MA Marketing Communications - IMC Project - Dionis Kole - AN IMC CAMPAIGN PLAN FOR THE RE-POSITIONING OF HTC CORPORATION FROM THE PREMIUM TO THE MID-END SMARTPHONE MARKET.

`*
NAME OF COURSE: MA MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
MODULE REFERENCE NUMBER: 4MMC7A5
YEAR OF ENTRY: 2013
HOST SCHOOL: WESTMINSTER BUSINESS SCHOOL
STUDENT NAME: DIONIS KOLE
STUDENT NUMBER: 141535655
PROJECT TITLE: AN IMC CAMPAIGN PLAN FOR THE RE-POSITIONING OF HTC
CORPORATION FROM THE PREMIUM TO THE MID-END SMARTPHONE MARKET.
DATE OF SUBMISSION: 27/01/2014

AKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to dedicate this project to my parents for their never-ending support
throughout my studies. Thank you for letting me to follow my dreams and always
being there for me.
Furthermore I would like to thank all the MAMC lecturers for their endless stream of
knowledge they transferred to me and for inspiring me to always become better and
have a thirst for knowledge. A big thank you to my supervisor Anne Barker who was
always there to support and guide me thorough the year.
It has been a wonderful journey filled with wonderful, passionate, smart and inspiring
people. Thank you all for making this journey of one year filled with moments I will
cherish for life.

0. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report provides an analysis and evaluation of the current financial stability,
market analysis, marketing communications, internal and external issues of HTC
Corporation. In 2013 HTC had one of its worst years ever with the brand operating
with £63 million profit loss in Q3 of 2013 while narrowly avoiding another loss on the
next quarter due to selling its stake in Beats Audio. An in depth analysis conducted
showed that HTC’s downfall is attributed to not one but many issues. Some of the
main factors are competition from established brands in the premium segment, lack
of marketing budget and the loss of touch with its consumers. HTC relies only on
smart phones for its revenue while its competitors have a number of other products
that generate income. Moreover HTC produces more than 30 devices each year
which do not sell due to lack of marketing budget. This has resulted in many other
issues, namely lack of long term support of devices which has driven many
customers away.
After evaluating the forces in the market it was identified that the biggest opportunity
for HTC comes by re-positioning in the mid-end market. An integrated marketing
communications campaign is proposed with a £6 million budget for the UK market
which will generate an ROI of 1:3.2 and an estimated increase of £19 million for the
6 months of the campaign. The integrated campaign will combine marketing
communications tools to reach the tech savvy 16-34 target audience which was
identified as the most profitable and identifies with the values HTC as a brand has.
The campaign will use a combination of sales promotions and events which will
engage the consumers and make them feel part of a culture and add value to the
brand. The IMC aims to reposition HTC in the mid-end market and adopt a long term
strategy which will bring HTC back to the forefront of the smartphone market for the
coming years.
This recommendation was based on the best available data from a number of
reliable sources including HTC’s own reports. However there might be differences
between the report and actual situation based on the limitations of the sources and
the lack of insider information.
PROJECT WORD COUNT - 16231

Contents
0. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................3
1. OVERVIEW AND CLARIFICATION OF THE TOPIC..................................................................................6
1.1 Why HTC? ..................................................................................................................................7
2. ABOUT HTC Corp.................................................................................................................................9
2.1 Brief History ..................................................................................................................................9
2.2 Financial Performance ................................................................................................................11
2.3 Organisational Structure.............................................................................................................15
2.4 The scope of HTC’s business .......................................................................................................16
2.5 The future of HTC........................................................................................................................17
3. RESEARCH SOURCES..........................................................................................................................18
4. MACRO ANALYSIS OF HTC.................................................................................................................19
4.1Market Analysis............................................................................................................................20
4.2 PESTEL analysis of the UK market...............................................................................................22
4.2.1 Implications for HTC.............................................................................................................23
4.3 Porters 5 forces...........................................................................................................................24
4.4 Competitors Analysis ..................................................................................................................26
5. MICRO ANALYSIS OF HTC..................................................................................................................27
5.1 SWOT...........................................................................................................................................27
......................................................................................................................................................27
5.1.2 Strategies. Strengths /Opportunities/Weaknesses/Threats................................................28
5.2 Ansoff’s Matrix............................................................................................................................30
6. MARKETING OBJECTIVES / STRATEGIC CONTEXT .............................................................................32
7. CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE ................................................................................................33
7.1 The role of IMC in Marketing Management ...............................................................................33
7.2 IMC objectives and purpose .......................................................................................................36
7.3 The IMC Objectives .....................................................................................................................38
8. TARGET MARKET AND CUSTOMER PROFILES ...................................................................................40
8.1 Geo-demographic classification (ACORN)...................................................................................41
8.2 Values/Attitudes & Lifestyle segmentation framework .............................................................42
8.3 Sample Consumer Profiles ..........................................................................................................44
8.4 Means End Chain ........................................................................................................................45
9. Branding issues of HTC......................................................................................................................47
9.1 Brand Wheel of HTC One............................................................................................................47

9.2 Keller’s Brand Equity Model........................................................................................................48
10. COMMUNICATIONS AND CAMPAIGN STRATEGY ...........................................................................51
10.1 Campaign Message ...................................................................................................................51
10.2 Brand Image..............................................................................................................................51
10.3 Campaign Strap Line .................................................................................................................52
10.4 Positioning statement of HTC ...................................................................................................52
10.4 Message Delivery Tools.............................................................................................................53
10.5 Push Strategy ............................................................................................................................54
10.5.1 Internal Marketing .............................................................................................................54
10.5.2 Point of Sale Marketing......................................................................................................54
10.6 Pull Strategies ...........................................................................................................................55
10.6.1 Experiential - Events...........................................................................................................55
10.6.2 Reference Groups ..............................................................................................................55
11.1 Campaign Flow..........................................................................................................................58
11.2 STAGE 1.....................................................................................................................................58
11.2.1 Advertising .........................................................................................................................58
Table 7: Channels and frequency of TV ads..................................................................................59
11.2.2 Print....................................................................................................................................59
11.2.3 Out Of Home......................................................................................................................59
11.2.4 Public Relations..................................................................................................................60
11.3 Stage 2.......................................................................................................................................60
11.3.1 Events.................................................................................................................................60
11.3.2 Online.................................................................................................................................61
12. Campaign Schedule.........................................................................................................................61
12.1 MEDIA TIMELINE.......................................................................................................................62
13. BUDGET...........................................................................................................................................63
14. CAMPAIGN EVALUATION................................................................................................................64
14.1 Campaign ROI............................................................................................................................64
14.2 Pre-Test.....................................................................................................................................65
14.3 Continuous Testing ...................................................................................................................65
14.4 Post-Test ...................................................................................................................................65
15. Vertical Integration .....................................................................................................................66
15.1 Horizontal Integration...............................................................................................................66
16. REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................67

1. OVERVIEW AND CLARIFICATION OF THE TOPIC
The purpose of this document is to provide supporting evidence and present a
compelling marketing case for an integrated marketing communications (IMC)
campaign to re-position HTC Corp in the mid-end smartphone market, increase
preference among the 16 million of 16-34 target audience in the UK (ONS, 2011),
rebuild HTC’s reputation as an innovative, quality original equipment manufacturer
(OEM) and increase the market share in the UK from 10.9% to 12% by the end of
the campaign in May 2014. The IMC focuses on targeting consumers who are trend
setters, do not follow mainstream culture, like to be unique, are tech savvy and love
art, fashion and music.
In 2013 HTC Corporation is facing a big issue with its brand. It has a category
changing product but zero credibility as a strong innovative brand and very
disappointing sales, many consumers and market analysts believe it is on the verge
of falling down the path of RIM and other manufacturers in the past. HTC One when
launched in April 2013 was and continues to be one of the best smartphones in the
market gaining many awards for being the best smartphone of the year from some of
the most credible tech review companies but those have not translated into sales yet
with HTC selling a mere 5million (Poon A., 2013) units globally in the first two
months the smartphone has been in the market. HTC has not stopped pushing the
phone into the market; the company has been very aggressive in online media
advertising and has introduced many color variations of the phone, with the latest
being the gold HTC One in December 2013, to make it more desirable. The
expected outcome of the IMC is to reposition HTC from the ‘worst’ of the premium
segment to the ‘best’ of the mid-end market with a focus strategy on a niche
segment. To achieve the re-positioning a re-launch campaign is proposed with a
budget of £6million for a six months period in the UK market. The IMC will drive HTC
in a new strategic direction as a brand, making it profitable again and establishing its
competitiveness in the smartphone market once again but more importantly give
HTC corp. a new strategic direction for the future.

1.1 Why HTC?
Back in 2010, HTC’s ‘Desire’ and ‘Wildfire’ ranges won consumers over and brought
the brand to the fore of the smartphone market. Since then, however, the brand has
launched a plethora of phones – within the same range – which many consumers
struggle to differentiate between. For example, in the ‘Sensation’ range, HTC
launched the ‘Sensation’; ‘Sensation XE’ and ‘Sensation XL’; a strategy that
undermined its proposition and hampered the brand. Furthermore, HTC has decided
to continue this strategy with its new ‘One’ range. (YouGov, 2013) To put it in
perspective, in 2013 HTC launched more than 25 smartphone devices (HTC, 2013),
Samsung just eight and Apple two devices, the iPhone 5s and 5c. Moreover the
smartphones Samsung and Apple have launched have a clear differentiation
between them and are targeted to specific audiences while HTCs handsets have no
clear differences in the eyes of the consumers. Furthermore all of the devices the
two OEMs launched were supported by large marketing budgets while HTC had a
limited budget even for its flagship phone. Moreover HTC parted with Mother, its
advertising agency who had won the £100m global account a year earlier, and
decided to do the marketing in-house. (Raeburn S., 2013) This resulted in
devastating sales for most of the handsets with the HTC First or otherwise the
Facebook phone being one of the biggest tech. flops of 2013. (Kalinchuk A., 2013)
Moreover HTC One’s launch was delayed due to component suppliers being unable
to deliver on time and due to manufacturing chain problems. (Miller M., 2013) The
hype around the HTC One launch was high and the expectations the company had
for the handset were very optimistic. Initially the phone was set to launch before the

also highly anticipated competitor smart phone but those issues delayed the release
until after the Samsung’s S4 was on the market and ‘stole’ many of HTCs customers.
HTC lost its opportunity and momentum and the initial sales were disappointing.
HTC’s fall is also followed by some of its key members leaving the company, even its
CEO and co-founder Peter Chou stated in an interview that if the phone does not
perform well in the market he will resign his position and leave HTC. (Ziegler C.,
2013) Moreover HTC suffered its first ever loss of £62m in September of 2013 in the
16 years of the company’s history and now operates in cash flow negative(Kelion L.,
2013). At the same time Samsung was making record profits. (Kelion, L., 2013) This
is a clear indication that changes need to be made in many levels in the company
and this IMC aims to address and propose solutions to those issues.
The plan identifies an opportunity for HTC to establish strong long term presence in
the mid-range market and go back to profitability after the £6.3 million loss in Q3 of
2013 in the UK. The overall aim of the IMC is to establish HTC as a mid-end high
quality manufacturer in the UK. The IMC campaign will be based on the re-launch of
the highly successful flagship HTC One with a lower price to reflect the mid-end
market. The reasoning behind this is to lower the margins and increase quantity of
items sold to clear stock prior to the new generation flagship phone of HTC. The UK
smartphone market is highly competitive and very dynamic with two OEMs,
Samsung and Apple, having almost half of the market share but very competitive at
the lower end with companies like LG, Huawei and Motorola fighting for a share of
the market. The smartphone market has shown a slower increase in 2013 but a
steady increase nonetheless with only 68% of the phones used in the UK being
smartphones there is clearly room for growth. (Euromonitor, 2012).
The IMC will be supported by sales promotions, public relations, print advertising,
digital media, sponsorship and finally out of home advertising in order to effectively
and efficiently reach the target audience during the four month campaign which will
run from December 2013 to end of May 2014. The proposed budget for the IMC is
£6 million, half of what HTC spent in the UK for the launch of HTC One earlier this
year. HTC holds a 10.9% market share in the UK, taking the third place in the
smartphone market after Samsung and Apple. (IDC, 2013)

2. ABOUT HTC Corp.
2.1 Brief History
HTC Corporation is a Taiwanese manufacturer of smartphones headquartered in
New Taipei City, Taiwan, founded in 1997 by H.T Chao and Cher Wang. Initially
HTC was the behind-the-scenes designer and manufacturer of many of the most
popular branded mobile devices on the market.
Starting in 2006, HTC began manufacturing products under its own brand,
introducing in the market Android and Windows operating devices. HTC has always
innovated and has led the way in the mobile manufacturing business.
Some of the highlights are showcased in Figure 1 below including the 2002 Windows
phone which was the first Microsoft powered smartphone and the first Android phone
in 2008 which revolutionised the industry and today is the most popular mobile
operating system followed by Apple’s iOS and Windows Phone.(IDC, 2013) In June
2008, HTC changed its official name from High Tech Computer Corporation to HTC
Corporation and in October 2009 launched the brand tagline "quietly brilliant", and
the YOU campaign, HTC's first global advertising campaign. (Nita,I, 2009) on 16
February 2011, the GSM Association named HTC the "Device Manufacturer of the
Year" for 2011. In April 2011, the company's market value surpassed that of Nokia,
making HTC the third-largest smartphone-maker in the world behind Apple and
Samsung. (Kennemer, Q., 2011) In August 2011, HTC confirmed a strategic
partnership with Beats Electronics involving acquiring 51% of Beats' shares while on
27 September 2013, HTC announced that it sold back all remaining shares of Beats
to Beats Electronics in an effort to inject cash in the company. (Yu-Huay Sun, 2013)
In August 2013, HTC debuted the new "Here's To Change" global marketing
campaign featuring actor Robert Downey, Jr., who signed a £7.5 million, two-year
contract to be HTC's new ‘’Instigator of Change’’. HTC began airing the new
marketing campaign on YouTube in August, prior to the campaign's appearance in
television and cinema advertising schedules. (Hamburger, E., 2013)

Mid 2013 the HTC One model was released in and this was followed by the HTC
One Mini shortly afterwards and the larger version HTC One Max later. Global sales
of the HTC One were lower than those for Samsung's Galaxy S4 flagship handset
and HTC recorded its first ever quarterly loss in early October 2013 a shortfall of just
under £62m. Marketing problems were identified by HTC as the primary reason for
its comparative performance, a factor that had been previously cited by the
company. (Kelion, L., 2013) However marketing issues were only part of the
problem. HTC’s fall is also followed by some of its key members leaving the
company, including key staff in the UK such as the chief of marketing, even its CEO
and co-founder Peter Chou stated in an interview that if the phone does not perform
well in the market he will resign his position and leave HTC. (Ziegler C., 2013)

2.2 Financial Performance
On April 19 2013 HTC released their latest flagship smartphone called the HTC One.
In 2012 HTC had introduced plenty of smartphones on the ‘ONE’ line such as the
One X, One S, and One V. Then the One SU, One SV, One VX, several Desire
devices, and the Butterfly. Unfortunately, 2012 was one of the worst years in the
company’s history and things didn’t go as planned. The One was initially planned to
launch before the release of Samsung’s Galaxy S4, but supply and production
issues left consumers frustrated and HTC losing its chance of directly attacking its
biggest competitor (Wu J., 2013). Even though HTC One has won the critics and
those who already own the device calling it the best phone ever made, it still hasn’t
gained the much needed translation of those reviews in sales. The main reason is
that even if someone likes the phone and wants to purchase it being able to find it in
the market was extremely hard during the first month of circulation due to production
issues. So unless someone is a very loyal customer of HTC he has to look for an
alternative (Clove, 2013). HTC has overcome those issues and now the production
of the phone is doubled. Currently, the HTC One is in-stock for delivery from mobile
networks Vodafone, Three, O2, Orange, T-Mobile and EE, along with mobile phone
retailer Phones4U. (Halfacree N., 2013) Therefore it is obvious that at least for the
UK market supply issues have been somewhat overcome but it may be already too
late. HTC has been successful in marketing its device to retailers and major mobile
networks but not so to the end consumer.
Even though HTC’s marketing budget for the UK is nowhere near its major
competitors the company doubled its budget for the launch of HTC One to £10 mil
and had a notable presence in the above the line media as well as new media
targeting its new target market with a fresh and much different approach than in the
past (Reynolds D., 2013).

Graph 1. Financial performance 2009-2012
To gain a further understanding of HTC’s financial performance over the years a
financial analysis of the revenue and profits was conducted. A series of bad strategic
decisions, bad marketing communications and manufacturing problems have taken
HTC in a continuous downfall reaching to the current losses of 2013. Due to bad
financial performance and in desperate need of cash flow the company sold its
remaining 25% stake in the Dr.Dre Beats audio company for £163m. Beats will also
repay a £91m promissory note plus interest to HTC by the end of 2013. (Bloomberg,
2013)
Table 1. HTC Financial Performance year on year 2009 – 2012
YEAR 2009 (m£) 2010 (m£) 2011 (m£) 2012 (m£) Change (11-12 %)
TOTAL REVENUES 4,830.40 9,319.00 15,571.50 9,661.90 -37,9
GROSS PROFIT 1,543.20 2,803.70 4,406.00 2,437.90 -44,7
PROFIT MARGIN 32% 30% 28.3% 25.3%
Source: HTC annual report 2012
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
2009 2010 2011 2012
HTC Financial Performance (m£)
Revenue Profit
Source: HTC Annual Report 2012

Graph 2. Monthly Revenues of HTC 2013 (Consolidated information)
Source: HTC Monthly Financial Report 2013
As can be seen from table 1 above HTC saw steady growth from 2009 to 2011 with
revenues reaching at £15.5 billion for 2011. HTC lost focus and efficiency, Peter
Chou admitted "The fast growth from the last two years has slowed us down; we
have people in meetings and talking all the time but without decision, strategic
direction or sense of urgency" he said. HTC has been struggling to connect with its
consumers for a while now but still hasn’t found a clear message to communicate.
The company acknowledges that it has lost its connection to the consumers,
especially with Samsung and Apple putting billions in their marketing the company
struggles to compete. Another reason for HTC losing its audience is competition
from cheap Chinese manufactures like Huawei and ZTE who have seen their largest
year or year growth. (Dou E., 2013) From Graph 2 it can be seen that 2013 was not
a good year for HTC. With the release of HTC One in May the company saw an
increase of almost 50% in revenue however in the following months the growth didn’t
continue and the downfall continued with 2013 being one of the worst years in the
company’s history.
518.3
379.31
529.84
653.58
967.5
736.44
524.7
439.3
605.54
500.25516.16
HTC MONTHLY REVENUE 2013 (m£)

Graph 3. HTC Revenue growth quarter on quarter 2009 – 2012
HTC's global smartphone market share fell to 2.5% in the first quarter of 2013 from
9.3% in first quarter of 2011, according to market-research firm Gartner.
HTC’s Q2 report for 2013 showed that despite the launch of the HTC One its profit
plummeted by 83% (Epstein Z., 2013) and results for Q3 showing a further decline of
40% (Wu, 2013). The company’s struggle began on Q3 of 2011 when net profit of
HTC fell 25% year-on-year at £235m in the three months to December while
Samsung, HTC’s main competitor reported its best year ever with a 73% jump in
operating profits to £2.9bn for the last three months of 2011(O'Reilly L., 2013).

2.3 Organisational Structure
Graph 3. Organisational structure of HTC Corporation 2013
Source: HTC, 2013
Graph 3 shows the organisational structure of HTC as of 12 September 2013 (HTC,
2013). HTC's chairwoman is Cher Wang. Peter Chou is the CEO who leads the
global product sales is also responsible for production promotion, customer relations,
customer service and communications; HT Cho is director of the board and chairman
of HTC Corporation. HTC's CFO is Hui-Ming Cheng. The main departments where
HTC spends most of it finances are the research and development department and
the global marketing department (HTC annual report, 2012).

2.4 The scope of HTC’s business
HTC Corporation engages in the design, development, and manufacturing of
smartphones in Taiwan. The company distributes its products through mobile
operators and distributors in Europe, the United States, and Asia. HTC’s handsets
are available under its own brand and sometimes are individually customized for
operators, device partners and sometimes for original equipment manufacturer
(OEM) partners. The company also owns Dopod, S3 Graphics, Dashwire, Zoodles
and Saffron Digitalas which are subsidiary companies. HTC is also a member of the
Open Handset Alliance. HTC’s products are sold under various brand names, such
as HTC, Dopod, and Qtek and are often rebranded by major telecommunication
carriers. Its products also include pocket PC phones (touch phone), PDA phone and
smart phones. HTC also manufactured the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 and HTC
dream (T-mobile G1) for T-mobile among many others. Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd.
has teamed up with Microsoft Corporation, HTC Corporation and others to start
building an e-book business for Chinese language materials. China Mobile Limited
and HTC Corporation agreed to work together to develop products for China’s third
generation mobile network. They signed an agreement to start the partnership,
focusing on product and technology development. HTC will develop advanced
wireless broadband products based on the TD-SCDMA standard, and will work
closely with China Mobile to design and make products tailored to the needs of the
Chinese market. (BusinessWeek, 2013) In 2013 HTC partnered with Facebook to
launch the first mobile phone which had Facebook’s own launcher on top of the
Android operating system. The idea on paper sounded good but the execution was
very bad and received a lot of criticism. Facebook had a deal which named HTC the
only OEM who had the right to use the Facebook launcher. However Facebook did
not honour the deal and released ‘Facebook Home’ on the Google play market which
made it available for all android phones. This made HTC First an already undesirable
phone one of the worst selling HTC phones of all time and cost the company a lot.
The phone was planned to circulate in many markets including the UK in May 2013
but it never made it because HTC terminated its production. (Langley H., 2013) HTC
also has a long standing relationship with Google, in June 2013 HTC released in
partnership with Google the HTC One Google edition which is on sale on the Google
Play market. The smartphone is currently available only in the United States but is
expected to arrive in the UK towards the end of 2013. (Tamblyn T., 2013).

2.5 The future of HTC
We are dedicated to creating a customized user experience and believe that each
mobile device needs to fit its owner, and not the other way around. What we make is
not merely the product of focus group tests, but of observing and honouring how
individuals choose to interact with technology. (HTC, 2013) This is how HTC defines
its values and these are what guide the company to the future. However, apart from
values and vision the company needs to set new strategic directions which will take
the company away from the path of RIM and Palm. HTC has already launched in
mid-December 2013 four new devices, adding up to the already very broad range of
devices, for the mid end market in an effort to regain market share. The HTC Desire
line-up includes the Desire 700, 601, 501 and 300. These devices are priced lower
than the HTC One flagship and have compromises when it comes to specifications in
order to reflect the lower price with the UK market only introducing the 601 and 300.
(Grey N.,2013)
In early 2014 HTC will also work in partnership with Amazon to develop Amazon
phones which will be distributed to Prime members of the e-commerce website. This
partnership could be a lifesaving deal for HTC and bring in the company the much
needed financial boost. Another potential partner for HTC can be Lonovo, the
Chinese market leader in the PC market, who also recently made a dynamic
entrance in the smartphone market but this has not yet been confirmed.
(Bloomberg, 2013)
The downfall of HTC has played a major role in the Taiwanese economy and the
11.6% decline of exports is attributed by a large proportion to HTC. This is why the
Taiwanese government is working on a possible plan to bail out HTC in 2014 so that
it is not sold. (Grey, N., 2013)

3. RESEARCH SOURCES
The data used for completing this project came from secondary resources. To gain
an understanding and an overview of the market Euromonitor was used to source
local data about market size, market shares and growth of the market. Mintel is
another source used for understanding trends in the market, and the target
audience. Furthermore Kantar worldpanel ‘UK digital trendies’ report was used for an
in depth understanding of the target audience for the campaign.
For the understanding of the smartphone market, specialized market research
companies were used. IDC’s worldwide annual smartphone tracker offers broad and
narrow information about brands, companies and market shares. Strategy Analytics
offered an in depth analysis of the market dynamics and forecasts for the future.
YouGov’s SMIX (Smartphone Mobile Internet eXperience) tracker offers insights
about consumer trends in the UK and was used to develop objectives and strategies
for HTC UK.
WARC was used to source past marketing communications of HTC and competitors,
Samsung and Apple for the UK in the past and understand the positioning of each
brand in the market.
HTC’s and competitor annual reports, CEO Webcasts to investors and interviews of
executives were used to source and analyse internal data. Furthermore Business
source compete was used to source relevant news from the media.

4. MACRO ANALYSIS OF HTC
A report released in July 2013 by Strategy Analytics shows that smartphone
shipments for the second quarter of 2013 rose 47% from a year earlier. According to
the report, smartphone shipments for the April-June period hit 229.6 million units
globally. Samsung ranked number one with a total of 76 million units shipped
accounting for 33.1% of the market. Second in the list is Apple Inc. with a market
share of 13.6%, significantly lower than the 16.6% recorded one year ago. Even
though Apple’s shipments totalled 31.2 million units, up from 26million of the
previous year (Wei-lan C., 2013). This rise in units shipped is due to increased
demand for smartphones but as an International Data Corporation report released on
the 25th of July 2013 states that Apple recorded its lowest year on year growth rate
in almost 4 years. Furthermore the same report states that although Samsung still
remains the undisputed market leader it also had a 2.4% decrease on market share
since the previous quarter (Page C, 2013). This is also supported by a trend that
consumers want premium products in small prices and this is why companies like
LG, ZTE and Lenovo have had their best year on year growths yet, putting them in
the top 5 with Samsung and Apple (Miller M., 2013). The UK market is not so
different, a report by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech shows that HTC’s market share in
the UK was edging up to 9.1% during the first 3 months of 2013 but Samsung
remained the top smartphone manufacturer with 36.2% of sales, with Apple just
behind at 29% (WARC, 2013). Moreover a research from analytics firm Flurry shows
that Android devices have surpassed the iOS devices by far and currently Google
says that everyday 1.5 mil android devices are activated globally (Dredge S., 2013).
Germany and the UK also saw double-digit increases of 12.1 points and 10 points
respectively to 71% and 58.3% in Android smartphone sales (WARC, 2013). In
addition Samsung and Apple are in a constant war of advertising spend, both
companies spend large amounts for marketing and recently both of them have
increased their ad spend leaving HTC way behind with only 1/10th of what they
spend (Rapoza K., 2013). The HTC One offers to the company the opportunity to
overcome the mistakes it made and penetrate in the market gaining some of the lost
momentum with its consumers

4.1Market Analysis
The UK smartphone market is worth £2,5billion and is a key market for all vendors.
(Euromonitor, 2012) A research from O2, the UK telecoms company, found that
consumers spend more time on their smartphones browsing the web than making
phone calls. According to the report smartphone owners spend on average 2 hours a
day using their phones. Browsing the internet, checking social networks and playing
games are the top 3 activities UK consumers do the most on their smartphones with
phone calls coming on the 5th
place. (O2, 2012) Another area of interest is the
vendors’ market share in the UK. A Strategy Analytics report for Q2 of 2013 shows
that Apple market share continues to decline to just 13.6% with consumers preferring
cheaper Android phones. Samsung recorded a 56% increase in profits from 2012
with £1.9bn being from the smartphone devices making it the most profitable
smartphone maker for 2013. (Worth, D., 2013) Korean firm LG holds a 5.3% of the
market followed by the Chinese ZTE and Huawei with 5% and 4.8% market share
respectively. (Stevenson, A., 2013) The Android operating system gained the first
place in 2011 overtaking Nokia’s Symbian and in 2013 Android accounts for 79.3%
of the operating system market share worldwide with Apple’s iOS second at 13%
according to IDC’s quarterly worldwide mobile tracker. (IDC, 2013) In the UK Android
accounts for 58% of the market showing slow but steady increase with iOS holding
27% of the market but has shown a decline since July 2013.
Source: IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, October 29, 2013
Samsung
54%Apple
22%
Huawei
8%
Lenovo
8%
LG
8%
Top Five Smartphone Vendors market share
Q3 2013 (%)

Source: Kentar Worldpanel, UK smartphone market share, 2013
Moreover in the second quarter of 2013 smartphones outsold feature phones for the
first time. A report from Gartner showed an increase of 46.5% in smartphone sales
from 2012. In the UK smartphones account for 68% therefore there is a lot of room
for growth in the market.

`*
4.2 PESTEL analysis of the UK market
FACTOR EVENT IMPLICATION IMAPCT
POLITICAL -HTC lost a lawsuit from Nokia for an infringement of one of Nokia’s
patents. HTC's One mini was banned from selling starting December 6
but HTC filed for an appeal to the decision and its phones are back on
the market.
If HTC loses the appeal its phones in the ONE series could be
banned from being sold in the UK market.
High
ECONOMICAL -UK growth has outperformed all expectations this year, and is on
course to record a fourth successive quarter of expansion.
- Unemployment has shown a decrease compared to 2012 but wages
gave been stagnant.
Consumer spending may affect the industry but in a
competitive market HTC might be the weak link
Moderate
SOCIAL -Smartphone penetration in the UK is above 68% for Octomber 2013.
-Multi-functionality of smartphones. Smartphones have replaced many
single feature devices in our lives and are used for shopping, photos,
music etc.
-Increase of market share for cheaper brands (LG,Huawei)
This affects the whole market and is also an opportunity for
HTC to regain market share by improving its products and its
communications.
Moderate
Moderate
High
TECHNOLOGICAL -Technology evolves in rapid speeds in the smartphone market with
every new device pushing the limits.
-Product circles are very short
HTC has a long history of firsts (Android, Windows, 4G) and
puts large sums in R&D. The HTC One also holds innovations
like the front stereo speakers and the Ultra pixel Camera.
Moderate/
High
ENVIRONMENTAL -Consumers are sensitive to environmental impact and companies are
pressured to improve their sustainability policies.
-Extreme weather conditions can delay shipments of new products
HTC has a green policy and the materials the company uses
are environmentally friendly and recyclable.
HTC One has shipped and is available in large stocks in the UK
therefore this can only be an issue for new products but is
also unlikely to have a lasting impact.
Low
Low
LEGAL -Patent and copyright infringements
-Privacy protection laws
HTC has been facing lawsuits from Nokia and its products can
get banned in the UK if the lawsuits are lost.
Smartphone manufacturers have been accused of selling
consumer data to advertisers. Many times this is attributed
to apps but manufacturers are also required to make
changes.
High
Moderate
Source: Own work, HTC, BBC, The telegraph, Gartner, Kantar, IDC

`*
4.2.1 Implications for HTC
Table 2. Highest impact on HTC
High Impact
HighCertainty
-Ongoing lawsuits from Nokia may ban the HTC One being in the UK market
-Smartphone penetration is above 68% in 2013 in the UK market for the first time ever
showing that consumers need more functionality from their phones.
-The move from feature to smartphones is largely attributed to the drop in price for
smartphones and the low price brands.
-Competition from cheap brands is fierce and LG, Lenovo and Huawei have had their
strongest years yet.
The smartphone market is very dynamic and is constantly changing. The speed the
technology evolves is tremendous and each year brands push the limits of what a
smartphone can do. Only a few years ago we would never imagine how far
technology would go. Now the competition for a place in the market is high with
many brands joining in, sometimes successfully like Huawei and sometimes not so,
like HP. The dynamics of the market affect HTC which has lost its connection to the
consumers and still hasn’t found a position to place itself in the market. The
company has been releasing phones for all ranges of the market from entry level
handsets to premium phones like the HTC One hoping that one might work.
Unfortunately this hasn’t been the case and the market has been dominated from
two brands Samsung and Apple and the low end with cheaper brands who are
gaining market share. The reason for this is that consumers know that a phone will
last for one year and then the next big thing is going to appear and they will change it
so they don’t want to spend premium for expensive devices. HTC has been too
distant from the market, trying to innovate and make the next best smartphone rather
than pay attention to what the consumers need. The trends that HTC should pay
attention more and should adopt its strategy are the smartphone penetration and the
rise of cheap brands. This can pose a big opportunity for HTC if the brand positions
itself accordingly in the market. HTC should limit the devices to four or five and have
a clear differentiation between them so that consumers don’t keep getting confused.

4.3 Porters 5 forces
Graph 4. Porter’s Five Forces for HTC
Adopted from: Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and
Competitors, Michael E. Porter
THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS – LOW
The financial investment, technology investment, R&D and marketing budget needed
to compete in the fast moving market of smartphones is extremely high.
For someone to compete with the already established brands is extremely unlikely,
unless they introduce a product that is different and innovative like Apple did with the
iPhone in 2007.
THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES – LOW
The added functionality that smartphones and mobile phones have over single
feature products such as cameras, music players and internet connectivity make
them more attractive and convenient for the consumers.
BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS – HIGH
There is a wide variety of smartphone brands with different features, operating
systems and price therefore consumers can choose.
With a lot of the HTC competitors all offering similar packages (e.g. unlimited texts
and calls) the industry is very price sensitive with customers seeking out the best
value for money.
THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS
LOW
THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES
LOW
BARGAINING POWER OF
SUPPLIERS
MEDIUM
BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS
HIGH
COMPETITIVE
RIVALRY
HIGH

Brand loyalty is high in the market so for consumers of other brands to switch to HTC
may be difficult.
Many consumers have contracts which are long term which makes switching even
harder.
BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS – MEDIUM
Original equipment manufacturers rely on key suppliers for quality component parts
at competitive prices but there are many suppliers where HTC could switch to.
Android is an open source operating system therefore HTC does not have to rely on
Google on it like iPhone and Nokia on Microsoft.
COMPETITIVE RIVALRY – HIGH
Apple and Samsung currently dominate the market. New entrants may find it
extremely high to compete and gain economies of scale for market share against
leading brands. However as we have seen in the past and recently with Blackberry
the market is unpredictable and once market leaders like Nokia can lose their place.
There is intense competition from low price brands such as LG and Huawei which
are gaining market share rapidly in the UK and driving prices down from leading
brands.

4.4 Competitors Analysis
The HTC One is an Android Jelly
Bean, LTE handset with an
aluminum unibody construction
and features a 4.7-inch, 1080p
display and Qualcomm's
Snapdragon 600 chipset with a
quad-core 1.7GHz processor. It
comes with front- and rear-
facing 1080p cameras with an
f/2 aperture and optical image
stabilization
The latest in the popular line of
Samsung's Galaxy S
smartphones, the Galaxy S4
ups the ante with a larger 5-
inch 1080p display and 2600
mAh battery to match. Android
4.2.2 Jelly Beans runs on either
an Exynos 5 or Snapdragon 600
processor (depending on
region).
The successor to the iPhone 5,
the 5S brings several new
features to the table, most
notably a gold color variant and
fingerprint scanner called
Touch ID. A significantly
improved camera has also been
added, offering fast and slow
motion video along with a burst
mode. The 5S is the first iPhone
to run on a 64-bit architecture,
which means improved
performance in almost every
way.
Availability date: April 2013 Availability date: Apr. 27, 2013 Availability date: Sep. 20, 2013
Price: £532* Price:£625.95* Price: £619*
OS: Android (HTC Sense 5) OS: Android (TouchWiz) OS: iOS
Screen: 4.7 inches Screen: 4.99 inches Screen: 4 inches
Rear camera: 4 megapixels
(Ultrapixel)
Rear camera: 13 megapixels Rear camera: 8 megapixels
Sales: 5 million Sales: 40 million Sales: 7 million
Built: Aluminium Built: Plastic Built: Aluminium
Source: theverge.com, 2013
*All prices from Amazon.co.uk for the 16GB model
HTC has the better quality build and the most convenient and user friendly Android interface.
Pricewise HTC is also the more affordable from the three and has the advantage on the camera and
sound quality as well.

5. MICRO ANALYSIS OF HTC
5.1 SWOT
Strengths Weaknesses
- Among top innovating brands in the
technology industry
- Best smartphone of the year (Stuff, T3)
- Operating system, Android with HTC sense 5
- High end hardware
- 5th
largest smartphone manufacturer in the
world
- Strong brand equity
- Sponsorships (Mobo Awards, UEFA
Champions League)
- Limited marketing and advertising budget
- High Price
- Internal issues with employees leaving the
company
- Bad financial performance since 2011
- No adaptation in the market needs
- Weak supply chain
- Lack of Integrated Marketing Communications
- Unfocused strategy
- No tablet devices
Opportunities Threats
- Popular in the youth, urban market
- Mid-high market not overpopulated by
competitors
- Partnerships
- RIM exit from consumer market
- Smartphone shipments rose 47% from 2012.
- 4G LTE becoming widespread
- Android 81% of market share in operating
systems.
- iOs on the decline
- Strong competition in the upper market,
dominated by Samsung and Apple
- Weak customer service and after sale support
- Threat from cheaper manufacturers (LG,
Huawei)
- Product cycles are getting short
- Patents and intellectual property rights
Source: Own work, HTC, Business Insider, Financial Times, Bloomberg, Strategy Analytics, ComScore, Localytics, IDC, Statista

5.1.2 Strategies. Strengths /Opportunities/Weaknesses/Threats
Strategies for Strengths
to meet Opportunities
- With RIM gone and iPhone declining HTC can win market share with a
carefully targeted IMC campaign.
- HTC needs to differentiate and highlight its core values as an innovative brand
to the target audience and be consistent on its message
- Increase awareness about the ongoing sponsorship activities
Strategies for Strengths
to Defend weaknesses
-HTC should develop only a few devices; this will improve the production costs,
supply chain, after sale service, customer relations and marketing
communications.
-HTC should lower the price of its flagship phone HTC One, use marketing
communications to connect with its target audience and adapt to the market
trends.
-HTC should introduce a tablet in the market to gain market share in this
booming market.
Strategies for
opportunities to
overcome weaknesses
-HTC should use focus strategy for a niche market targeting and benefit from the
exit of RIM from the consumer market.
-HTC should benefit from the rising market share of the Android operating
system by adopting it prices to reflect the mid end market prices and combat the
rising of cheaper devices from Chinese brands.
-The premium market is very competitive with Samsung and Apple
dominating the segment and the lower entry market is crowded with
brands like LG, Huawei and Lenovo who compete for market share. There
is no brand who offers premium quality with a reasonable price tag. HTC
can dominate this segment with its flagship HTC One.
Strategies for
weaknesses not to
expose threats
-HTC should establish an integrated marketing strategy with a clear message
and positioning in the market.
-With the short product circles, lack of marketing budget to support its devices
and many bad years financially, HTC should introduce in the market only a few
devices and improve its customer relations.
HTC is an already strong established manufacturer in the smartphone market and
holds 10.9% market share in the UK. However the issues the company has been
facing both internally and externally have driven consumers to brands like Apple and
Samsung. HTC has an established brand but with the many devices that the
company launches in the market each year consumers are left confused and the
company has lost connection with its audience struggling to find a clear message

and position itself in the market. From the SWOT analysis the most appropriate
strategy that HTC can adopt long term is the exit from the premium segment of the
market and compete in the mid-end segment. Consumers who have the financial
ability have been drawn to the two dominating brands of the market while price
sensitive consumers choose cheaper brands like LG and Huawei who are having
their best year on year growth in 2013. For HTC to maintain a competitive advantage
and regain lost market share it needs to differentiate and offer consumers great
products with great value. The HTC One is a great opportunity for HTC to enter this
market. The smartphone has won many awards and is considered the best of 2013.
HTC has had many issues and when it doubled the production of the HTC One it
was already too late. Lowering the profit margins on the HTC One and introducing it
in the market with a lower price tag will solve the problem of the stock and will
reshape the perception of the consumers about HTC as the best value for money
manufacturer. This IMC for the HTC One does not aim to steal market share from
Apple or Samsung. The main goal is to gain the price sensitive consumers who
would otherwise buy a cheaper alternative brand and those who are first buyers of a
smartphone upgrading from a feature phone.

5.2 Ansoff’s Matrix
The application of Ansoff’s matrix determines potential strategies that could assist in
the achievement of the objectives set by the company (Wilson and Gillian, 2005).
HTC currently is following a product development strategy and operates in a broad
market. The company introduces many variants of the same product, for example
the HTC One, One mini and One Max in the same year. HTC also develops products
for different segments of the market and for different geographical locations, for
example the HTC Desire 700 is only released in the Asian market. Following this
strategy has led to countless problems for HTC. Developing so many products has
led to production line complications; an example of this was the delayed launch of
the flagship HTC One. Moreover consumers are left confused by the many devices
HTC introduces and go for another brand instead. Also having more than 30 devices
every year requires a lot of development after sale, consumers want to receive the
next update as soon as possible but HTC has developed its own version of Android
which means that supporting all the devices long term is nearly impossible due to the
costs and manpower it requires. After analysing the Ansoff matrix for HTC the most
appropriate strategies the company must follow are a combination of a price drop, to
enter the mid-end segment, target consumer who are trend setters as mentioned
previously and improvement of after sale services. In a more long term product
development strategy, HTC can consider entering the growing tablet market with two
new devices of 7inch and 10inch tablet devices.

Table 3. Ansoff’s Matrix
MARKET
Old Market New Market
PRODUCT
ExistingProduct
Market Penetration
- Brand awareness through
marketing activities
(Champions League
Sponsorship)
- Improving internal operations
- Introduce a price cut on the
HTC One
Market Development
- Target different age
groups and
demographic
profiles from
current customers.
NewProduct
Product Development
- Develop Tablet devices (both
7’ and 10’)
- Improve after sale
customer services (Fast
android updates, longer
support for the device)
Differentiation

6. MARKETING OBJECTIVES / STRATEGIC CONTEXT
The smartphone market in the United Kingdom has shown high growth in the last
few years with forecasts showing a further increase in the coming years as
smartphone penetration increases. HTC is a highly innovative brand that has shaped
the market to what it is today. The company was the first OEM to introduce Android
and now the operating system has more than 70% of the OS market share. The UK
is one of HTC’s key markets where it holds a 10.9% market share compared to the
4-5% in other countries. HTC has a strong brand and innovative products with the
HTC One being the top of the line. However for HTC to make a comeback in the
market and regain market share the following objectives must be achieved.
 To increase the UK market share from 10.9% TO 12% by the end
of the campaign in May 2014, an increase of £31million in
revenue.
 Achieve 60,000 new sales for the HTC one in the UK market by
the end of May 2014.
 Generate 200 pieces of coverage in technology and consumer
media about the £80 cut in the HTC One price.
 Position HTC successfully in the mid-end market using marketing
communications before the launch of the HTC One2
in the end of
May 2014.

7. CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE
7.1 The role of IMC in Marketing Management
There have been numerous attempts to capture the meaning of IMC in a few lines.
The most simple definition is that integrated marketing communications (IMC) is the
bringing together of all marketing communications objectives. A common
understanding of the IMC is that it brings all the elements of the promotional mix
together. One of the more recent definitions of the IMC process comes from Duncan
(2002) who states that IMC is a process for managing the customer relationships
that drive customer value. More specifically he said that it is a cross-functional
process for creating and nourishing profitable relationships with customers and
stakeholders by strategically controlling and influencing all messages to these
groups and encouraging data-driven, purposeful dialogue with them. Another
definition comes from Shimp (2000) who defined IMC as an organisation’s unified,
coordinated effort to promote a brand concept through the use of multiple
communications tools that speak with a single voice. It is important to clarify and
understand the value of IMC, because for HTC the lack of an integrated approach
has led to many issues and has confused consumers who moved to another
competitive brand. As Broderick (2005) mentions for integrated marketing
communications more than one creative treatment – message or image- may be
used but where more than a single treatment is employed they should be mutually
consistent. This has not been the case for HTC. The company has used many
marketing tools to promote its devices, sponsorship of the UEFA champions league,
advertising with Robert Downey Junior with the Here’s to change campaign and
others but none of them follow a consistent message or have the same tone of voice.
Apart from communications, as mentioned before, the company releases numerous
devices for all segments of the market with no differentiation at all or any marketing
budget which undermines the perceived value of the brand and has a negative effect
on brand equity. Therefore establishing an integrated marketing communications
approach is not only beneficial short term but for HTC is of vital importance. A
market is rarely seen as one large, homogeneous group of customers. Rather, it
consists of many heterogeneous groups, or segments. Marketing must be tailored to
the needs and demands of the desired segments. Therefore segmentation and

careful targeting is important for HTC. In doing this the company can position itself in
a specific segment of the market and focus on a specific target market.
There are a number of methods that are available for segmenting markets. These
methods can be broken into two broad categories based on customer characteristics
and aspects of the buying situation.
Segmentation based on customer characteristics includes:
• Geographic segmentation divides markets by geographic locations
such as nations, states, regions, or cities.
• Demographic segmentation divides markets based on demographic
variables such as gender, age, education, race, and life stage.
• Socioeconomic segmentation divides markets based on
socioeconomic variables such as income, education, and occupation.
• Psychographic segmentation divides markets based on personality
values or lifestyle. SRI’s VALS 2 is a popular approach to lifestyle
segmentation
Segmentation based on the buying situation includes:
• Behavioral segmentation divides a market into groups according to
their level of involvement with and purchase behavior toward a product
or service.
• Outlet types segments a market based on the type of store where a
product is sold, such as convenience, supermarket, mass
merchandiser, specialty
• Benefit segmentation divides markets on the basis of the specific
benefits or outcomes consumers want from a product or service.
• Awareness segmentation is based on the product knowledge of the
consumer.
Usage segmentation classifies customers based on their level of use of a product or
service. (Shultz, E., 1993)

Within the market that HTC operates the differentiation between the products
themselves is not big. More or less all products have the same technology, same
screen, high quality camera and generally offer the same benefits to the consumers.
This is why brands like Samsung and Apple invest so much money in advertising
and build a personality about their brands which clearly differentiates them from the
competition. To conclude, all aspects of Marketing Communications are used by
IMC’s strategic marketing model for building a strong brand through reliable and
interactive communication between organizations and their target markets. As the
relationships advance between organizations and their customers, brand building
activity continues by creating databases that continuously monitor and respond to
market needs. This in turn helps organizations in maximizing their profits. In the case
of HTC the most important aspect of the IMC is segmentation of the market and
identification of the target audience which will help the brand not only find a place in
the market but understand its place in the market more and develop and maintain a
long term strategy.

7.2 IMC objectives and purpose
Throughout the report the conducted research showed that there is a big necessity
for HTC to reposition in a different segment of the market and to carefully target a
segment of the market which is untapped by the current market leaders which are
Apple and Samsung. Secondary research conducted for the purpose of the
understanding of the market and the positioning of each brand in the market showed
that the mid-tier market is largely neglected by the leading brands. HTC and
Samsung have been releasing devices to reflect the mid end market however both
mainly focus on the premium market where they spend most of their advertising
spend and where most of the innovation is done in terms of progress in technology.
However none of the two brands are doing particularly well in the specified market
due to the release of devices which do not offer a good value for money to the
consumers and even though the prices range of the devices in the segment in the
segment is not largely different than those of the premium devices. The positioning
map below illustrates the proposed repositioning of HTC from the premium market to
the mid end market.
Figure 2: Positioning map of top smartphone manufacturers, 2013
Source: Own work, Based on secondary research data
Price LowPrice High
Low End
High End

Figure 2 above shows the current situation in the market and where each brand is
positioned in it. The map shows both direct and indirect competitors of HTC. It is
clear that the smartphone market is an overpopulated one and a very dynamic
environment as well. It is clear that the premium segment where HTC operates is
overpopulated and very competitive. HTC has had many bad years continuously and
being competitive in the segment where it currently operates is nearly impossible.
This is why based on findings from the research conducted a repositioning of HTC is
proposed. As can be seen above there is a gap in the market which is largely
untapped by the large smartphone vendors. Only Google has been successful in this
segment of premium quality with a low price with its NEXUS range devices. Google
releases each year devices priced at around £340 with specifications that are the
same as those of the premium brands (Google Play, 2013). The NEXUS devices
have been some of the top selling devices in the market for the past two years
because technically they do not compete with any of the brands in the market. The
Google devices have been so successful because the perceived value of the
consumers is high. For HTC the success of the NEXUS brand in this segment
proves that it is a profitable one and that it is one with many loyal customers. It also
poses a big opportunity because what are the biggest strengths of HTC are also the
biggest weaknesses of the Nexus device. Namely the weak build quality and the
stock android interface are some of the weakest points of the Nexus devices while at
the same time HTC is praised and won many awards for the high quality in the
materials used on the HTC One and the HTC Sense 5 which is considered to be by
far the most useful and user friendly android interface on a smartphone to date.
Therefore while the philosophy behind the repositioning of HTC on the mid end
market is influenced by the success of the NEXUS devices they do not pose a direct
competitor to HTC. Another reason why this is not the case is because Google does
not target the mass market with the nexus line up but those who are more tech
savvy, the developers, those who want to get the android updates first. Having a
Nexus device requires a lot of technical knowledge and the interface is geared
towards a more techy audience. For HTC the opposite is the case. This is why the
re-positioning of HTC is the mid end segment is proposed. This will require a long
term strategy to be adopted by HTC but this IMC campaign aims to initiate the
process which will reposition the brand successfully in the mid end market. To
complement the marketing objectives set for HTC a re-launch campaign for the

current flagship device HTC One will run through different media channels for a six
month period prior to the launch of the new flagship device.
7.3 The IMC Objectives
According to Belch and Belch (2004), Integrated Marketing Communications
objectives are what various elements in the marketing communications program
will achieve, taking into consideration, tasks required to deliver the desired
message to the target audience. In setting the objectives for this IMC campaign,
consideration has been given to the current image and positioning of HTC and
matched against the desired image and positioning the campaign aims to achieve for
the HTC brand. One of the biggest problems HTC is facing at the moment is that it
has low awareness among its target audience compared to its direct competitors.
Furthermore a series of bad publicity in early 2013 took a big hit on HTC and
negatively influenced customers’ beliefs and attitudes towards the brand. This IMC
aims to address these issues. The model that is used to establish IMC objectives for
HTC is the hierarchy of effects model. The Hierarchy of Effects Model was created in
1961 by Robert J Lavidge and Gary A Steiner. This marketing communication model,
suggests that there are six steps from viewing a product advertisement to product
purchase.
Figure 3: Hierarchy of effects model, Robert J Lavidge and Gary A Steiner, 1961
Source: Smith, P., Strategic Marketing communications, pp 52
AWARENESS
KNOWLEDGE
LIKING
PREFERENCE
CONVICTION
PURCHASE
CognitiveConativeAffective

The smartphone consumer can be identified as a learning customer according to the
model. The involvement of the consumer is high prior to the purchase and the
consumer seeks technical information about the product through different channels
before he reaches the final decision. Consumers of this category make rational
decisions and pay attention to price when choosing a product they like. Specifically
for the mobile device market Kantar did a large scale research to understand how
consumers in this market reach a purchase decision. According to the report the top
four decision making influences were professional reviews, user reviews, advertising
and brand image.(Kantar Media UK, 2012) HTC lacks all of these and it is of vital
importance to address each and every of this issues with the appropriate marketing
communications tools. According to the model the most appropriate marketing tools
to reach this type of consumers is advertising, print media, online and direct mail. For
the purposes of this campaign all these tools will be used with the addition of PR.
(Solomon, M., 2010) Therefore for the purposes of this campaign and to achieve the
marketing objectives set earlier the following IMC objectives were set.
 To reinforce and create awareness of HTC’s brand among 80% of the target
audience by the end of the six month campaign.
 To successfully communicate the repositioning of HTC in the mid end market
and achieve a 70% comprehension of the benefits, values and attributes of
HTC One among the target audience.
 Establish a 65% positive attitude and liking towards HTC for the six month
period of the campaign among the target audience.
 Create preference towards HTC against competing brands among 45% of the
target audience.
 Convince 30% of the target audience about the superiority of HTC One
compared to competing brands
 Lead 6% of the target audience to purchasing behaviour in the 6 months of
the IMC campaign.

8. TARGET MARKET AND CUSTOMER PROFILES
As mentioned previously in the report the target audience for this campaign is people
belonging in the age groups 16-34 and of the social class ABC1. The campaign will
run nationally through various media covering the whole of the United Kingdom.
According to census data gathered in 2011 in the UK there are 16,727,000 people
who belong in that group. However not all are suitable to be targeted for this
campaign. Social grade, as an occupation based classification system, is a
barometer of changes in occupations over time. Since the 1960s, social grade has
tracked the changing shape of the British workforce and as a classification system it
has developed over time as the workforce has evolved. Its strength lies in its
simplicity and its application as a discriminator, particularly for media consumption.
That is why it has stood the test of time (Ipsos Mori, 2009) According to Ipsos Mori
research only 56% of the 16.7 million in this age group are considered to be of the
ABC1 social grade. This lowers the potential target audience to 9,367,120 individuals
in the UK. Furthermore as described earlier the campaign focuses on targeting the
‘digital trendies’. Digital Trendies in Britain are an online-savvy group: 80% of them
use the internet more than once a day, compared to 53% of the entire population.
Close to 40% spend at least 20 hours online a week, which is almost double the
proportion for the total British population. Whilst browsing online, they are
significantly more likely than the average British adult to download paid for films, TV
series and software, leave comments on blogs and read and write Twitter feeds.
They are over twice as likely as the average British adult to say they could not live
without the internet on their mobile phone (46% vs. 21%), suggesting they keep up-
to-date when on the go. They are also 129% more likely than the average British
adult to say celebrities influence their purchase decisions. So not only are they
influenced by what others say, they actively create content online meaning there is
great potential in this group to spread a brand message virally and reach fellow
influencers. Being able to plan marketing and media activity at both a local and
international level with a single data currency, rather than switching between data
sources, is key to brands gaining a competitive edge.(Kantar Worldpannel, 2013)
This offers HTC the potential to reach a global audience with the fraction of the cost
it would normally cost. Compared to other European countries Great Britain has the
largest proportion of digital trendies with the 25% of the population being tech savvy.
Moreover in the 16-34 age groups the same report states that 70% of ABC1s are

considered digital trendies. Therefore the target audience this IMC is 6,600,000
individuals in the UK.
8.1 Geo-demographic classification (ACORN)
Acorn is a segmentation tool which categorises the UK’s population into
demographic types; it segments households, postcodes and neighbourhoods into 6
categories, 18 groups and 62 types. (Caci, 2012) Using ACORN segmentation the
target groups can be divided as follows. The target audience relevant for this
campaign is summarized in table 4 below.
Table 4: Geo-demographic classification (ACORN)
D - City Sophisticates Type 15: Younger professionals in smaller flats
Type 16: Metropolitan professionals
Type 17: Socialising young renters
E - Career Climbers Type 18: Career driven young families
Type 20: Mixed metropolitan areas
J - Starting Out Type 33: Smaller houses and starter homes
K- Student Life Type 34: Student flats and halls of residence
Type 35: Term-time terraces
Type 36: Educated young people in flats and tenements
Source: ACORN, The consumer classification, 2013
Those in the category D can broadly be described as affluent younger people who
generally own flats in major towns and cities. Ownership of iPhones, iPads and other
smartphone and tablet devices is double the national average. Generally these
people access the internet quite frequently, to keep up with current affairs, shop,
download music or films, to watch TV channels and the like. These people enjoy the
lifestyle that comes with living in larger cities where there are lots of people and
opportunities to socialise & spend.
E category people are confident users of new technology and frequent users of the
internet. Ownership of smartphones, media players, tablet PC’s and games consoles
are likely to be above average. They use the web to research purchases, read
newspapers, buy and download music. They prefer marketing communications by
email and dislike commercial contact on their phones, which are for social use.

People in category J are the so called internet generation and they spend more time
online than average. New technology including smartphones and tablet computers
might be popular. These younger people might expect to develop their careers
further in the future. They have money but might also have higher outgoings with
their mortgage and an active social life.
Lastly category K people were identified as appropriate for the HTC campaign and
are individuals with a well above average ownership of smartphones, tablets and
hand-held computers as will the proportion of owning portable media players and
games consoles. They will find time for going out as well as going online. Their
interests may focus around social and leisure activities. In addition to the broadsheet
newspapers, film, computing, educational and style magazines may be their
preferred reading matter. (ACORN Profiles, 2013)
8.2 Values/Attitudes & Lifestyle segmentation framework
Figure 4: VALS Framework
VALS divides the segmentation into eight
groups determined by psychological
characteristics and resources, which of
these includes factors such as income,
education, energy level and eagerness to
buy (Solomon, 2010) As shown in the
diagram, groups are arranged
horizontally by the primary motivation of
individual and vertically arranged by
resources.
Source: VALS Framework (Solomon, 2010)

Table 5: Primary Motivation of VALS types
Experiencers Experiencers are motivated by self-expression. As young,
Enthusiastic and impulsive consumers, Experiencers
quickly become enthusiastic about new possibilities but
are equally quick to cool. They seek variety and
excitement, savouring the new, the offbeat, and the risky.
Their energy finds an outlet in exercise, sports, outdoor
recreation, and social activities. Experiencers are avid
consumers and spend a comparatively high proportion of
their income on fashion, entertainment, and socializing.
Their purchases reflect the emphasis they place on
looking good and having "cool" stuff
Achievers Achievers are active in the consumer marketplace with
many wants and needs. Image is important to Achievers;
they favour established, prestige products and services
that demonstrate success to their peers. Because of their
busy lives, they are often interested in a variety of time-
saving devices.
Thinkers Thinkers have a moderate respect for the status quo
institutions of authority and social decorum, but are open
to consider new ideas. Although their incomes allow them
many choices, Thinkers are conservative, practical
consumers; they look for durability, functionality, and value
in the products they buy. They tend to be well educated
and actively seek out information in the decision-making
process.

8.3 Sample Consumer Profiles
Sam, 18 Sam just finished high school and is looking for universities to
pursue a career in architecture. He is a very social person and
a very active individual. Throughout his years in school he has
always been active in sports like basketball and football. He
has a very large social group with who he keeps in regular
contact. Sam also likes to draw and is also fascinated by
music. He composes music through his computer in an
amateur level which he puts on the internet through various
social media. Sam is also into rock and alternative music. He
loves discovering new bands and artists and always invites his
friends to go and watch them together. He has very big
influence on his friends and is admired by them. One of his
fascinations is gadgets as well. When he goes out he likes to
take pictures of buildings that he likes and street art that he
finds appealing and puts it on his blog where he writes
regularly.
Maria, 24 Maria is a graphic designer in and advertising agency. She is
very artistic and she despises mainstream culture. She does
not have many friends but she loves the few she has and is
very close to them. On her free time she loves reading books
and drawing. Maria shares her art on flickr, an online picture
sharing platform geared towards artists and photographers.
She has an expensive camera which she uses regularly but
she uses her phone to snap photos on the go. She also loves
listening to classic rock, jazz and blues when she is
commuting. Maria seeks inspiration on everything around her
and loves taking notes on her phone when she has an idea
about her new project.

John, 32 John is a successful web designer, after working in a
multinational company for 5 years he opened his own business
and he now employs 20 more people. John is still single
because his busy life didn’t allow him to make a family until
now. John has a passion about gadgets and he likes to talk
about everything new on the market with his friends. He loves
Android devices as a developer he likes that it is open source
and he is also a member of the xda community of android
developers. He rarely uses his smartphone to make phone
calls and even when he does he uses VoIP services like Skype
to do so. He loves technology but most of all he loves giving
advice to about technology to his friends. He also loves music
and traveling so staying connected is crucial to him and his
business.
8.4 Means End Chain
The means end chain model explores the connection between consumer and
product through the construction of a simple associative network between concrete
and abstract product attributes, functional and psychosocial consequences linked
with product use and, finally, consumers’ instrumental and terminal values. Product
attributes are but means through which consumers achieve their ultimate values,
ends, via the positive consequences or benefits accruing from the attributes. In other
words, goods/services are seen as means to satisfy needs that are conscious to a
varying degree. In the means-end chain model, products are thus not chosen and
purchased for themselves or their characteristics, but rather for the meaning they
engender in the mind of prospects (Reynolds and Gutman, 1988). A means-end
chain is thus a conceptual structure linking a product and a consumer.

Table 6: HTC One Means End Chain.
Concrete
Attributes
Abstract
Attributes
Functional
Concequene
s
Psychosocial
l
Concequenc
es
Instrumental
Values
Terminal
Value
Concrete Attributes Screen Size: 4.7 inches diagonal
Weight: 0,32 pounds
Slim phone. Fat sound. With dual frontal stereo speakers and
powerful amplifiers. Comes in many colours and has an
aluminium body. The price of the device is £450 unlocked.
Abstract Attributes An innovative full aluminium built body with loud front facing
speakers and a clear screen for maximum media enjoyment.
Functional
Consequences
A full package that has everything and more than a typical
smartphone, helps me stay in touch with my friends, take
photos, watch movies, play games, read books and listen to
music among other activities.
Psychosocial
Consequences
A phone that makes me feel unique. It draws attention
because of its unique design, the beautiful screen and loud
and clear speakers. I believe it reflects my unique personality
and my creative nature.
Instrumental Values Makes me feel different from the masses who own Samsung
and Apple devices. Makes me feel like I am different and
unique.
Terminal Value It cannot be said that HTC One or any other phone can lead to
a terminal value.
Figure 5: Means End Chain, Solomon, M.R, 2010

9. Branding issues of HTC
9.1 Brand Wheel of HTC One
Before developing and creating the appropriate message for the HTC One, a brand
wheel is built. A brand wheel assists in determining qualities and uniqueness of a
brand/product and identifying underlying goals of a campaign, as figure 5 below
shows (Percy, 2012).
Figure 5: Brand Wheel for HTC One
Atributes
•Innovative brand
•Android HTC Sense
5 software
•Touchscreen/ 4.7
inch display
•Call/ text people
•Eco-friendly (material
recyclable)
•Ultrapixel camera
shutter lens –
optically stabilized
camera
•Beats sound
enhancement
•NFC tech, wireless
charging
•Durable alluminium
case
•super-fast connection
•Colourful stylish
design
Benefits
•Innovative
smartphone
•Exclusive
applications
•HD touchscreen
•Contact people
•Adroid – Open
source environment
•High quality photos
•Long battery life
•Environmentally
friendly material
•Stylish design
•Best sound quality on
a phone
Values
•Makes one feel
innovative
•Makes one feel
playful and creative
•Makes one feel
unique (makes one
feel not mainstream)
•Feeling like part of a
community of
creators and
innovators
Personality
•Creative personality
•Is tech savvy
•Appreciates great
design
•Like to participate in
social events
•Go out regularly and
have a large social
group
•Likes to share on
social media aspects
of his everyday life
•Creates art whether it
is music, writing,
filmmaking
BRAND ESSENCE
Affordable Innovation

If the HTC One was a person, it would be innovative, unique, modern, stylish, busy,
organised, active and interested in photography, fashion, music, blogging, art and
movies.
Considering the variety of attributes, benefits, values and the personality designed
for HTC One, the brand essence was defined as "affordable innovation”
This is be used in forthcoming campaigns and will define the brands activities for
current and future marketing communications without undermining the brands value
and make it being perceived as ‘cheap’. Furthermore it is worth mentioning that the
‘affordable innovation’ brand essence is majorly different than the current positioning
of the brand. Currently the brand positions itself as a premium innovative
smartphone. However based on the research and critical evaluation of the author it is
necessary for HTC to change its positioning and its communications in order to
effectively compete in the marketplace.
9.2 Keller’s Brand Equity Model
For HTC One to be re-considered a strong and viable brand in the smartphone
marketplace various models and in depth secondary research was conducted.
Keller’s brand equity model helps asses the perception and impression of consumers
about the brand. The model has four stages of branding which consist of judgment,
feeling, performance, image and salience. Equity is the sum of values the consumers
associate with the brand. (Keller, 2008)
Figure 6: Keller’s Brand Equity Model

Stage 1 – Brand identity: The first step aims to create brand awareness and
identity. It is also important to ensure that brand perceptions are correct at key
stages of the buying process. In terms of awareness HTC as a brand is much lower
than its competitors. Even though the launch of HTC One was supported by various
media in the UK the marketing spend was not sufficient. Robert Downey Junior has
been recruited by the brand to be an ambassador who has assisted to boost
awareness but as discussed in the report HTC’s issues go down to the roots of the
company. The ‘Here’s to Change’ campaign has generated a lot of awareness about
the actor and on Youtube it has over 2 million views but the 2 minute clip barely
shows the product and the average consumer do not know that the ads are for HTC.
HTC has also been successful in promoting the HTC One in all the major telecom
providers in the UK. HTC’s positioning in the market is on the premium segment.
It is clear that adjustments need to be made in the communications of the brand in
order to effectively reach the target audience.
Stage 2 – Brand Meaning: The goal in step two is to identify and communicate what
the HTC brand means, and what it stands for. The two building blocks in this step
are: "performance" and "imagery’’ "Performance" defines how well the product meets
your customers' needs. “Imagery" refers to how well the brand meets your
customers' needs on a social and psychological level.
Brand Performance Brand Imagery
HTC One launched on late April 2013
and won multiple ‘best phone’ awards.
The device is revolutionary both inside
and out with specifications that are top
notch and hardware that is miles ahead
of its competition. Therefore on a
functional lever HTC One is on par if not
ahead of its competition.
HTC’s image however does not reflect on
its communications. It projects itself as a
modern, innovative brand. The
perception of the consumers however is
far from what communicates and there is
a large gap between what the brand
communicates and what the consumers
think of the brand.

Stage 3: Brand Response: This stage refers to how consumers respond to the
brand/product when they get into contact with it through the various channels.
According to the model, there are six positive brand feelings: warmth, fun,
excitement, security, social approval, and self-respect. Customers' responses to the
brand fall into two categories: "judgments" and "feelings." These are the two building
blocks in this step.
Judgments Feelings
When consumers come in contact with
HTC One the response is wonderful.
They think that the build quality
surpasses all other brands in the market
and it has a beautiful large screen that
the Apple iPhone doesn’t offer. It also
provides innovative features that cannot
be found on any other smartphone in the
market like the HQ sound and amazing
camera.
Currently the feelings of the consumers
towards HTC are insecure. There is a lot
of publicity on the downfall of the brand
and the loss of revenue and market
share. Consumers don’t want to invest in
such a brand. The desired response after
the campaign is totally different.
Consumers will feel exited to own the
HTC One. Apart from the perceived
value for money consumers will feel part
of a community where creative ideas are
encouraged and uniqueness is admired.
Stage 4: Brand Resonance: Brand "resonance" sits at the top of the brand equity
pyramid because it's the most difficult – and the most desirable – level to reach. The
brand achieves resonance when customers feel a deep, psychological bond with
your brand. This can be said about the competitors of HTC, Samsung and Apple
who have very loyal and enthusiastic customers. However HTC due to issues
explained above in the report has lost connection to its customers. Some of the
issues addressed are the slow Android updates and not supporting devices long
term. The campaign aims to address those issues with the various media channels
and establish a connection with the consumers through the communicated message
and various media channels.

10. COMMUNICATIONS AND CAMPAIGN STRATEGY
10.1 Campaign Message
The campaign will focus on market penetration with a focus strategy to attract
customers who are either first time smartphone buyers or price sensitive consumers
who would otherwise buy a low end smartphone. To reach these customers an
investigation or the opportunities and trends was conducted to identify the
appropriate target audience. The campaign message will communicate the values of
HTC which are innovation, uniqueness, creativity and fun through an integrated
marketing communications campaign which will run through various media. As
mentioned before, the campaign aims to re-position HTC in the mid end market
distancing itself from its primary competitors which are Apple and Samsung. The
budget allocated for this six month campaign is £6 million which will be spent on
various media for the most effective and efficient reach of the target audience and
other stakeholders. The campaign will give HTC One and HTC as a brand high
exposure to its target audience through careful targeting.
10.2 Brand Image
To position HTC in the mid-end market without undermining the perceived value of
the brand push and pull strategies will be used. As David Ogilvy put it ‘Clients get the
advertising they deserve’ and for HTC this hasn’t been the case. It is a brand with
excellent products but struggling to connect with its audience and find a sustainable
positioning in the market.
The core of the campaign will be based on experiential marketing activities which
will communicate the fun, creative, artistic and innovative aspect of the HTC brand.
These activities will be supported and communicated via other media channels such
as public relations, out of home, print and online. Furthermore the already
established sponsorships with UEFA and MOBO awards will be utilised to suit the
needs of the campaign. For the tech savvy, artistic and creative target audience
reference groups are an important channel of influence. They are influenced by
others opinions in their group and like to share and experience new things.
Reference groups in this particular market carry a large referent and social power.
This means that the actions of others can be altered and influenced at a large part
from people which the target market admires and aspires to. To reach these

influencers the campaign will use the experiential activities and public relations to put
custom made HTC ones on their hands.
10.3 Campaign Strap Line
To communicate the values and to reflect the new direction of HTC a new strapline
was developed which was chosen after a poll on a social platform called reditt where
individuals reflecting the target audience profile were asked to vote between six
different new slogans for HTC. More than 100 individuals participated and after
careful consideration and taking into account the votes the new strapline was
developed. Currently HTC is using the ‘Here’s to change’ strapline which does not
reflect what the brand is about effectively and this has been proven by the financial
results of the last quarters. The new strapline which will tie everything together is:
‘EXPRESS YOURSELF’
10.4 Positioning statement of HTC
In accordance with the analysis of the macro and micro environment of HTC as well
as the established strategic directions the following positioning statement was
formed:
HTC provides young creative individuals who want to express themselves and create
art in any form or shape an innovative device masterfully crafted with metal which
also offers many features designed to enhance creativity and make life easy for the
user.

10.4 Message Delivery Tools
Based on the research and the set objectives the communications tools that will
deliver the message to the appropriate target audience need to be determined.
Choosing the appropriate media channel and communications tool is essential for
the success of the campaign. Push and Pull strategies require different tactics and
tools in order to achieve the desired results. According to the objectives deriving
from the hierarchy of effects model the campaign aims to create awareness, engage
and interact with consumers, create preference and liking for the HTC brand and
lastly generate 60000 new sales of the HTC One flagship smartphone.
The table below breaks down the tools used on the campaign and links it to the
objectives set for the campaign.
MEDIA OBJECTIVE AND TASK
Experiential -Generate awareness, engage target audience with the brand and
create buzz, interest and preference.
-Comprehension- Knowledge and understanding of HTC’s values
and message.
Public Relations -Create awareness among reference groups, generate free
coverage and publicity on media
-Create awareness about the repositioning of HTC in the mid end
market and inform media about the 80£ price cut in the SRP of the
HTC One
-Generate earned media space for the campaign.
Out Of Home -Create awareness about the experiential marketing activities
reaching the end consumer and driving to the channels online.
Print -Create awareness and reach consumers through targeted print
outlets
-Encourage action and trial through driving to web.
Online -Engage and inform consumers about the various activities which
will occur in the six months of the campaign through owned and
paid for media
TV- Advertising -Create awareness and call to action the target audience.
Sales
Promotion
-Point of sale posters in retail distribution channels informing
shoppers about the price drop of HTC One
Reference
Groups
-Through custom made HTC Ones influencers will be incentivised
to switch to HTC One. The targeted influencers will be from the
fashion, music and art world and will also participate in HTC’s
activities.
In any marketing communications campaigns it is necessary to implement both push
and pull strategies because the combination of them ‘provides greater synergetic
effect than can be achieved in the use of either strategy singly’ (Pickton D., Broderick
A., 2005, p. 432).

10.5 Push Strategy
10.5.1 Internal Marketing
It is important for this IMC that all parts of the campaign work flawlessly together.
HTC has been criticized and received a lot of bad publicity about its employees
making a show when leaving the company and with unsatisfied employees being
unsure about their future. Therefore it is crucial that an internal communications plan
is implemented to keep everything together, educate all the employees and make
them feel as part of the company, transfer the vision to them and inform them about
the activities and how to coordinate everything. For the campaign a new website will
be built which will require a strong and knowledgeable team to operate. One of the
main purposes of internal communications is to emphasize the strategic importance
of the new strategic direction of HTC and the aim of re-positioning in the mid end
market. Consequently, before the campaign is launched a series of briefings will take
place. The employees will be informed of the IMC objectives that HTC seeks to
achieve by launching the new service, as well as individual responsibilities. It is
important that the information is presented in an appropriate way in terms that
everyone will understand.
10.5.2 Point of Sale Marketing
Point of Sale marketing communications activities that take place in the retail shops
where HTC One can be found, those include Carphone Warehouse, Phones4u and
all major telecom providers in the UK retail shops. It is an important aspect within
marketing communications mix because point of sale is the area where many
decisions are made. Therefore, it is necessary to use this opportunity to influence the
customer’s decision-making process. The PoS activities will showcase posters in the
window of the retail shops which will be of the same creative style as the rest of the
marketing communication tools. The difference is going to be that there is going to
be focus on the lower price along with the new strapline ‘Express yourself’

10.6 Pull Strategies
10.6.1 Experiential - Events
As a unique approach to the task of marketing goods and services, experiential
marketing is a concept that integrates elements of emotions, logic, and general
thought processes to connect with the consumer. The goal of experiential marketing
is to establish the connection in such a way that the consumer responds to a product
offering based on both emotional and rational response levels. Ads on the Internet, in
print media, and on billboards must immediately catch the attention of prospective
customers and hold that attention long enough to make an impact. Experiential
marketing holds the key to making this happen. By appealing to all the senses, and
making the connection quickly and seamlessly, this approach to the marketing task
ensures that businesses can still attract and satisfy the needs and desires of
consumers.
10.6.2 Reference Groups
Reference groups are groups that consumers compare themselves to or associate
with. Reference groups are similar to opinion leaders in that they can have a
profound influence on consumer behaviour. Reference groups are considered a
social influence in consumer purchasing. They are often groups that consumers will
look to make purchasing decisions. So if a reference group endorses a product,
either through use or statements about the product, those that look to the group will
often purchase that product. On the other hand, if a reference group disapproves of
a product, those that associate with that group will probably not purchase the
product. As described in the market analysis part of the report, reference groups are
a very important purchase decision influencer in the smartphone market. As soon as
a phone is released in the market, blogs, YouTube and tech websites are flooded
with reviews and as the Kantar report and the target audience characteristics
suggest these reviews are one of the major channels of information gathering.
Furthermore target audience profiling suggests that opinion leaders and celebrities
are a major influences in their purchase decision.
Public relations, Online, Print and Out of Home media are used to generate
awareness and ‘buzz’ among the target audience about the campaign and the
activities and events which will run throughout the whole campaign.

11. IMC DELIVERY
The proposed IMC campaign will last for six months, from the beginning of
December 2013 till the end of May 2014. The campaign will focus on creating
engagement with the target audience in the form of events which will be themed
around music, fashion or arts. These events will be supported by promotional tools
such as PR, print advertising, online, out of home and opinion leaders (influencers)
that aim to generate awareness and drive to web where consumers will be able to
sign up and participate in the events. The campaign with the strapline ‘Express
yourself’ aims to communicate the message that HTC One is about YOU and it is
there to let you express your creativity and sharing it with the world easier. The
campaign is consumer centric and although it implies the benefits of the design of
the HTC One it does not focus on those. Instead the message aims to position HTC
as the go to brand for individuals who want to be different, do not follow mainstream
culture and are artistic in some way whether that is creating music, fashion, art or
any other creative activity.
A new mini website will be built for the purposes of the campaign. The website will
have a social aspect where individuals can share their profile on the HTC website
across all popular social media. The purpose of the website is to complement the
events which will take place in popular locations in London. TV advertising will be
used in order to reach a wider audience in the early stages of the campaign through
the talent show X-Factor.
The events will attract artistic individuals of the target audience who have an interest
in music, fashion and filmmaking. They should not have a contract with a publisher,
label etc and be 16-34 in order to be eligible to participate. The events will be held in
central location venues such as Proud Camden, Fabric, KOKO and Pasha. The
artists will upload their work in the categories Music, Fashion and Film on the mini
website where everyone can vote and make them the winners of one of the large
prices. The Music category will have the opportunity to play on Fabric on the side of
Cyril Hahn one of the most famous and top Djs in London. Fashion category winner
will have the opportunity to present their work on the London Fashion Show 2014
while the filmmaker category winner will be entered in the BFI Film Festival and will
have the opportunity to work on the HTC One2
TV ad while the fashion category

MA Marketing Communications - IMC Project - Dionis Kole - AN IMC CAMPAIGN PLAN FOR THE RE-POSITIONING OF HTC CORPORATION FROM THE PREMIUM TO THE MID-END SMARTPHONE MARKET.

MA Marketing Communications - IMC Project - Dionis Kole - AN IMC CAMPAIGN PLAN FOR THE RE-POSITIONING OF HTC CORPORATION FROM THE PREMIUM TO THE MID-END SMARTPHONE MARKET.

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (19)

Similar to MA Marketing Communications - IMC Project - Dionis Kole - AN IMC CAMPAIGN PLAN FOR THE RE-POSITIONING OF HTC CORPORATION FROM THE PREMIUM TO THE MID-END SMARTPHONE MARKET.

Similar to MA Marketing Communications - IMC Project - Dionis Kole - AN IMC CAMPAIGN PLAN FOR THE RE-POSITIONING OF HTC CORPORATION FROM THE PREMIUM TO THE MID-END SMARTPHONE MARKET. (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

MA Marketing Communications - IMC Project - Dionis Kole - AN IMC CAMPAIGN PLAN FOR THE RE-POSITIONING OF HTC CORPORATION FROM THE PREMIUM TO THE MID-END SMARTPHONE MARKET.