It is a very popular trend for companies to rely on the brand power of celebrities to promote their products. Mobile companies like Vivo, Oppo and Gionee are making full use of this trend, with the most popular film stars being their brand ambassadors. Now the premium Smartphone maker One Plus is also taking the same path for its brand recognition.
According to The Economic Times, One Plus had started its entry campaign in a much-deviated way from the conventional. From the phone launch via Virtual Reality to the "Ladies First" campaign, powerful and controversial launch programmes have been a signature of this brand. So the surprising u-turn, involving one of the megastars of the Indian film industry, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, has raised a number of questions over One Plus' new campaign.
Experts recognize this much clichéd move as a ploy to reach out to more number of people in the market and make a mass impact for the One Plus brand. However, still being an exclusive e-commerce product, One Plus should look for diversified price points if it is trying to get out of its niche of premium segment Smartphone.
According to Advertising Age, the new Ad features Mr. Amitabh Bachchan in a quiz show, which mimics his famous show "Kaun Banega Crorepati", asking a contestant about which is the number one Smartphone brand currently available in India out of four given options. Eventually, the answer comes out to be One Plus. This redirects the campaign of a new contest that can see one lucky winner get Rs.1crore as prize money from Mr. Bachchan himself.
While most of the Smartphone companies like to avoid any type of clash with their competitors, One Plus has included the names of its rival brands namely Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Apple iPhone 7 Plus and Google Pixel. One Plus says that it has picked up a research data and included it in the ad campaign. It is not to diminish the competitor brands, but to put the focus on the new product One Plus 3T, adds the company.
Experts opine that right celebrity endorsements can uplift any product and help to make an impact in the market. They also say that it is to be seen how the brand image of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan influences One Plus' brand recognition.
