ across demographics and regions, she adds, “Brands have to have  a personality, much like you and I and Lenovo's core brand personality will remain consistent.”

Looking ahead, Lenovo India aims to solidify its position as a leading PC brand in India like its presence in the global market. Jain hints at ambitious plans for the brand's future, which they plan to achieve through aggressive marketing initiatives and product launches. She further mentions that the marketing focus will continue to highlight Lenovo's investment in products and brand building.