In art, two distinct worlds have long stood apart: the traditional analogue and the modern digital, which rarely intersect. What if these worlds were to collide? What if cutting-edge technology became the bridge that connected them, allowing for an interesting fusion of creativity? Lenovo India answers these questions with their new video series, Brave New Art for its Yoga series laptops. Chandrika Jain, Director - Marketing, Lenovo India, sheds light on the concept behind their new video series.

The Creative Brief

"It's not like any other traditional piece of content that generally we have built in the past or brands have built," says Jain. She explains that the inspiration for this unique concept came from the competitive landscape and the need to capture the attention of Gen Z. "The question was - how can we build content that is authentic that would make the audience want to engage with us? Then we looked at art and saw that they exist in different forms - analogue and digital, and the convergence of the two seemed like the perfect way to achieve that," she adds.

To bridge the gap between analog and digital art, Lenovo drew inspiration from their Yoga device, known for its creative capabilities. "Our Yoga devices are designed for creators, and we wanted to showcase how these devices can bring the two forms of art together.  We tried to bring art from analog and allow it the limitless possibility that digital offers and see what can be created, and that is how Brave New Art was formed - all of it enabled through technology. Showcasing our intent at Lenovo, we build smarter technology for everybody and the intent of that technology is to enable people" Jain remarks.

Promoting ‘Brave New Art’

Lenovo embarked on this journey in collaboration with artists such as Shantanu Hazarika, MC Ham, Meher Malik, and Prithvi Shetty. "These four creators brought their unique perspectives to merge analog and digital art. Together, we created a two-part series that showcases the beauty and versatility of brave new art. There is a music video and a 3D immersive session, which are already giving rise to a variety of content." Jain explains.

When asked about Lenovo’s promotional strategies for the series, Jain emphasizes their focus on the Gen Z audience. "Gen Z is at the core of the creator economy, and our research shows that engaging with them requires a thoughtful approach around the kinds of media that this audience would be most available on. We have leveraged a multi-channel strategy, including social media platforms, over-the-top (OTT) services, connected TV, and YouTube, to reach and captivate our target audience," she reveals. Lenovo's brave new art campaign has already achieved impressive results. Jain shares, "We have reached approximately 20 million people, and the content has garnered around 30 million views."

Strengthening ‘Brand’ Lenovo

Lenovo's unique value proposition lies in its commitment to ‘Smarter Technology For All - which is its tagline and intent as stated by Jain. "The way in which Lenovo thinks about content is always in differentiated forms and in authentic forms. At Lenovo, we believe in making technology accessible to everyone. Our focus is not just on building smarter technology but also on putting it in the hands of as many people as possible. This democratic approach differentiates us," Jain asserts.

Further highlighting Lenovo's dedication to providing a consistent customer experience, she adds "Customer service and brand loyalty are of utmost importance to us. We have implemented various measures to ensure customer satisfaction at every touchpoint, from pre-purchase to post-purchase. Whether it’s the ‘PcPal’ that helps consumers to make choices on the kind of laptops that might suit their requirements best and options to customise their device at the pre-purchase stage; an omnichannel approach of selling laptops at different touchpoints at the purchase stage or ADP (Accidental Damage Protection) that saves customer money should they opt for it at the post-purchase stage. Our goal is to make the entire customer journey seamless and enjoyable," she explains.

Additionally, Data and analytics play a crucial role in Lenovo's marketing strategies. Jain explains, "We believe in responsible marketing driven by data intelligence. We conduct extensive research and analysis to understand our customers better, we run brand trackers. This helps us refine our media strategies and deliver targeted content to the most relevant audience. We track our media very, very closely. That gives us a good sense of what works for our audiences. Data and Research are two things that drive us as a brand. We are very disciplined about it and are constantly seeking newer ways of understanding our customers more and Lenovo invests a lot in that area."

Marketing Secrets

Digital platforms have become integral to Lenovo's marketing efforts in reaching and engaging audiences, Jain acknowledges. "Digital channels are a vital part of our media mix. Marketing is about finding our audiences where they are available, in meaningful places, and in opportunities where they have the mind space. We use digital as a medium to do exactly that, and we explore all its forms. May that be direct programmatic or building content through platforms like YouTube or Social as a medium that is Meta. We've progressed to audio as a medium, OTT and connected TV are becoming part of that portfolio to connect with our target audience in meaningful ways," she adds.

When asked if it’s safe to say that digital takes up most of the media budget allocation percentage, says Jain “Digital is a very large portion of our media spend. Depending on the customer and where the customer is found is how we lay our media dollars. For Brave New Art, it was a largely digital spend, but should my objective be different, and my audience be different then that mix would change”. On increasing marketing spends in the near future, she adds “The ‘brand’ is a very fundamental part for Lenovo as a company. We are looking at strengthening our brand so investments towards that would be critical for us going forward.”