The Nokia Lumia 1520 Marketing Strategy - Coursework Example

NOKIA LUMIA Part Two- Nokia Lumia SUMMARY: The Nokia Lumia 1520 handset is doing exceptionally well at the moment in comparisonto one of its key competitor’s offering, Samsung galaxy S5. Nokia manages to offer better more memory capacity, better camera specifications, innovative navigation features like point of interest and much more. It is not wrong to say that Nokia Lumia is fast catching up to its competitors and is likely to gain a portion of its lost market share in the coming times. For this purpose, our focus has been shifted towards the tablets section. Nokia’s last offering i.e. Nokia Lumia 2520 was doing well for some time but was frowned upon by users for many reasons, one of the major reasons being its lack of support for non-windows supportive applications. People who are targeted for switching are taken aback by the lack of its compatibility with the applications they are accustomed to. Nokia Lumia uses Windows 8.1 RT which only runs apps that are specifically designed for windows RT (Nokia, 2014). Since Nokia has had close collaboration with Microsoft for a long time, it use windows and Microsoft prompted the use of Windows RT for this tablet (The Economist, 2014). If one takes a look at the available apps for windows RT, they become aware of the fact that there aren’t many. Our proposed idea is the launch of Nokia Lumia tablet which will run on Windows 8; offer a wider array of apps, smoother navigation, sleeker and light weight model and brighter screen resolution. In this way the key aspects that it has previously missed out on will be reimbursed and hopefully the market will encourage its move to be customer and competitor driven. VALUE PROPOSITION: Value proposition highlights the offering and how it’s USP (unique selling proposition) helps in catering to the needs of the target market (Entrepreneur, 2014). It helps determining why a customer should go for a certain product. For Nokia Lumia tablet X, our value proposition is as follows: Expected proposition: A Nokia tablet that offers superior customer value through better functionality, reliable customer service, durability and value for money. Augmented: the product will not only surpass customer satisfaction to customer delight, it will be accompanied by accessory warranty, original cover and chance to avail discounted portable keyboard that can be optionally attached. Ideal: the product will meet the developed customer needs in today’s world of iPhones. Nokia Lumia is known for being good but not as good in the tablets category. Thus, ideally the product will surpass customer satisfaction and offer them superior quality tablet that does away with their key concern of not running enough app due to windows RT. COMPETITIVE THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES: STRENGTHS Strong brand equity of the parent brand Nokia and the Nokia Lumia portfolio of cellphones -Availability of financial resources to carry out expensive marketing campaigns to aggressively promotes the new Nokia Lumia Tablet X WEAKNESSES -Market reviews of previous offerings negative and hence the brand perception as compared to the competitors is weak. - Incompatibility with non-windows apps, making the only solution the enhancing of the available windows apps THREATS With a number of market players, there are bound to be many competitive powers that offer if not better, than at par value offered by Lumia tablet X. one of the key threats are: - Chinese replication of the system and distribution in a cheaper manner. As the changes made by them are minor, they cannot be subjected to rigid copyright claims. This can cut down on our revenues from the emerging markets. - Apple enthusiasts are hesitant switchers. OPPORTUNITIES - Generating positive word of mouth through tech website and product authentication/quality claims and proofs. - Enhanced customer insights that can be adapted in the cellphones as well. SEGMENTATION STRATEGY/ TARGET CONSUMERS The segmentation strategy divides the market into categories on the basis of similar variables (Wedel & Kamakura, 2000). Then matching these variables to the company’s capabilities and offering, one or more segment is selected to be targeted. The smartphone and tablet market is vast. Thus demarcating it on the basis of tablet usage of key competitors will help highlight the potential market. Based on variables like tech savvy-ness, affordability, product usage, switching frequency etc., we will be able to determine the ideal target market for our offering. For targeting the segment, many promotional activities will be conducted. Since most of the target market is found online, we will make effective use of social networks to engage customers and entice them to trial the product in the Nokia stores before purchase. By collaborating with tech blogger sand tech review sights we will invite them to test the product for free for some days and write about it. In this way we will in control of the information that is being made available to the prospective buyers through the internet. Advertisements will be aired on news channels and technology related shows. Video reviews will also be featured in new product categories that are highlighted in the technology news by leading media channels. The target market for the Lumia tablet X consists of teenagers, students and young professionals. The reason for choosing this segment of the market is because they are tech savvy and crave for the latest technology. Teenagers are easier to persuade and if satisfied they are bound to become Nokia loyalists. Since young professionals are used to being connected and on-the-go the light weight feature and faster connectivity with better applications will allow them to satisfy their social and connectivity needs. Young professionals also like to be associated with the latest technology and the positioning will complement this need of theirs. CAMPAIGN MIX: Campaign one: product placement and theatre branding Product: the use of Nokia Lumia tablet X in one of the top action movies that can make the brand and its new offering prominent. This movie’s launch has to be synchronized with the product launch as well. Product placement in movies is a good way of reaching out to a sure number of target markets and increasing brand awareness. Price: the price of this campaign will depend on the amount charges by the production house of the movie. The cinema branding is already a part of Nokia’s portfolio so the collaboration can help in building stronger relationships with existing and more cinema houses in the areas of the launch. Place: the campaign will be run in theatres where the movie is being shown and also the launch of Nokia Lumia tablet X co-insides. Promotion: Throughout the time of release and showing, the theaters and cinemas showcasing the movie will be branded exclusively by Nokia Lumia. Ticketing raffles for free Nokia Lumia give away like caps, t-shirt, purchase discount and tablet covers etc. will help build the hype for the product. Campaign two: corporate event sponsorship Product: since one of the target groups are young professionals, training and orientation sessions ay different organizations will be sponsored by Nokia. Through strategic alliances, Nokia can also partner with businesses for the brand of the gadgets that are given out to the employees by the organization Price: since the organizations are at benefit here, we are likely to gain free branding opportunities at the seminars. By offering the businesses discount while procuring gadgets as corporate give-away we will be able to establish relationships for the long term as well. Place: we will target major MNCs and Banks to brand their management trainees sessions where most of the young professional are present. Promotion: employees will be given the opportunity to avail discount on purchase and get required information regarding the product at the kiosks set up at the events. In this way, the chances of the promotion efforts being translated into actual sales are higher. Campaign three: School/college kiosks for the launch Product: in order to cater to our student segment, we will set up kiosks for early booking and discounted sale of accessories. Price: The campaign will require a certain loyalty payment to the institutional administration like percentage of sales generated etc. Place: This campaign will be conducted in all the major universities in the areas of the launch. Promotion: for the purpose of promotion the kiosks will be situated at or near the key recreational areas in the campuses. Discounted accessories and customization options on pre-booking will serve as the key promotions that will drive the target segment to make the purchase. Campaign four: Gaming face-offs This campaign will help target our teenagers well as they are tech-savvy and into gaming. Product: By contractually employing expert gamers we will challenge the people who own other tablets to compete with them. Price: The loyalties paid to the cafes will be minimal as the activities will have wide traditional and digital media coverage contributing to the publicity of the cafes as well. Place: for this campaign we will target all the major gaming zones and popular cafes where teenagers hang out. Promotion: we will initiate a digital promotional activity for this campaign to create the necessary hype and gamers to register. Teaser campaigns at the selected cafes will also help in building up the momentum till the actual day of the face-off. At the even we will offer the runner-ups free merchandise as an appreciation for effort. In this way our target teenagers will be in a better position to understand the offering and how it is targeted towards them as well. INTENDED POSITIONING The intended positioning for Nokia Lumia tablet X is premium. The product will be offered to the medium high to high level income groups and the promise of value will be the sole focus of the organization through its launch and after. In the minds of the consumers, the tablet will be positioned as premium offering by one of the leading cellphone-technology companies in the world, that promise to deliver value for money as well as excellent customer service throughout the life of the device. The added benefit of accessories and their warranty will further assert the Nokia’s promise to not only offer the best value but also maintain relationship with their customers for lifetime. CONCLUSION: From customer reviews available online, one can determine the negatives of the Nokia Lumia range. From being chunky and heavy to handle, to compatibility issues, there are many reasons why the other brand enthusiasts are hesitant to try Lumia tablets. By working upon improving the existing problems and coming up with an offering that is at par, even superior, to many other leading tablet brands. By pricing it at premium and matching the promotion activities with it accordingly, Nokia Lumia tablet X is bound to be a success in the technological gadgets market worldwide. REFERENCES: Wedel, M., & Kamakura, W. (2000). Market segmentation (1st ed.). Boston: Kluwer Academic. The Economist,. (2014). Phone home. Retrieved 4 May 2014, from http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/09/microsoft-and-Nokia Nokia,. (2014). Nokia Lumia 2520. Retrieved 4 May 2014, from http://www.Nokia.com/global/products/tablet/Lumia2520/ Entrepreneur,. (2014). Unique Selling Proposition (USP) Definition | Small Business Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 May 2014, from http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/unique-selling-proposition-usp Read More