Gionee’s Effective Strategy: Celebrity Endorsement

Gionee’s Effective Strategy: Celebrity Endorsement

During last few years, Gionee has made investments in celebrity endorsements, especially in emerging markets such as India and Nigeria. Celebrity endorsements are an effective way to build brand awareness in a new market and increase brand publicity in a short period of time. As a brand ambassador, Gionee is able to deliver its brand concept and brand image through various formats in many channels.

Let us look at Gionee’s brand ambassadors in India and Nigeria. 

In 2010, the company began to work with the largest handset brand in India and distributed various resources all over the industry chain. Based on their insights into the local market, they developed an effective marketing strategy and built up a good relationship with the entire value chain, including suppliers, telecom operators and retail channels in the India market. In 2013, Gionee finally launched their own brand.

To promote the further development in the India market, Gionee also increased their investment into marketing. Since 2015, Gionee has been the principal sponsor of the two-time IPL winners, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Cricket is the most popular sport in India, and Gionee has been successful in increasing its brand awareness and influence in India through this sponsorship.

In 2016, Gionee signed actress Alia Bhatt as its brand ambassador to promote its flagship product, S6. In early 2017, Gionee also signed on Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli as a brand ambassador. Kohli has been involved in a slew of innovative marketing and customer experience initiatives. The two celebrities are helping the brand amplify its presence and gain brand preference amongst the public in India.

Another important market for Gionee is Nigeria. Having entered the Nigerian market in 2011, Gionee currently ranks second among the Chinese smartphone brands. To demonstrate their focus on this market, Gionee recently revealed that Nigerian music sensation, Deborah Oluseyi Joshua, also known as Seyi Shay, would be a Gionee brand ambassador. The company hope to demonstrate an energetic and youthful image, and motivate consumers through her impact on Nigerian society.

With 15 years of rich experience and development, Gionee has always explored the unique ways in which they can become a global brand. Gionee has attached great importance to localization. By prioritizing local demands, Gionee will continue to go deeper in the market and offer the ultimate user experience to local consumers.

Gionee A1, a Competitive Challenger in the Indian Market

When Gionee A1 was firstly unveiled this February, it won the favor of both the media and end users. Continuing Gionee’s legacy, the brand new A1 offers longer battery life with ultrafast charge and remarkable picture quality to capture selfies. Most importantly, this high quality device available at a very reasonable price, making it very sought after by Gionee fans. The smart selfie expert was also launched in India this March – the device sold over 10 thousand units the very first day.

Pre-orders for A1 started on March 31st. Consumers who reserved the device were offered a 2-year warranty on the phone, along with some extra gifts, such as JBL headphones and Swiss Military Bluetooth Speaker.

In order to build a deep connection with consumers and gain popularity amongst the younger generation in India, the company launched an integrated campaign, #Selfiestan, under the endorsement of Alia Bhat, Gionee’s brand ambassador. She joined various marketing events to further showcase the A1 in front of a youthful and enthusiastic audience. Gionee is going to try and reach out to every last customer in the country. The smartphone giant has signed up another three celebrities –Diljit Dosanjh, Dulquer Salmaan and Shruti Hasan as its regional brand ambassadors, in order to further this objective.

Gionee’s new #Selfiestan campaign introduces to the world a kind of place where everyone can coexist and feel amazing all the time. It depicts a new generation of Hindustanis who love to capture every moment of their life through their phones. By targeting this tribe of selfie lovers who have changed the idea of a selfie from a narcissistic form of expression to a more inclusive ‘smile-and-the-world-will-smile-with-you’ kind of place, Gionee is completely changing the idea of what images can be in India.