Most of us reading this are old enough to remember the palpable excitement generated by the release of flashy new not-yet-smartphones in the early 2000s.
These feature devices came out of the storefronts of various tech companies in myriad shapes, colours, dimensions, and choruses of polyphonic ringtones. A standout moment was definitely the hype in late 2004, when Motorola released the Razr V3, the world’s slimmest flip phone, a device that would go on to sell over 130 million units, making it the bestselling clamshell phone to date.
Cut to today, and, despite that pedigree, Motorola doesn’t really come to mind immediately when one thinks of smartphones. With the launch of the Motorola Razr 40 ultra and Razr 40, the latest additions to its flagship Razr smartphones series, in Delhi earlier this week, and the announcement of Kriti Sanon as the company’s new brand ambassador, Shivam Ranjan, Head of Marketing at Motorola - Asia Pacific, says Motorola is looking to disrupt the market and raise its profile among a new generation of consumers.
“We've not had the sheer weight of voice, or advertising might across multiple channels over the last couple of years, but that's about to change. We're increasing our advertising across retail channels, as well as concentrating on D2C sales through our own websites. And we will be moving from a largely digital advertising strategy to mainstream channels,” says Ranjan, adding that Motorola’s advertising and visibility across multiple consumer touch points are going to go up.
With India becoming the largest consumer market in the world, and slated to soon outpace China as the largest smartphone market in the world, the country is definitely a focus market for Motorola. “It has to be. And as we are looking at doubling volumes over the next three years, we’ll be concentrating on new consumer cohorts, especially Gen Z, which is why our devices are available across multiple price points, from the sub-10K to premium categories,” he says.
Noting that while earlier, both brands and consumers used to concentrate on specs like how many megapixels the camera had or how much the battery mAh was, Ranjan said now the market had evolved. “People are looking at productivity as well as design and features. For instance, our campaign for our Moto G 13 phone centred on design, even though it was in the sub-10k category, as people want phones that look good as well as work well.”
The new Razr series has a global collaboration with Pantone, with the Razr 40 Ultra available in the Pantone Color of the Year 2023, Viva Magenta, exclusive to Motorola devices.
When it comes to the company’s youth strategy, and raising its profile among younger consumers who were not exposed to the brand earlier, Ranjan says the company is not leveraging nostalgia or legacy, but concentrating on what it is doing now as a disruptive technology company.
“We are working closely with influencers, both in tech and lifestyle, and we've now signed on a brand ambassador who Gen Z not only aspire to but is also able to relate to. Kriti Sanon reflects the values of Motorola, as an unconventional and innovative presence in her sphere, just as we aim to be in our market,” he says.
Finally, with video becoming a key medium, Ranjan says we will be seeing Motorola ads across mainstream media, e-commerce platforms, and on TV, CTV, and cinema screens and OOH advertising.
So, Hello Moto!
