 "Lenovo keeps its eye on the goal")
Lenovo, with its latest digital campaign called #GirlswithGoals and followed by #KickforABrick is using the gritty story of an all-girls team of footballers from Jharkhand to build its brand with the community of students and young professionals - its core consumers - across the country. The campaign, a culmination of its two-year-old association with non-governmental organisation Yuwa, centres on a docudrama helmed by brand ambassador Ranbir Kapoor about the girls' struggle to play in an international tournament in Spain.
"If you look strategically, the chances of 15-16 girls from a village in Jharkhand actually representing India in a global tournament would be one in a million," says Lenovo India marketing director Bhaskar Choudhuri. "We found that story particularly inspiring."
Lenovo acquired IBM's personal computer business in 2005 and has since become one of the leading players globally in the personal computer business. In India it is just five years since the company has focused on building its brand. From 10.6 percent in 2011-12, it has managed to capture 18.4 per cent of the consumer PC market share in 2015-16. For the first quarter of 2016, its total market share (consumer) stands at 18.5 per cent; HP is number one with 25.6 per cent and Dell at second spot with 20.5 per cent according to IDC.
For Lenovo, a significant proportion of its buyers are students. "(The number of) first time buyers is much higher than that of refresh buyers, who replace their systems in three to five years," says Choudhuri. This is also true for Dell, HP, Asus and Acer, and hence the hunt for a brand narrative that appeals to the target audience.
Branding is all about finding a narrative that fits the character of the product or service being offered, believe experts. Lenovo says its alliance with Yuwa has helped. "They have been a content partner from the beginning," says Choudhuri.
Increasingly brands realise that to keep the attention of their consumers, they need to know how to spin a yarn, especially in a world where the influence of digital media is growing. According to Nielsen India's report (Super Viewer: Powering the desi digital revolution 2015) online viewership in India has doubled since 2011. With five million users making a foray into the digital world every year, India is poised to have nearly 500 million users on the Internet by 2018, suggests another report by Mckinsey & Co and Facebook. None can turn a blind eye to such compelling statistics.
Choudhuri says, "As brands are having a greater play and greater say in digital medium, there is a hunger for new and fresh content." The docudrama about the girls from Jharkhand garnered more than four million views, and the campaign saw a participation of over 8.3 million people, while raising around a total of Rs 100,001 through crowd-funding within the first 10 days of the campaign.
Keep talking
#KickforABrick is a follow-up film whereby the company seeks to extend the brand's association with the Jharkhand girls. The film asks for support for building a school in their village. Ranbir Kapoor is part of this campaign too.
Choudhuri believes that the girls embody Lenovo's brand spirit. "They are our leading, breathing and most inspiring brand ambassadors," he says. This association is as important as the one with Kapoor who has helped scale up awareness about the brand.
Kapoor too embodies the brand's attitude believes Choudhuri who says, "He is the person who has not relied on his legacy. Despite his lineage, he has actually built his success himself." Both Kapoor and the footballers represent the passion and hunger among young Indians, who never give up. "It makes our brand Lenovo very real, because it is not a cosmetic, silver spoon sort of story without blemishes," says Choudhuri.
Target small towns
In the early years in India, soon after it acquired IBM's business, Lenovo focused on the enterprise market. But over the years, it has built its consumer business and concentrated on building its brand. According to Vishal Tripathi, research director with the Personal Technologies Research group, Gartner, Lenovo has been spending significantly in marketing and branding as it has aggressively wooed the consumer segment. According to Gartner, the consumer segment contributed to 45 per cent of the PC sales in India in the first quarter of 2016.
Lenovo has found a lot of demand from tier II and III towns. "And we invested ahead of the curve in creating brand awareness as well as exclusive branded stores, not only across the top towns, but also across Tier I, II and III towns," Choudhuri says. The company also claims to have the biggest network of exclusive Lenovo stores in these towns.
Tripathi believes that Lenovo played its cards right by focusing on its distribution channel and its branding. "One by one the company has put together all the pieces including right products at competitive prices," he says. And now with its latest campaign, it hopes it has perfected its pitch too.
"If you look strategically, the chances of 15-16 girls from a village in Jharkhand actually representing India in a global tournament would be one in a million," says Lenovo India marketing director Bhaskar Choudhuri. "We found that story particularly inspiring."
Lenovo acquired IBM's personal computer business in 2005 and has since become one of the leading players globally in the personal computer business. In India it is just five years since the company has focused on building its brand. From 10.6 percent in 2011-12, it has managed to capture 18.4 per cent of the consumer PC market share in 2015-16. For the first quarter of 2016, its total market share (consumer) stands at 18.5 per cent; HP is number one with 25.6 per cent and Dell at second spot with 20.5 per cent according to IDC.
For Lenovo, a significant proportion of its buyers are students. "(The number of) first time buyers is much higher than that of refresh buyers, who replace their systems in three to five years," says Choudhuri. This is also true for Dell, HP, Asus and Acer, and hence the hunt for a brand narrative that appeals to the target audience.
Branding is all about finding a narrative that fits the character of the product or service being offered, believe experts. Lenovo says its alliance with Yuwa has helped. "They have been a content partner from the beginning," says Choudhuri.
Increasingly brands realise that to keep the attention of their consumers, they need to know how to spin a yarn, especially in a world where the influence of digital media is growing. According to Nielsen India's report (Super Viewer: Powering the desi digital revolution 2015) online viewership in India has doubled since 2011. With five million users making a foray into the digital world every year, India is poised to have nearly 500 million users on the Internet by 2018, suggests another report by Mckinsey & Co and Facebook. None can turn a blind eye to such compelling statistics.
Choudhuri says, "As brands are having a greater play and greater say in digital medium, there is a hunger for new and fresh content." The docudrama about the girls from Jharkhand garnered more than four million views, and the campaign saw a participation of over 8.3 million people, while raising around a total of Rs 100,001 through crowd-funding within the first 10 days of the campaign.
Keep talking
#KickforABrick is a follow-up film whereby the company seeks to extend the brand's association with the Jharkhand girls. The film asks for support for building a school in their village. Ranbir Kapoor is part of this campaign too.
Choudhuri believes that the girls embody Lenovo's brand spirit. "They are our leading, breathing and most inspiring brand ambassadors," he says. This association is as important as the one with Kapoor who has helped scale up awareness about the brand.
Kapoor too embodies the brand's attitude believes Choudhuri who says, "He is the person who has not relied on his legacy. Despite his lineage, he has actually built his success himself." Both Kapoor and the footballers represent the passion and hunger among young Indians, who never give up. "It makes our brand Lenovo very real, because it is not a cosmetic, silver spoon sort of story without blemishes," says Choudhuri.
Target small towns
In the early years in India, soon after it acquired IBM's business, Lenovo focused on the enterprise market. But over the years, it has built its consumer business and concentrated on building its brand. According to Vishal Tripathi, research director with the Personal Technologies Research group, Gartner, Lenovo has been spending significantly in marketing and branding as it has aggressively wooed the consumer segment. According to Gartner, the consumer segment contributed to 45 per cent of the PC sales in India in the first quarter of 2016.
Lenovo has found a lot of demand from tier II and III towns. "And we invested ahead of the curve in creating brand awareness as well as exclusive branded stores, not only across the top towns, but also across Tier I, II and III towns," Choudhuri says. The company also claims to have the biggest network of exclusive Lenovo stores in these towns.
Tripathi believes that Lenovo played its cards right by focusing on its distribution channel and its branding. "One by one the company has put together all the pieces including right products at competitive prices," he says. And now with its latest campaign, it hopes it has perfected its pitch too.