Cheesy marketing, but Micromax, after taking on Nokia with cheaper (and feature rich) handsets is now dreaming big with Android devices.
And their latest target is iPhone – they are marketing Android A70 device with a ‘ i (can afford this) phone’ tagline.
PROS Of this marketing campaign:
- has a cheeky appeal. goes with the ‘youth’ segment, Micromax is running after.
- has a bold appeal – high time, Micromax does this.
- enhances the brand value – maybe there is a ‘let me try A70’ appeal after seeing this ad. But one just hopes that it’s a worthy competitor to iPhone (?).
If the phone doesn’t lives up to the campaign (which is a typical thing with Indian companies – i.e. disconnect between marketing and engineering), then this will bring a big bad name to the Micromax brand (which is currently known for low-cost devices and does not have a top-of-mind recall when it comes to serious smartphones).
CONS:
- Reinforces that iPhone is still an aspirational brand (aspirational is something you aspire to and sometimes, you just cannot afford it). So this is actually an iPhone ad!
- Android: Frankly, I am not sure if Android wants to be seen as an ‘affordable’ (read: cheap) alternative to iPhone.
Though such campaigns are short-lived and are meant to create instant buzz (otherwise why would we be writing about A70, a month after its release?), this also demonstrates the DNA of the company (Nokia can never plan for such a cheeky campaign in their lifetime).
What’s your take on this messaging?
