nokia mrkt mx strtgy

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Nokia also tied up with Bharti cellular in 2005 to customize its handsets through

which its users could access multimedia services by using an additional key on the

mobile phone. Also since many FM channels were introduced in India in early

2000s, Nokia banked on the opportunity by coming with FM phones attracting a lot

of youth. Later on in 2005, Nokia came with SMS services in other Indian languages

including Marathi, Tamil, Bengali and Kannada.

In November 2007, Nokia came with Bollywood classic movie Sholay preloaded in

N95 8GBand N81. This gave opportunity to cinema buffs to now watch the movie

Sholay on the go. The N series is a multimedia sub-brand of Nokia. "It is one of the

biggest blockbusters that the Hindi film industry has churned out. There could have

been no better option than this flick, which is liked by every age group equally,"

said Vineet Taneja, business director of multimedia, Nokia India. (Web 11)

As part of its strategy to connect with the young population in India, Nokia has

been associating with youth passions like Cool Sports, Music, and Fashion. In the

genre of Cool Sports, Nokia hosted the Ngage QD Gaming Championship, DefendYour Turf, the first ever futsal Championship. Over the last few years, in music Nokia

has brought several world class music artists including, Shakira, Shaggy, Mark

Knopfler, Sting and Enrique Iglesias to India. In Fashion, Nokia has a strong

association with Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week and Nseries lifestyle led

campaigns amongst others. (Web 12)

In another attempt to give India handsets which will enable them to use more

features, Nokia is in process of making cheap GPRS enabled handset. In this

handset, the users can surf the net at a very reasonable price. Again targeting the

low and middle income class, who are interested in using the new facilities

available. "We are planning to bring internet access to all the masses in Indiathrough our low-cost handsets... the company is working diligently towards it," said

Nokia's Senior Vice President - Entry Business Unit (Mobile Phones Business Group)

Soren Peterson in an interview. (Web 13)

Pricing

Pricing of the phones was of prime importance for success in India. Being a

developing country, the purchasing power of the people was not high as compared

to other developed countries. Research unveiled that phones of lower price range

(below Rs8000 or $200 approx.) amounted for 65% of the total sales in India. Nokia

depended majorly on rural market, therefore, pricing was a major success factor forthe company. Nokia did achieve success in India, in spite of the fact, that its

handsets were not the cheapest in the market.

Nokia 1100, which was specially launched for India, was priced at Rs. 4000. This

price, although was at a premium as compared to entry level phones, but was

enhanced with several special features which were not available in other phones of

the same price. The head of marketing at Nokia India, Sanjay Behl said, The phone

-Submitted by Sharique MMS A


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is a combination of product benefits and pricing (Web 14). This model further

became the best selling model ever in India. It also increased the brand preference

of Nokia from 66% to 77% within 9 months of its launch. This show how nature of

Indian consumer is value sensitive. The major strategically move by Nokia in this

regard was that it charged a lower price in India than most of other countries for the

same model.

Place (Distribution)

Mobile phones in India are considered as to be consumer durable, hence they are

not just sold through exclusive telecom retailers but also through general retailers.

Nokia designed its distribution strategy on lines of FMCG business.

An important reason for the success of mobile phones in India was limitedreach of the landline phones in several parts of the country(e.g. waiting of

MTNL line). By mid 2005 the mobile phone sales in smaller towns and cities was

higher than those of the metropolitans. The sales in these urban markets were

beginning to saturate. The distribution in these small towns called for non

traditional channels. Nokia strengthened their distribution network, and

selected distributors from FMCG line or experience holders for durables or

automobiles. In fact, about a fifth of the mobile phone sales in India were consumer

durables or service providers shops.

In 1995, Nokia tied up with HCL Infinet for sales and distribution of its phones and

appointed them as Nokia distributor for GSM handsets in India. HCL Infinet provided

a complete range of Nokias GSM mobile phones, data products and mobile

services. The retail network they developed was very strong and dedicated. They

came up with Nokia Professional Centers (NPCs), Nokia Priority Dealers (NPDs) and

redistribution stockiest all over India. NPCs were one stop shops for the complete

range of Nokia mobile phones, batteries, chargers, accessories, covers, hands free

kits and car kits amongst others. It also provided the after sales services for Nokias

handsets. NPCs were multibrand retails outlets with 60% of their area dedicated to

Nokia. While redistribution stockists were for supplying handsets across India.

HCL also came with Nokia Care Centers (NCCs) for providing solutions to mobile

related problems. These were spread all over the country and provided phone

repairing software up-gradation services. They also displayed complete range

mobile phones, data products and complete mobile phones accessories. Another

effective concept that Nokia up with in 2005, was that of Nokia Concept Store in

Bangalore in south India. It was located in the city centre, MG Road. This concept

store is being set up with an objective to provide Indian consumer with a truly

enhanced mobility experience through its cast and exciting range of Nokia products



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and mobile accessories. We are keen to lead a unique mobile retailing experience

for consumers through these thouch points Sanjay Behl, Head Marketing, Nokia

India (Web 15). Details as per Nokia website are given below.

Nokia Concept Store in Bangalore was the country's first concept store in India to

provide customers a complete experiential mobile experience. The store measuresapproximately 2,000 square feet and is designed to reflect the design ethic of the

Nokia brand. The layout and design of the store follows the same pattern as Nokia

Concept Stores around the world to guarantee an easy and informative shopping

experience. With a simple-to-navigate setup, open doorways and low-glare lighting,

the store provides a relaxed and satisfying customer experience. The high-tech

display terminals and dedicated areas for Imaging, Smart, Multimedia, Business and

Entry phones make it easy for the public to keep up to date on the latest

technologies and trends in the mobile industry. Nokia today has eight Nokia

'Concept stores' in Bangalore, Delhi, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Ludhiana,

Chennai and Indore (Web 12).

Nokia kept its promise of enhancing the mobile experience of its customers. In

October 2007, they launched the first 'global format' Nokia Concept Store in

Western India at Indore. Located at MG road and spread over 3500 sq. feet, square

feet, the state-of-the-art Nokia Concept Store will provide mobile phone consumers

in Indore a world class interactive and informative shopping experience, allowing

them to get a first-hand experience before making a purchase decision. (Web16).

Nokias vast distribution network covered almost every city or town where mobile

network was available.

Promotion

Nokia entered India with one for mobile services to start, and had to establish its

non-popular brand. To build credentials the company used both print and television

campaigns. In the early days, print media concentrated on Nokias status, global

R&D and international awards won to establish brand awareness. Even after the

market grew, Nokias advertisements concentrated on product attributes.

Gaining acceptance of Indian consumer is not as simple as other countries. India is

a multicultural country, where people have strong believe in their mythology,

nationality and cultures and to add to it, their purchasing power was not as high as

other countries where Nokia was operating. Hence, to achieve approval of the

mobile consumers in India, Nokia decided to localize its products heavily. For thepurpose of developing the products specifically for markets with high population

and low penetration, Nokia developed a team called Mobile Entry Business Unit.

Until 2003, Nokia used all their international advertisements with slight

modifications in India. For instance, the advertisement for NGAGE showed two

young persons getting bored stuck in traffic jam and then they show them combat

with super natural powers. It showed how NGAGE could help them pass their time.



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But it did not have a very good affect on the Indian audience as they could not

relate themselves to the people over there. There was needed to make special

advertisements for India.

Nokia India marked its special presence in advertisement world with Made for India

ad campaign on the launch of Nokia 1100 (Appendix 3). This was the fourthadvertisement created in India but created maximum stir in the industry. The

advertisement showed that the Nokia 1100 was launched first in India and

addressed all the concerns of Indian consumers. The advertisement made a clear

deviation from hitherto hip urban-focused advertisements that Nokia are known for.

It aimed at highlighting the broad appeal of mobile phones across all socio-

economic segments of India. The aim was to highlight Nokias Indian image.

Analysts believed that Nokia would lose the top end consumers who attached lot of

importance to mobile phones as a style statement. Sanjeev Sharma, Managing

Director, Nokia Mobile Phones India, said No, not in the least does the latest piece

o communication create dissonance in the minds of consumers with regard toNokias brand image. The technology driven ads have created a rub-off on the

entire Nokia range. And fashion and lifestyle products create a desire at all levels,

be it the first-time urban or rural user. (Dixit, 2004). The advertisement was a

success, and Nokia 1100 went on to become best seller not just in India but also

worldwide.

The major reason for handset was, Nokia was expecting exponential growth in small

towns and rural areas. The company planned to build brand loyalty amongst this

segment. They conducted research to get to know the needs and concerns of the

users of this segment. As Sanjeev Sharma said, One of the things we found out

was that the torch is of high value. Besides that a major concern was dust Peoplefeared that dust might penetrate through the gaps of their keypad, and that

explains the extensive use of handset covers in India. Another major concern was

the grip of the phone, because of the climatic conditions in this country people

usually have sweaty palms, and therefore the, what if the handset slips?

One advertisement that Nokia made in 2000 was a public interest advertisement,

urging users to switch off their cell phones while watching movies. It showed a clip

where hero picks up an argument with person sitting in front row in a movie

theatre. One of the advertisements was for Nokia 2280 which was offered in bundle

with reliance mobile connection. This was a simple one which educated the

audience of availability of cheap handset with bundled airtime.

Cricket is considered a religion in India. Nokia has had a strong association

with the sport through its advertisements. In an advertisement released during

cricketing season of 2003, a cricket fan was watching cricket with his daughter and

a prospective groom walks in, the father throws the ball to him, which he is unable

to catch. The dejected young lad starts to walk away, just then the television gets



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blank. The enthusiast fan is frantically trying to find the score. The boy gets a

message of latest score update on his Nokia mobile phone, impressing the father.

The advertisement targeted the middle class youth of India. Recently, Nokia

sponsored the ICC World Twenty20 2007 in South Africa. To its luck, India

won the world cup and this format of the game was an instant hit in India. In 2007

itself, Nokia was the 'on air' sponsor for the West Indies World Cup and for theChampions Trophy held in India, 2006 (Web 17).

In 2004, network provider Hutch came up with television on mobile phone. Clips

from these 13 television channels can be accessed by Hutch and Orange users

through their EDGE-enabled mobile phones, said Mr Harit Nagpal, Chief Marketing

Officer, Hutch (Web 18). Hutch then came with an advertisement showing people

watching television on Nokia 6630 which was EDGE enabled. This helped Nokia to

increase its sales.

Another successful, India-specific campaign was the one where phones with Saral

Mobile Sandesh (Hindi SMS) were promoted. It targeted the rural India, wheremobile penetration is low. The advertisement showed a postman giving a mobile to

a girl which was sent to her by her brother so that she can exchange Hindi SMSes

with her brother. It was a audience specific advertisement and encouraged the use

of Hindi SMS amongst the rural population

Nokia was not the market leader in colored handsets. To regain its share, it came up

with advertisement Har Jeb mei Rang (color in every pocket) for Nokia 2600. It was

a very colorful advertisement, showing colors spreading out of Nokia phone. It

showed the idea of color spreading happiness in every life.

Nokia came up with some good advertisements around the end of 2007. One ofthem starring the superstar of Hindi cinema, Shah Rukh Khan calling Nokia as his

friend and companion for 10 years. He expresses how it brings and spreads

happiness and how it has been with him through the ups and downs of his life.

Other advertisements have been model specific as Nokias advertisements have

always been. Other advertisements include Nokia 7900 Prism, The new edge in

fashion and Nokia E series, Success is the name of the game. Another

advertisement shows Nokia 1650 with features of cricket game, alarm amongst

others at a very reasonable price.

As a part of its strategy to enrich mobile user experience, Nokia announced its

association with Bollywood's most awaited multi star blockbuster, Om Shanti Om(OSO). As a part of this tie-up, Nokia users can exclusively watch OSO movie clips,

behind the scenes videos, ring tones and wallpapers on their mobile phones. Nokia

has created a special 'OSO Crazy mobisode', animated characters of 'OM' (played by

Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan) that can be downloaded exclusively on all Nokia

GPRS enabled handsets by dialing 55555 or from www.nokia.co.in/oso, a special

website created for Nokia and OSO association (Web 19).



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Nokia followed model-specific advertising for most part. Different

advertisements were made for each model of Nokia, making it easy to

target the specific audience, which will demand that model. Even different

media was used according to the audience. Nokia even faced the problem of brand

identification in the early stages as there were no specific signs suggesting that it

was an advertisement from Nokia. Since 2005, Nokia has embarked a newadvertising plan to consolidate its ad campaigns and strengthen its brand identity.

Marketing theory says a brand cannot be all things to all people.

But Nokia has a problem promoting other brands under its corporate umbrella."Unlike the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) market -- where the product

lifecycle is at least 10 and sometimes 50-100 years -- models have a lifespan of 15-

24 months here," says Devinder Kishore, Nokia India's director of marketing. With

such a lifecycle, promoting various models would mean watching money go downthe drain in a couple of years.

Instead, Nokia is promoting platforms -- music, for instance. With this approach,

one model can replace another while the branding remains the same, or is

extended slightly with the E series and N series. "Nokia has done well to focus onthe 'mother' brand rather than on 'another' brand,"

"The company has created a ladder for consumers to climb from the low end to the

middle end to the high end, while being fully assured that they will be with the

mother brand Nokia."

When asked about Nokias advertisements, the respondents believed that the advertisement for Nokia

1100 was a phenomenon by itself. The phone was made especially for Indian conditions and

advertisement showing a truck driver using the phone was perfect for the campaign. According to

respondents, the advertisement changed the way Indian audience felt for Nokia. The advertisementmade the audience feel a bond between them. People almost forgot that Nokia was a foreign

company. Made for India ad campaign was revolutionary it changed the way people thought about

Nokia it became more of a home company than other people could relate to it Rishi

The Nokia 1100 ad increased my sale by a fortune I cater to the lower level customers, and the

phone was made for them the ad highlighted its features the impact was such that customers new

to mobile phone believed that it was an Indian company



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