Brand Gionee will have yet another strong presence for Indian cricket lovers. The brand has inked a deal for the International Cricket Council Champions Trophy that will make its presence felt every time Gionee’s Brand Ambassador Virat Kohli leads Team India in their title defense, or the nation of 1.3 billion will be following a Champions Trophy game keenly.
Each match involving India, both semi-finals and the final will have a two-minute strong presence of the Chinese smartphone brand, among the leaders in Indian smartphone market. Arvind Vohra, Country CEO and MD, Gionee India, in an exclusive interview with InsideSport shared company’s strong belief in cricket and Bollywood as two strong marketing tools and future plans to continue this fruitful association.
InsideSport: Gionee, being on the front jerseys of KKR and RCB was among the most visible brand during the IPL. What are your plans around ICC Champions Trophy?
Arvind Rao: We have always believed that Cricket and Bollywood are two religions that bind the entire nation together. Our existing associations in the cricketing world with Virat Kohli, and IPL teams Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders have further reinforced our connect with cricket fans all across the country.
Taking this to the next level, we have further tied up with ICC Champions Trophy as one of the sponsors, wherein 120 seconds of our ads would be displayed during each of the following matches:
This association will put us at the forefront in the ICC Champions Trophy with the Gionee brand being visible in 7 matches.
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IS: What are your future considerations for cricket?
AR: Our ultimate objective is to reach out to every last customer in the country and empower them with better ‘selfies’ and bigger battery through our devices. We are extremely happy that our associations in Bollywood and Cricket have proven to be fruitful so far. It has stirred further positivity in us to establish and nurture more relationships in these domains in the coming future.
AR: Our ultimate objective is to reach out to every last customer in the country and empower them with better ‘selfies’ and bigger battery through our devices. We are extremely happy that our associations in Bollywood and Cricket have proven to be fruitful so far. It has stirred further positivity in us to establish and nurture more relationships in these domains in the coming future.
IS: How fruitful Gionee’s association with IPL teams has been? Is Gionee satisfied with the ROIs in KKR and RCB?
Considering IPL is one of the biggest carnivals on the Indian calendar, we tied up with Kolkata Knight Riders as their presenting sponsors. We started this association in 2014. Getting further aggressive on India market, we further bagged the jersey sponsorship for Royal Challengers Bangalore this year, hence becoming the first brand ever to be a jersey sponsor for two IPL teams in the same season.
Both of these associations have been mutually productive and fertile. They helped us reach out to cricket fans across the nation as well as strengthen our existing relationships with customers through the medium of cricket fandom.
IS: Please share data, if possible, on gains from IPL. What kind of market share Gionee has gained during IPL?
AR: A study by GroupM on IPL 2017 suggests that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has been the second-most favoured team. Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s popularity also seems to have rubbed off on the team. Furthermore, RCB is also most favoured among females and Kohli remains the audience’s favourite.
Also, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has the highest social media presence. All of these have acted as direct value additions and made a mutually profitable association for us with both these teams.
IS: Gionee is set to break into top 5 in Indian smartphone market. How fruitful are marketing initiatives around sports to achieve this goal? Considering the fact that market leader Samsung has absolutely withdrawn from investing its marketing share in sports?
AR: India is a homogeneous market, and connecting with consumers across geographies is critical. But Cricket and Bollywood are the two biggest religions. To be able to tap these segments and on board the fans to one’s customer base is a sure shot contributor in success.
At Gionee India, our associations in sports have been extremely lucrative and we look forward to build more such strengthening associations in the future.
IS: Gionee’s plans around sports and cricket beyond IPL? Of course, Virat Kohli the biggest sport and cricket brand icon is with you?
Our wider strategy is to have national personalities from Cricket as well as Bollywood who can take the message of Gionee to empower the customers with selfie and battery across the nation. Hence, our existing relationships have been perfect choices.
Apart from our existing tie-ups with Virat Kohli, KKR and RCB, we at Gionee India are now going to be one of the sponsors for ICC Champions Trophy, securing 120 seconds of visibility for 7 matches during the series.
InsideSport Take
Virat and Alia – Cricket and Cinema. These combinations are working the best for Gionee, among the top smartphone brands for “better selfie” and “bigger battery” loving Indians. At Gionee, the smart strategy has thrown the mad aggression of mobile handset marketing out of the window. The brand is making a steady progress in its targeted market with many of its rivals, who hit the market with a bang, already confined to lower rungs on sales charts.
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