Gionee to invest Rs 150 crore in marketing, target 12 to 25-year-olds

Chinese smartphone maker Gionee, which claims to have clocked Rs 500 crore in sales in FY 2013-’14 in India, is looking to invest Rs 150 crore in marketing to target the core TG of 12 to 25-year-olds, a senior official said.

 

Speaking with Campaign India, Arvind R Vohra, director, Syntech Technology and India head of Gionee Smartphones, said the efforts would be directed at attaining its sales target of Rs 2,500 crore in FY ’15.

 

He added, “Last month, we did Rs 142 crore in revenues. Now, we are looking to grow the revenues of 2013 by five times and we are confident that we will exceed this target in this financial year.”

 

Recently, Gionee launched a youth campaign in association with Universal Music and pop star Enrique Iglesias. “We are also sponsoring teams at EPL globally. Gionee has invested right in TV shows like Khatron ke Khiladi, GIMA Awards, Star Guild Awards,” Vohra said, underlining that the brand was looking at similar marketing strategies.

 

Though the brand only commands 1 to 1.5 per cent share in the mobile phone category, Vohra pointed out that by value, Gionee’s share would be higher. He explained, “By value, it will be double because of our average selling price is twice as compared to others in the market. Over 90 per cent of our business (by value) comes from smartphones.”

 

Gionee claims that its smartphones currently command three percent share in the Indian market.

 

Vohra added that of the current marketing budget, spends on digital media was at 20 per cent, while BTL accounts for 15 to 20 per cent. 

 

Elaborating on the use of digital media, he said, “Our belief is very simple - people research online, purchase offline. When you do a lot of work with online and digital media, your reputation (as a brand) is far better controlled than it is controlled offline. That is why online is a very clear focus for us. Secondly, if you are in office, you will watch big ticket events like FIFA online. That makes it essential for me to be online even if I am not present on air. Online is a big piece of our (marketing) investment. From 20 per cent today, marketing investment in online medium would be 50 to 60 per cent in the next two to three years for Gionee.”